AFTER A year-long labor dispute with the administration, the UST Faculty Union voted to declare a deadlock in the 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations as it rejected the management’s final offer of salary hikes and other benefits.
Of the 1,193 union members who participated in the poll, 680 voted for “no,” meaning they opposed the management panel’s CBA proposals and supported a deadlock declaration. A deadlock occurs when the management and its employees are unable to reach an agreement and could lead to potential strikes and lockouts.
A total of 400 academic personnel voted “yes” or were in favor of the administration’s final offer and were supportive of the ratification of a CBA. A total of 113 votes were declared “invalid.”
“On Friday, March 14, 2025, we the USTFU CBA Panel will meet with the management to formally declare a deadlock in our negotiations,” USTFU president Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales said.
“Please stay tuned for further announcements on our next steps after this formal declaration. There will be a series of activities and we expect that the general membership will participate and show their solidarity with us as we carve our path towards better benefits, stronger union and meaningful change in our beloved University,” he added.
One of the proposals that the majority of the UST faculty members had rejected was the allocation for the tertiary rank and senior high school (SHS) salary upgrades, which the administration lobbied to reduce to P17 million from P26 million.
Under Republic Act 6728, private schools are required to allocate 70% of tuition increases to staff salaries, wages, allowance and other benefits. In UST, the release of tuition hike shares has been delayed for three years.
UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. had said the allocation could not be granted unless there is a finalized collective bargaining deal in place. The partial allocation may expose the University to legal and compliance issues, the rector added.
Meanwhile, the salary upgrade for SHS teachers fell to P1.5 million from the previous P10.5 million. The P8.9 million-difference will be transferred to the tuition increase share as backpay for all UST employees, bringing the total to P87.5 million from the original P78.6 million.
Gonzales has been at odds with management panel head Prof. Cheryl Peralta over tuition hike share negotiations after she claimed that the union negotiators had refused and proposed the removal of SHS faculty benefits.
The claim of Peralta, Gonzales said, was “misleading” and did not reflect the actual events that occurred during their negotiations. According to Gonzales, the UST administration initially proposed a P26 million tuition hike share for specific teachers’ salary and rank upgrades only, not for all teaching personnel.
To guarantee “fair compensation” for all academic staff, he said the union had also pushed for the salary and rank upgrade to come from the University treasury instead of the students’ increased tuition.
“The administration claimed that if we did not agree to their allocation plan of P26M from the [tuition increase], they would return the money to the students, which, they warned, could have ‘dire consequences,’” Gonzales said.
On March 7, the Commission on Higher Education directed UST to respond to allegations that it violated provisions regarding faculty benefit shares in tuition increases. The University was given 15 days to provide an explanation, otherwise, the commission said it would proceed with “appropriate actions.” F
[…] READ: UST faculty union declares deadlock in negotiations on salary hike, other benefits […]