Teachers Group tells DepEd: Enforce Magna Carta, give teachers 1.25 additional pay for each rest day lost.

 8 August 2022

PRESS RELEASE

ACT tells DepEd: Enforce Magna Carta, give teachers 1.25 additional pay for each rest day lost.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines today criticized the Department of Education's (DepEd) flagrant violation of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers as the agency continues to oblige teachers to work on supposed rest days without proper compensation.

"Ginagawa nang bisyo ng DepEd ang pagpapatrabaho sa mga guro nang walang karampatang kabayaran. May utang na silang 77 araw ng labis na pagpapatrabaho noong school year 2020-2021 nang pinagtrabaho nila ang mga guro nang tuluy-tuloy na 13 buwan na walang pahinga. Pinahaba pa nila nang hanggang 3 linggo ang trabaho sa SY 2021-2022. Sa pagsisimula naman ng SY 2022-2023, kulang ang itinakdang kapalit na service credits sa pagsisilbi sa enrolment at Brigada Eskwela," said Raymond Basilio, Secretary General of ACT Philippines.

ACT invoked sections 13 and 14 of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers mandating the payment of daily rate plus 25% for work outside their regular work schedule and beyond the teaching duties.

"Walang awa ang DepEd sa mga guro. Ipinagkakait na ang karapatan sa pahinga ay dinadaya pa sa karampatang kompensasyon," he added.

"Karapatan ng mga guro ang 2 buwang pahinga matapos ang 10 buwan na tuluy- tuloy na trabaho sa isang school year. Ito ang tanging leave credits ng mga guro kapalit ng kawalan ng sick leave at vacation leave. Lahat ng school calendar bago magpandemya ay gumalang sa karapatang ito, maliban sa huling 2 taon ni Sec. Leonor Briones at ngayon sa panahon ni Sec. VP Sara Duterte," said the progressive teacher.

"Abusado ang DepEd sa pagsasabing walang legal basis ang 2 buwan na pahinga ng mga guro samantalang ito ang kalakaran sa mahabang panahon. Teachers are workers too whose labor rights should be protected. We should be protected against labor abuse which is what DepEd is doing in asserting that teacher's work schedule depends on their whim. Ang ginagawa nila ang walang ligal na batayan," opined the concerned educator.

"We in ACT assert that teachers should be paid additional compensation of their daily rate plus 25% for all days between June 24, 2022 to August 22, 2022 that they were made to work. We also call on Deped to immediately compensate the 77 days excess workdays that teachers were obliged to work in SY 2020-2021," ended Basilio.#

Source: ACT