LABOR WATCH
UP
Staff, Professors Protest Non-payment of Back COLA
About 1,000 administrative staff and professors in different campuses of
the University of the Philippines (UP) staged pickets from Nov. 21 to 25
to protest the UP administration’s refusal to pay unpaid cost-of-living
allowance (COLA). The strikers, who are members of the All-UP Workers
Alliance (AUPWA), have been demanding the release of their COLA since
2001.
BY BULATLAT
About 1,000
administrative staff and professors in different campuses of the
University of the Philippines (UP) staged pickets from Nov. 21 to 25 to
protest the UP administration’s refusal to pay their back cost-of-living
allowance (COLA).
The
strikers, who are members of the All-UP Workers Alliance (AUPWA), have
been demanding the release of their COLA since 2001, Buboy Cabrera, one of
their leaders, said in an interview.
The AUPWA is
composed of the unions of the rank and file (All-UP
Workers Union) and the faculty (All-UP
Academic Employees Union). Cabrera, who works at the UP Press in the
Diliman campus, is president of the All-UP Workers Union.
Along with
other government workers, UP
administrative staff and professors have been calling on the national
government to give back the COLA that was integrated into their basic
salaries in line with the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law
in 1989. However, it was not until 1999 that the law’s implementing rules
and regulations got published.
Government
employees have struggled for the release of their back COLAs from 1989 to
1999. Cabrera said other state colleges and universities like the
Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and the Rizal
Technological University (RTU) have issued back COLA to their employees.
Cabrera said
the Board of Regents, UP’s highest policy-making body, decided in 2003 to
defer the payment of back COLA until the Supreme Court (SC) decides on the
issue. Early this year, the SC ruled that the payment of the back COLA is
legal.
“But UP has
not paid our back COLA,” said Cabrera. “The UP administration cites a
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) memorandum stating that only
government-owned and -controlled corporations are covered by the Supreme
Court decision and not national government agencies which include UP.” The
Supreme Court decision, Cabrera said, makes no such distinction.
He added,
“President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued an order to release P1 billion
($18.5 million, based on an exchange rate of P54.15 per US dollar) for
payment of back COLA, only to suddenly take it back.”
The strikers
went on mass leave on Nov. 22 and 24. There was also a series of vigils
through the week, as well as negotiations with the UP administration.
All-UP
Academic Employees Union President Judy Taguiwalo, a professor at the
College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD), said it was time
to take the fight to a higher level. “For three years, the
All-UP
Workers Alliance has done many ways to send its message to the
UP administration and the national government
like dialogues, open letters and a rally at the DBM.”
Cabrera said
the AUPWA will be holding consultations among its members in the coming
days to plan for its next protest activities, among which is participation
in a nationally-coordinated rally for the release of back COLA scheduled
on Dec. 7.
The AUPWA
also participated in the “People’s Procession” for truth, justice and
human rights held in
Manila
Nov. 25. Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.