MSEUF ensures due process with accessible appeal mechanisms

Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation (MSEUF) demonstrated its commitment to decent work by maintaining a public, university-wide appeal process and embedding transparent compensation governance. Core practices aligned with SDG 8 employment practice pertaining to having an appeal process (“have a process for employees to appeal on employee rights and/or pay”).

On Sept. 4, 2024, the Human Resource Department held the annual merit pay deliberation for non-teaching personnel for AY 2023–2024 via Zoom, led by OIC President Benilda Villenas, with Amalia Delos Reyes (OIC, VP for Administration) and Sonia Durante (Union Sector). Department heads pre-briefed staff on performance results, and HRD Director Maria Sylvia Avila presented allocations grounded in objective ratings, an approach that clarifies decisions and provides a basis for employees to question or appeal outcomes when needed.

MSEUF also operates a public complaints and claims channel where faculty and staff can lodge formal complaints, request assistance, or suggest improvements through an online form, an accessible route to raise concerns about employee rights and/or pay beyond regular line management. Contact is available through a dedicated customer care email, further reinforcing visibility and due process.

To safeguard academic staff rights, the University issued the Institutional Policy and Guidelines on Research Independence, which protects freedom of scientific inquiry, impartiality, and intellectual integrity, and specifies reporting pathways via the DCAV Research & Knowledge Management Institute for concerns or violations. These protections complement the appeal ecosystem by ensuring researchers can seek redress when independence is compromised.

Together, these mechanisms, transparent merit-pay reviews, a public, always-on complaint/claim portal, and formal research-independence protections that show how MSEUF enables employees to challenge decisions, uphold rights, and obtain fair resolution, in line with the THE Impact Rankings definition of SDG 8.

 

Why this matters

Appeal routes make fair work practices real. A published channel for claims and assistance, documented academic-freedom safeguards, and clear pay-deliberation procedures help prevent and remedy errors, bias, or rights violations—key to decent work and economic growth.

 

How this supports MSEUF’s mission and values

These measures embody Mindfulness, Service, Excellence, Unity, and Fortitude: mindful transparency in pay decisions, service through responsive grievance handling, excellence via research integrity, unity in participatory processes, and fortitude in protecting staff rights across the institution.