THE UST administration has a “moral obligation” to help its faculty members cope with their financial woes by releasing their share of the tuition hike, the head of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association (ALFA) said.
ALFA president Assoc. Prof. Rene Luis Tadle said the delayed talks between the University and the employees union have resulted in “retroactive” collective bargaining agreements (CBA), a situation that he said places a financial strain on faculty members.
“This practice harms faculty members, not only due to the loss of purchasing power but also because it pressures the panel to settle quickly under financial strain from union members,” Tadle told The Flame.
According to him, the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) is appealing to the University’s “sense of Christian compassion” to release the tuition hike share pending other CBA provisions.
“Inflation is beyond anyone’s control…There is no legal basis for withholding the TFI (tuition fee increase); instead, there is a strong moral obligation for a Catholic institution to ease the financial difficulties faced by its employees,” Tadle added.
Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales, president of USTFU, said the University has been stuck with the practice of delayed distribution of tuition hike share.
“The union members are fully aware that their money’s purchasing power has diminished by 20% to 30% each year that passed,” Gonzales told The Flame.
“What the law prescribes is the ideal for workers, but UST admin prefers to stick with the ‘typical’ practice,” he added.
Gonzales said the release of the share should not be tied with the ratification of the CBA.
Under the regulations of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), UST must allocate 70% of the tuition increase to its teaching and non-teaching employees every academic year in the form of salary, wages, and benefits.
In a petition dated Oct. 10, USTFU argued that the distribution of tuition hike share guaranteed under various CHED issuances and Republic Act 6728, was not dependent on the CBA negotiations.
After receiving the petition letter, the UST administration said it would withhold the release of the shares until the CBA negotiations have been finalized.
“The University is committed to working in good faith with USTFU to expedite the negotiations and come to an agreement that is fair and beneficial for all parties involved. However, until such negotiations are finalized, we must adhere to the legal guidelines and requirements established by CHED,” a UST statement posted on Facebook last Oct. 15 read.
The University already released the interest in the tuition hike shares of the faculty members, the union said.
READ MORE: UST to withhold faculty’s share of tuition hike pending negotiations
The tuition hike share, which was part of the 2016-2021 CBA negotiation, amounts to roughly P8 million. Over 1,000 teaching and non-teaching members received their part.
Gonzales lamented that the distribution of share was delayed for three years.
According to him, USTFU already expected the University to decline their request to release the faculty members’ tuition hike share. The University has been delaying the release of share for decades to increase its leverage in the CBA negotiations, he added.
While the faculty union does not have mechanisms to financially support its members, it is planning to add a provision in the CBA stating that the shares must be released yearly, specifically before informing the CHED of its plan to raise the tuition.
“After the admin panel and the union panel have agreed upon the suggested allocation by percentages per rank and how much of it goes to salary or to benefits, then the [tuition hike] shares must be released immediately,” Gonzales said.
To ensure quick negotiation with UST, the union panel suggested the holding of CBA negotiations twice a week. Gonzales said the admin panel cannot commit as most of them are occupied with administrative matters. F – Mariamne Yasmin Yap with reports from Erwin James Gianan
