Faculty unions endorse bill upgrading college professors’ salaries

NEWS RELEASE
May 9, 2011

Faculty associations and unions from various State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in Luzon expressed their support for a bill upgrading the salaries of teaching personnel in public higher education institutions.

The Philippine National Confederation of Faculty Associations of SUCs (PNCFASUC)-Luzon endorsed House Bill 4523, filed by ACT Teachers Party-List Representative Antonio L. Tinio, during its recently-concluded consultative training conference held in Subic, Zambales on May 2-4, 2011. Tinio held a dialogue with the faculty associations on the first day of the conference.

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Fifty-three (53) delegates from 27 participating faculty unions and associations attended the conference. They came from SUCs in Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Kalinga, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bataan, Cavite, Rizal, Mindoro, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and the National Capital Region. The conference was led by PNCFASUC-Luzon President Evelyn Tria of Bataan Peninsula State University.

House Bill 4523, “An Act Upgrading the Minimum Salary Grade of Public Higher Education Teaching Personnel from Salary Grade 12 to 16,” aims to raise the salary grade of an entry-level Instructor I from Salary Grade 12 to Salary Grade 16. Salary grade levels of higher teaching positions will be adjusted accordingly. At present, the salary of an entry-level Instructor I in SUCs is Php16,726.00 per month. If passed, the bill will raise it to Php26,878.00 monthly. The bill covers all faculty in public universities and colleges, whether funded by the national or local government.

“We welcome the endorsement of the faculty organizations under the umbrella of PNCFASUC. Their support will be crucial in ensuring that the bill gains widespread support among legislators,” said Tinio.

“Due to sustained cuts in the budgets of SUCs, teaching personnel are facing worsening working conditions, such as oversized classes and heavier teaching loads. This exacerbates the erosion of their salaries in relation to the rising cost of living. This makes the enactment of the salary upgrading bill all the more urgent,” concluded Tinio.