A YEAR after back-and-forth negotiations, members of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) will finally decide whether to accept the management’s final offer of salary hikes and other benefits or to declare a deadlock on March 10.
According to a letter by USTFU president Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales, the union has reached a “brick wall” since November over the revised collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering the years 2021 to 2026. The proposed deal covers hospitalization benefits, the proposed P26-million rank upgrade allocation funded by tuition hike shares and certain “political provisions.”
“We the USTFU CBA Panel feel like a pendulum, swinging from one side to the other side; from explaining to the Management Panel, to explaining to the USTFU Board, and vice-versa regarding these contentious provisions. Even after six weeks of extension, we barely have significant gains, and the negotiations have come to a virtual halt—with both sides refusing to budge,” Gonzales said in the letter to academic staff dated March 5.
“This is why, in the spirit of transparency, we come to all of you, our dear union members, who are the highest decision-making body of our Union, and those who have the final say in this CBA,” he added.
Both tenured and probationary members of the union will cast their votes, with a majority decision determined after 50% plus one of the votes is reached.
Under the UST administration’s final offer, the allocation for the tertiary rank and senior high school (SHS) salary upgrades will only amount to P17 million from P26 million previously.
Meanwhile, the salary upgrade for SHS personnel plummeted to P1.5 million from the previous P10.5 million. The difference of about P8.9 million will be added to the tuition increase share as backpay for all University employees, which now totals P87.5 million from P78.6 million.
Other offers include a P50,000-increase in the P100,000-annual cap for medical benefits. In the event that the majority agree to the P17-million tertiary rank upgrade allocation, an additional P300,000 for critical illnesses and two-day vacation leave for counseling and career center personnel and librarians will be implemented.
According to the USTFU head, the vote for a deadlock was originally scheduled for January but the CBA panel proceeded to entertain more counter-proposals upon the union board’s request.
“[W]e acceded to the request of the USTFU Board to go back one more time to the negotiating table, to see if there are better options that Management might have counter-offered on the hospitalization benefits and the 26-million rank upgrade, and to continue haggling with our revised counter-proposals on those said items, and then be rejected consecutively several times,” Gonzales said.
The USTFU chief explained that a “yes” vote signifies that the members are in favor of the final offers, which will then be ratified through the revised CBA. A “no” vote means the members reject the proposals, leading to a deadlock or when parties are unable to reach an agreement on CBA negotiations and may have to undergo further renegotiations or strikes.
In December, UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. rejected the USTFU’s call for the partial release of the academic staff’s tuition hike share, saying distributing it without a finalized CBA may expose the University to legal and compliance issues.
Under Republic Act 6728, higher education institutions are required to give 70% of the tuition increase to the teaching and non-teaching personnel’s salaries, wages, allowances and other benefits. However, the Commission on Higher Education said the share “may be provided for in the collective bargaining agreement.”
The voting will be conducted during a general assembly on March 10, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the UST Medicine Auditorium. F
