PASIG CITY, 10 August 2024 – On Tuesday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara met with the Department of Education-National Employees Union (DepEd-NEU) National Executive Officers and National Board of Trustees at the DepEd Central Office to discuss and address the concerns of non-teaching personnel.

Accompanied by DepEd NEU National President Atty. Domingo B. Alidon, Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn M. Sevilla, OIC-Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development and Administration Wilfredo E. Cabral, Undersecretary for Operations Atty. Revsee Escobedo, and other DepEd and DepEd-NEU officials, the meeting focused on the issues raised by the NEU and worked on developing resolutions to benefit the Department’s staff.

One of the key topics discussed was the DepEd NEU’s proposal to review DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, which mandates the immediate removal of administrative tasks from public school teachers.

“We will track everything. I will assign HR and the Operations team to take note of all the suggestions. There are many professions involved, and I am sure we can create a career path progression. It may take time, so please bear with us, but we will study it thoroughly,” Secretary Angara said.

DepEd-NEU also suggested allocating the 2023 Collective Negotiation Agreement Incentive (CNAI) of P3,000, including savings pooled from DepEd Field offices, and a retirement benefit of P20,000 for DepEd Non-Teaching Employees across all governance levels.

Meanwhile, DepEd-NEU recommended that the Department issue a directive to ensure representation for non-teaching personnel and implement the CNA in Local School Boards (LSB).

“Since DepEd-NEU is the sole non-academic union of DepEd, we will remind our superintendents and regional officials to recommend their inclusion in the LSB,” Usec. Escobedo emphasized.

In addition, DepEd-NEU proposed the formation of the DepEd Union Management Coordinating Council (UMCC) to strengthen the implementation of the welfare benefits as stated in the CNA.

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