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[av_heading heading=’ Teachers seek help for ‘unfair labor practice’’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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DUMAGUETE City – Five of around 30 teachers from Negros Oriental who landed teaching jobs in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam returned to seek the help of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for what they claimed as unfair labor practice, unclear deductions, non-compliance on benefits being stipulated in their contracts and other alleged violations of existing laws.
CHR special investigator Jess Cañete said two of the five teachers came to his office Friday – Ann Beverly Verbosidad and Suzette Maricar Orden who identified Nico James Alagasi Bantayanon of Maayong Tubig, Dauin, Negros Oriental as the one who allegedly recruited them for Sky Resources Exchange Corp., a land-based recruitment agency with office at Ground floor, #2567 Arellano corner Consuelo Streets in Malate, Manila.
It is not yet clear to Cañete if Bantayanon has an authority to recruit, even as initial statements of the two showed that most if not all of them were recruited inside the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) main campus in Dumaguete City.
Verbosidad was asking for her pay slip since June this year to be appraised about the deductions that included contract fee, insurance fee, plane fare, uniform and payment of the bond, which were promised to be taken care of by the company. She received only a cash voucher good for the placement fee, processing fee and visa stamping.
Verbosidad left her teaching career at NORSU for a high salary offered in Vietnam at 1000 USD per month, but along with others she only actually receives 800 USD because it is being taxed despite the promise that it is tax-free.
Meanwhile, Orden claimed all that were stipulated in the contract were not realized.
According to Orden, more than 20 of them would have wanted to go home but were thinking of how to pay for their loans or debts that they used to pay for their fees in going to Vietnam.
Worse is that other teachers did not have teaching loads when they arrived in Vietnam. Some of them were given teaching loads for three days after two weeks. In view of this, two of them went to Cambodia.
Cañete is expected to summon Bantayanon, send him copies of the statements of the teachers and give him time to answer the allegations. He cautioned Bantayanon that the full force of the law will be applied for anything that he would do to get back at the teachers.
On the other hand, senior labor employment officer Kendrick Villaluz said for Sky Resources Exchange Corp. to recruit in Dumaguete, it should have a Special Recruitment Authority (SRA) from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) where the name of the recruiter is indicated.
He said the recruitment should be held at the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) for supervision and monitoring of the recruitment activity as a matter of procedure and not just in any other place, like what happened to the teachers who were recruited inside the campus. (PNA)
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