Gov’t workers decry starvation wages

Governmentemployees under the COURAGE government employees center reiterated their situation that their take-home pay is not even enough to take them home.

This was already the situation prior to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration for Inclusion. Now the burden is greater due to the drastic inflation of 5.2 percent reflected in the increase in oil products, rice, utilities, other basic commodities and school expenses after classes have again started.

What the tax reform has done was to accelerate the reduction of our salaries and our inclusion in the roster of the impoverished.

The minimum wage in the public sector is currently pegged at 10,510 monthly under Executive Order 201 or the Salary Standardization Law 4. However, salaries of employees in local government employees are even lower. According to the SSL, a 6th class municipality shall receive only 65 percent of the salaries compared to that of national government agencies therefore their minimum wage is lower at 6,831. Said amounts are a far cry from the monthly living wage of more than 33,000, according to Ibon Research.

Erwin Lanuza, National President of League of Local Government Units Employees (LEAGUE) criticized this exploitative and discriminatory policy against LGU employees. There are about 830,000 employees in the 1,715 LGUs and a significant figure of government employees can be found in 1st to 6th class municipalities whose salaries are lower at a range of 65 percent-90 percent.

Government employees criticized the Duterte administration for its one-sided priority saying that the government can double the salaries of police and soldiers but does not consider increasing salaries of civilian employees a priority. They demanded for a national minimum wage regardless whether they are in LGUs, NGAs, GOCCs and others and the amount should be at least P16,000 a month to cope with inflation.--Ferdinand Gaite, COURAGE National president.

Fasting protest as Sona nears Presidents of some 100 Manila public school faculty associations will hold a “lunchbreak fasting protest” at the gates of Andres Bonifacio Elementary School, Tayuman corner Ipil Streets, Sta. Cruz Manila today. The teacher-leaders are affiliated with the Manila Public School Teachers Association and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines.

Joined by the teachers, students and leaders of parents’ association of the school, they will bang empty pots and pans to demonstrate what they call ‘Malnutrition Month’, three days before Pres. Duterte delivers his third State of the Nation Address. The month of July is celebrated in schools and nationwide as the ‘Nutrition Month’ but the teachers said that many among them are forced to skip meals due to meager salaries and skyrocketing prices of goods.--Alliance of Concerned Teachers.