OUT OF roughly 2,000 faculty members, only 17 teachers will receive a P500,000 backpay from the 2020 to 2024 tuiton hike proceeds sharing scheme proposed by the University, the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) said.
The union made the claim as it filed a notice of strike before the labor department on March 25 over its disputes with the UST administration on salary and benefit upgrades that remain unsettled after a series of negotiations.
“[O]nly 17 professors out of nearly 2,000 faculty members will receive the highlighted P500,000 back pay. The vast majority will get much less,” an USTFU frequently asked questions document obtained by The Flame read.
The recipients of the P500,000 backpay are faculty members with a Professor IV rank, according to USTFU member Assoc. Prof. Rene Luis Tadle. He added that the backpay for other academic staff may range from P200,000 to P300,000 or less.
“Because the management has a statement that almost P500,000 will be received [by all teachers]. It may appear that people might think that the majority will get P500,000—that’s not true. Others will have a lower pay,” he told The Flame.
USTFU added that the management’s claim of an 8.489% salary increase for its teaching personnel is “misleading” as it fails to match the 23.9% cumulative inflation from 2021 to 2024.
Citing UST Hospital employees who enjoy full hospitalization, the faculty union also criticized the management’s offer of an additional P50,000 to its current P100,000 for general medical coverage and P200,000 for critical illness, saying it “falls below industry standards.” The union said the rate has not been updated since 1998 despite a 192.49% inflation.
“In contrast, UST Hospital employees receive full hospitalization coverage, with 80% coverage for dependents, while the very faculty—who educate and train the future frontliners—receive far less. Even the UST Hospital workers’ union has publicly supported equal benefits for the teaching staff,” USTFU said.
‘Exceptionally strong’ financial position
The faculty union also pointed out what it described as UST’s “exceptionally strong” financial position as a non-stock Catholic university, citing its P11.6 billion unrestricted net assets available for discretionary use as of July 31, 2023.
Given the University’s financial state, the USTFU argued that the University’s “insistence” on funding salary and rank upgrades from increased tuition instead of its internal resources “undermines the integrity of promotions.”
In previous statements, UST had argued that it could not distribute salary increases without a finalized bargaining deal, citing the need to prevent legal and compliance issues. The administration’s offer clashes with the faculty union’s demand to source the benefit upgrades directly from the University treasury.
“This financial strength is supported by consistent cash flows from tuition and hospital services and is further reflected in UST’s growing investment portfolio, property acquisitions, and unrestricted fund reserves,” USTFU said.
“Clearly, the University has more than enough resources to grant fair compensation to the very people- its faculty-who have been instrumental in building and sustaining its academic reputation and financial health,” it added.
The USTFU will conduct a solidarity night at the UST Plaza Mayor on March 26 to call for a “constructive engagement” between the management and the faculty. F — with reports from Ma. Alyanna Selda
