THE ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers urged the Civil Service Commission to intervene in its demand for the payment of overtime work of teachers.

The group again deplored the failure of the Department of Education to issue the guidelines for the grant of service credits for public school teachers’ overtime work in the last school year, as agreed during a dialogue attended by ACT, CSC, DepEd, and ACT Teachers Party-list last June 24.

In that meeting, the DepEd agreed to  consult with the Department of Budget and Management on the funding of teachers’ 25 percent overtime premium.

“We need the CSC to back us up in holding the DepEd accountable for its failure to pay our teachers’ overtime work, which we all have recognized and agreed upon. It is dishonorable for public officials to go back on their words and turn their backs on education frontliners who have gone beyond their duties to ensure education continuity in the midst of a pandemic,” Raymond Basilio, the group’s secretary general, said.

In a letter sent to the CSC, ACT urged the agency to provide “direct and opportune intervention” and guarantee that the 87 days of overtime work rendered from June 1 to October 3, 2020 by teachers will be properly compensated.

“For months we have been reaching out to both agencies in hopes of addressing the pressing issue, and it is saddening that School Year 2021–2022 has already started and teachers are again faced with new and heavier sets of workloads, while they are yet to be justly compensated for last school year,” the group said.

“Kung ang DepEd walang isang salita, kami meron. Hanggang Oktubre 5 na lang ang taning namin para tuparin ng  DepEd ang kaisahan natin. Hindi na kami maghihintay ng  lagpas pa sa World Teachers’ Day, asahan nila ang mas malawak na mga pagkilos ng guro,” Basilio said.

“Punom-puno na ang ating mga guro sa mga kapabayaan at kasinungalingan ng gobyernong ito. We urge the CSC to put its foot down and take favorable actions in support of our public school teachers. Otherwise, we will be forced to take matters into our own hands and claim what is due us and demand for our rights,” he warned.