THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers-National Capital Region Union on Thursday staged a protest before the Civil Service Commission to seek support on its call for compensation for the excess work days teachers rendered last school year.

The group issued their “11-11 wish” for the immediate granting of the 25 percent overtime premium for the extra 77 days they rendered and 77 days of service credits.

“We call on the CSC to be on the side of teachers and enable the granting of fair remuneration for the 77 days of excess workdays in the last school year,” ACT NCR Union President Vladimer Quetua said.

ACT earlier submitted its position paper to CSC and the Department of Budget and Management as part of the agreement reached during a meeting with them and the Department of Education on October 26.

The group detailed various legal bases to their claims that teachers indeed were made to work 77 more days beyond the allowable 220 class days in a single calendar as well as supporting resources for their demand for overtime compensation.

The Department of Education will also submit its position before the CSC.

“Teachers worked non-stop from June 1, 2020 to July 10, 2021—that is an undisputable fact, supported not only by our very own experiences but by DepEd’s own issuances. It’s honestly quite disheartening to hear our own mother agency attempt to discredit how excessive that is just to avoid paying us more. Hangga’t ganito ka abusado at exploitative ang ahensya, lagi’t laging may mahalagang papel ang ating unyon. Tuloy ang laban natin para sa kagalingan at karapatan ng guro, bata, at bayan!” Quetua said.

ACT estimated that at least P20.82-billion is needed to grant teachers 25 percent overtime premium for 77 days.