THE PRESIDENT of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) has refuted the statement of the management panel head that union negotiators had refused and proposed the removal of senior high school faculty benefits.
USTFU head Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales said the claim of Prof. Cheryl Peralta, the management panel head and vice rector for academic affairs, is “misleading” and “does not reflect the actual events” that occurred during their negotiations.
He clarified that the UST administration initially proposed a P26 million tuition hike share for specific faculty members’ salary and rank upgrades only, not for all academic staff.
He added that the union had lobbied to have the salary and ranks upgrade be sourced from the UST treasury department instead of students’ increased tuition to ensure “fair compensation” for all academic personnel.
“The administration claimed that if we did not agree to their allocation plan of Php26M from the [tuition increase], they would return the money to the students, which, they warned, could have ‘dire consequences,'” Gonzales said.
Of the current P17-million salary increase deal, a majority would be distributed to the tertiary rank, a portion for rank upgrades and the previous P10.5 million cut that has been slashed to P1.5 million will go to the SHS teaching staff, according to Gonzales. The subtracted P8.9 million will be apportioned to tuition increase share as backpay for all UST employees.
He added that before the intervention of the 22-member USTFU board, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) panel wanted to announce a deadlock, wherein two parties are unable to settle on an agreement, which could lead to more negotiations or strikes.
“Given the significant impact on all faculty members, the USTFU panel decided that this should not be a unilateral decision. Instead, we are committed to bringing this issue to a General Assembly, allowing our members to decide,” Gonzales said.
During its general assembly on March 10, USTFU members were to decide if they would declare a deadlock or accept the revised CBA lodged by the administration, which covers the years 2021 to 2026 and includes hospitalization benefits and salary upgrades.
The union president called for “transparency and accuracy in public statements regarding these negotiations.”
On March 7, the Commission on Higher Education ordered UST to respond to the allegation that it had violated policies on faculty benefit shares in tuition increases. The commission gave the University 15 days to submit an explanation before it proceeds with “appropriate actions.”
Under Republic Act 6728, 70% of tuition hike incremental proceeds shall be allocated to wages, allowances, and benefits of teachers and other personnel, as provided in a finalized CBA. F – Mei Lin Weng
