DOLE vows to speed up probe on illegal dismissal of teachers

Silvestre Bello. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO/Nestor Corrales

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) vowed to hasten the investigation on the two cases filed by laid-off teachers against Miriam College, which they accused of illegal dismissal.

In a dialogue, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III promised to advance the cases presented on Tuesday by Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Representative Antonio Tinio and other groups.

According to Tinio, two former faculty members filed cases of illegal dismissal and denial of wages against Miriam College following the school’s retrenchment.

Among those who attended the dialogue with Bello were ACT-Private Schools, ACT State Universities and Colleges and the Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (COTESCUP). The groups claimed that other schools have experienced labor issues since the implementation of the K-12 program.
Participants said their schools claimed that financial losses due to the K-12 program led them to fire faculty members or force them to resign. Professors were also displaced and offered part-time work and non-tenure track contracts with lower pay and no benefits.

Bello described these acts as “illegal practices” and explained that continued enrollment of students, financial statements and application for tuition fee increase indicate that the schools contradict their alleged losses.

Bello said he will invite the said institutions to discuss and investigate their grounds for retrenchment.

He also encouraged the teachers to help DOLE with the investigation by detailing their experiences.

“We welcome these commitments from Secretary Bello, given this data and the current reality that schools are using K to 12 as the opportunity to violate security of tenure, avoid paying decent wages, and save labor costs by hiring more contractual employees,” Tinio said.

“This is an opportune time for government to assert more regulatory power over private schools while protecting the rights of teaching and non-teaching personnel and ensuring quality education at the same time.”

The labor chief also committed to integrate the process of Adjustment Measures Program (AMP), P500-million financial support, employment facilitation and training and livelihood for teachers and non-teaching staff displaced by K-12. KC Tayam, INQUIRER.net trainee/RAM

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