DAVAO CITY — Members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Act) expressed support for a national minimum wage (NMW) of P16,000 for both public and private sector workers.
France Castro, secretary general of Act said the current minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR), which is the highest in the entire country, “only give workers around P11,000 a month for 24 days of work per month.”
“This amount is less than half of the more than P31,000 monthly cost of living in the country. Even the P16,000 NMW is still below the cost of living, but this will be much help to the workers,” said Castro.
Late last year, different labor organizations formed the All Workers Unity (AWU) and forged a united call for a NMW of P16,000 for workers, P25,000 for teachers and nurses, and P50,000 for doctors.
Castro cited a study by Ibon Foundation, which says that the proposed NMW will cut only around 17 percent from the profit of private companies.
“For this to progress, our businessmen need only to lessen their greed. On the other hand, the government must also side with the workers and employees and heed their call for a living wage,” Castro said.
Castro said they also call for the P25,000 entry pay for public school teachers adding the Filipino teachers are one of the lowest paid professionals in the country “and are one of the lowest paid teachers (in) Asia.”
