Teachers’ union cites progress in talks with DepEd, CSC on overtime pay

Parents and teachers observe minimum health standards at the distribution of learning packets to students of Doña Rosario High School in Novaliches Proper, Quezon City on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 prior to the opening of classes on October 5, as the DepEd shifted to distance learning due to the pandemic. -INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — The Alliance of Concerned Teachers of the Philippines (ACT) said the Department of Education (DepEd) has agreed to provide teachers with service credit and 25-percent overtime pay for the excess working hours they rendered since June last year.

During a dialogue with ACT and ACT Teachers party list on Thursday, officials of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the DepEd acknowledged the need to compensate teachers for overtime work from June 1, 2020, to July 11 this year.

The DepEd has promised to discuss with the Department of Budget and Management the possibility of funding the 25-percent premium overtime pay for teachers during this period, the teachers’ group said.

According to ACT, the dialogue was in response to an appeal letter they sent to DepEd on March 30 and to the CSC on April 8.

The DepEd has also committed to give teachers a service credit for every excess working day from June 1, 2020, to the opening of classes on Oct. 5 last year, ACT said.

“The DepEd said it will release guidelines on this as soon as possible, including scrapping the 15-day limit for granting service credit to teachers,” it added.

Computation

The Inquirer reached out to the DepEd and Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo, who joined the dialogue on Thursday, for confirmation, but they have yet to respond.

Based on ACT’s daily overtime computation, a regular Teacher I has to date served 59 overtime and service credit days at a daily overtime rate of P271.33, or a total of P16,008.47.

In an April 13 letter to Education Secretary Leonor Briones, ACT pressed for the grant of a 25-percent overtime pay to public school teachers, citing Article 87 of the Labor Code.

The law states that an employer must provide an additional pay of 25 percent of a person’s daily wage if the latter was required to work beyond the prescribed working hours.

ACT claimed that educators received “little to no support” from the government for their services during the DepEd’s shift to distance learning program caused by the pandemic.

“Our teachers have always given too much despite their circumstances, and they only ask for what is due them,’’ ACT secretary general Raymond Basilio said earlier, noting the last school year had been extended and yet the teachers have to shoulder distance learning expenses.

Without breaks

The school year began on Oct. 5, 2020, and was originally scheduled to close on June 11. But this was extended by two weeks to allow students and teachers to adjust to remote learning, and then later to July 10 to give way to the annual in-service training for teachers.

According to ACT, the adjusted calendar required teachers to work for 297 days without breaks, since they began reporting for work on June 1, 2020, to adapt to distance learning. This was 77 days in excess of the mandated 220 school days under Republic Act No. 11480, which lengthened the school calendar from 200 days to not more than 220 class days.

The teachers also had to conduct Saturday classes, ACT added. INQ