Teachers' group bats for overtime pay for ERB members for Eleksyon 2025

A teachers’ group on Tuesday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to include overtime pay for teachers serving as poll workers for Eleksyon 2025.

Members of the Alliance of Concerned (ACT) Teachers staged a rally in front of the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila as they push for additional honoraria to teachers who will serve as members of the election registration board (ERB) on Election Day, Monday, May 12.

ACT-Teachers said the ERB members may be subjected to long working hours due to the early voting period for senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The early voting hours policy will allow eligible voters nationwide to vote exclusively between 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Regular voting hours, meanwhile, will proceed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“Kung 5 a.m. magsisimula at 7 p.m. matatapos, alam naman natin na alas-dos [nang madaling araw] nasa presinto na. Ibig sabihin, mahigit 24 hours. Sa batas sinasabi na kapag nagtrabaho ka ng tatlo pang oras, dapat may overtime pay eh,” ACT Teachers National Chairperson Vladimir Quetua.

(If the voting will start at 5 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m., we know that the teacheres need to be at precincts at 2 a.m. That’s over 24 hours. The law states that employees working for another three hours are entitled to overtime pay.)

Teachers serving as poll workers are bound to receive additional P2,000 honoraria for the upcoming polls. This gives ERB members P10,000 and chairpersons P12,000.

However, Quetua said the honoraria remains subject to tax, diminishing around P1,800 from the take home pay.

“Malaki 'yun. Kung iko-compute sa gastusin, 35 kilos na bigas at kung nagmo-motor ka, isang buwan na gas 'yan,” he added.

(That’s a huge expense. It equates to 35 kilos of rice and a month's worth of motorcycle gas.)

In their proposal, the teachers’ organization wants a standard 25% overtime premium based on current honoraria rates.

ACT-Teachers likewise called for the removal of tax on the honoraria and the inclusion of ACT-Teachers to the Comelec official Voter Care hotline to enable real-time reporting and monitoring of field concerns during the elections. —KG, GMA Integrated News

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