‘Unfair,’ ‘senseless:’ UST labor leaders slam MyUSTe portal lockout for employees without health permit

SOME LEADERS of UST employees’ groups have assailed the administration’s decision to bar workers without health permits or professional tax receipts (PTR) from accessing the University’s official online service after the July 31 deadline, describing the sanction as “unfair” as it could impede their work in the long run.

The heads of various UST labor groups said University officials should have consulted them about the sanctions first, including the MyUSTe portal lockout, before deciding to impose them.

“Kung ito ‘yung proseso at kinikilala ni management ‘yung proseso na dapat pagdaanan ng mga manggagawa [at] ng mga workers niya for them to continue doon sa trabaho, ngayon, ni-lock nila e. So, ano ‘yung implication doon? Magwoworry kami para sa security namin,” Ugnayan ng mga Nagkakaisang Manggagawa-USTH (UNM-USTH) president Donell John Siazon told The Flame.

(If this is the process and the management acknowledges the process that workers have to go through to continue their work, [but] now, they lock out [the MyUSTe portal]. So, what’s the implication there? We will worry about our security).

“How about our work? Does this mean, once [they] close this, will we also lose our job in the future?” he added.

The sanction, which was announced in a frequently asked questions (FAQs) document stamped by UST and two Manila offices, is in line with the city government’s Ordinance 8793, which requires all employees to submit a valid ID, stool and urine samples, a filled-out drug test form and biometrics for a health certificate worth P625 that has to be renewed every year. All practicing professionals under government regulating bodies are given the alternative to pay for a PTR.

Until July 31, all University staff who have not complied with the ordinance will receive reminder announcements upon logging into their MyUSTe accounts with the option to skip the announcement. Non-compliant personnel cannot proceed with any transactions in the online service once the deadline has passed.

The FAQs sheet also cited the ordinance’s provisions imposing a fine of not more than P3,000 for the first offense and not more than P5,000 and the revocation of the employee’s health certificate for the second offense.

According to Samahang Manggagawa-UST (SM-UST) president Dan Paul Patricio, the lockout may compromise the University’s operations as it runs most of its transactions in the e-service application.

Once the sanction is implemented, faculty members and staff who have not submitted a health permit would be unable to manage their work hours as time records are filed on the MyUSTe portal, he added.

“For the faculty, the impact is greater… They file their leave, overtime and even e-learning there. So, once that’s affected, of course, the students would also be affected,” Patricio said.

As of July 29, a total of 1,701 out of 3,261 or 52.16% of UST employees have yet to comply with the ordinance, according to data obtained by The Flame. Of the figure, which was tallied by the UST Santo Tomas e-Service Providers, 1,409 are faculty members.

READ: Still no health permit for the majority of UST employees two days before deadline

No health permit, no teaching load?

Asked if non-compliant instructors would not be allowed to teach, Office of the Secretary-General Executive Assistant Emmanuel Batulan said such a prohibition is possible.

“That might be possible, so, that’s why they are reminded. But the teachers, whatever reason, why can’t they comply? They have the responsibility of informing the OVRAA (Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs) of the problem,” Batulan told The Flame in an interview.

“Because look, the requirements are already there… So, what are the reasons for not being able to comply? So, it’s possible [that the non-compliance is] because of the recent typhoon; that’s another thing they need to relay,” he added.

However, Siazon assailed the administration’s supposed “lack of response” to the unions’ grievances.

“That’s unfair. In the first place, we were asking [for] a dialogue [with] the management of the University. Now, should the management listen to our plight, then perhaps we should have been accommodated. Instead, they locked the [portal]. So, there was no space or venue to raise this between workers and the management of the University,” he said.

UST Arts and Letters Faculty Association (ALFA) president Assoc. Prof. Rene Luis Tadle echoed the sentiment, adding that a “thorough” dialogue between the workers’ representatives and the University officials should take place before releasing policies involving its employees.

“I think there’s no harm before issuing a policy discussed by the higher-ups together with the workers’ representatives as to what would be the best course of action instead of just pronouncing the policy… [S]o that maybe there could be a better solution to what was provided for in the communication coming from [the admin],” the faculty club chief said.

Organisasyon ng Nagkakaisang Empleyado-UST (ONE-UST), a coalition of three labor groups in UST, including SM-UST, asked the Office of the Rector for a dialogue earlier this month. The group also requested the University to shoulder the permit expenses. So far, the administration has not granted ONE-UST’s requests.

READ: UST employees’ unions urge admin to shoulder health permit cost

‘We will picket at the LGU’

While the University does not currently require its medical employees to adhere to the policy, Siazon said they are prepared to hold a “picket” at the Manila city government should they be included among the staff directed to obtain a permit.

“The LGU (local government unit) should recognize the annual physical examinations UST conducts for its employees. Does the LGU doubt UST’s capability? I mean, University of Santo Tomas, producing calibrated doctors—not just for the whole country but all over the world. Is that questionable to the LGU? Is that questionable to Honey Lacuna?” Siazon said.

“So, what we are saying is that if this is implemented on the UST Hospital employees, we would picket at the LGU [and] the City Hall,” he added.

Noting that the UST Hospital already conducts its own medical examinations, Siazon called the health permit requirement “senseless.”

“First of all, they (administration) should be the first to help us access this (medical procedures). And second, UST should have a voice and UST should have realized that this is senseless, if not clear extortion—the local government of Manila milking all employees here in UST,” the UNM-USTH president said.

Last week, ONE-UST requested another deadline extension through a letter addressed to Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna. The group wants the deadline to be moved from July 31 to Aug. 31 because a “substantial number” of workers failed to comply with the health permit requirement because of the impact of super typhoon “Carina.” The mayor’s office granted the coalition’s first request for an extension last month, adjusting the deadline from May 31 to July 31. F — Ma. Alyanna Selda and Mei Lin Weng