With online classes to start within the month, a coalition
of unions of faculty and staff in the private school sector is putting forth
its urgent concerns such as mass layoffs, loss of income and flawed issuances
by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“While we understand the adversities faced by
administration in the private colleges and universities, we are nonetheless
concerned at actual and threatened retrenchments of employees, reduction of
wages and benefits, denigration of job security and lack of worker voice in the
policies being crafted. Indeed private schools will incur losses due to the
impact of covid. But these losses are not substantial as to cause any potential
risk of financial distress, unless management can prove otherwise through an
objective assessment of its financial condition. We call for a stop or timeout
on layoffs and wage cuts in private schools,” stated Rene Tadle, lead convenor of
the Coalition of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities of the
Philippines (CoTeSCUP).
CoTeSCUP held a webinar and presser this morning
to air its demands to school administrations and the government. The group is
is asking for the withdrawal of DOLE issuances DO 213, LA 17 and LA 9.
In reaction to the proposed Bayanihan 2 which
includes support to education, CoTeSCUP supports state aid to private education
but insists that it must be conditional on a no-layoff commitment from school
administration.
Meanwhile a youth and student group expressed
solidarity with CoTeSCUP’s appeal. Jonel Labrador, coordinator of Partido
Manggagawa-Kabataan declared that “We are one with teachers and staff of
private colleges and universities in their demand for voice and protection.
Similar to private school employees, students’ grievances are also not being
heard, including alarm at the continued imposition of internet, laboratory and
electricity and lab fees despite the online modality. Thus we doubt the
narrative that private schools need to shed jobs because they are in financial
distress.” PM-Kabataan is the youth wing of the labor group Partido Manggagawa.
Last week Tadle spoke at a Senate hearing
yesterday on pending bills about online classes and assistance to private
schools. He raised concerns about pedagogy such as online class size and labor
grievances like retrenchments of faculty and staff.
Tadle insisted that "School administrators
often renege on their constitutionally-mandated obligation to include labor
unions in the decision-making process for school policies, especially with
regard to adjustments due to the pandemic. This is one of the root causes of
the confusion and dilemma experienced by the employees, despite union officers
exerting all efforts to communicate with management to include them in crafting
policy."
In the past few months, CoTeSCUP sent letters and
position papers to the Senate, House of Representatives, Department of Labor
and Employment, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Education and the
Inter Agency Task Force asking for government intervention in the education
sector amidst growing concerns regarding policies and readjustments to be implemented
in the upcoming opening of classes.
CoTeSCUP is a coalition which consists of the
Faculty Association of MAPUA Institute of Technology, Silliman University
Faculty Association, Lyceum Faculty Association, Far Eastern University Faculty
Association, Inc., Centro Escolar University Faculty and Allied Workers Union,
St. Paul University-Manila Faculty Union, Union of Faculty and Employees of
Saint Louis University, College Faculty Independent Union, University of San
Carlos, Mapua Institute of Technology Labor Union, San Beda College Union, San Beda College Alabang
Employees Association, Faculty Association of DLSU Dasmarinas Inc., De La Salle
University Employee Association Union, De La Salle Zobel Staff Organization,
and De La Salle Araneta Faculty Society.
Prof. Rene Tadle
Lead Convenor, CoTeSCUP
0977-742-4120
August 12, 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment