FACULTY MEMBERS are expected to receive their tuition increase shares worth P220 million on or before July 10, the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) said.
USTFU president Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales said the UST administration had assured the academic staff of its intention to release the tuition proceeds within a month after the ratification of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) last June 11.
“The management panel, which includes the internal auditor of the University, assured the union panel of the payroll and/or accounting departments [that they] are working within the timetable of releasing the CBA back wages on or before July 10, 2025,” Gonzales told faculty members on Friday, June 27.
According to the union chief, the distribution was announced through an online meeting attended by members of the union and management panels on June 25, two weeks after the 2021-2026 CBA was ratified through a two-day voting process.
Prior to the ratification of the CBA, the tuition hike shares of the faculty was among the highly contested points of the months-long dispute between the two parties.
The faculty union had repeatedly demanded its release, while the University had persistently insisted on withholding the tuition proceeds without a signed CBA supposedly to avert legal issues. The disagreements prompted a series of negotiation deadlocks and a strike notice filed before the labor department.
After the ratification, USTFU announced its intention to lobby for the permanent separation of the tuition hike share discussion from the CBA negotiations, a point they plan to raise during the renegotiation of the remaining two years of the deal.
Should UST deny the proposal, Gonzales said the union would continue to push for it in the following CBA proposals in August 2026. F
