THE UST Faculty Union (USTFU) is awaiting a counter-proposal from the University administration after submitting its proposals for the renegotiations of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
USTFU president Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales said the union submitted its proposals on March 10.
The submissions are now being reviewed by the University’s legal team.
“The moment they already have a counter-proposal, we will meet,” Gonzales said after the union’s general assembly on Friday, March 13.
A CBA is a negotiated contract between an employer and the employee’s exclusive bargaining agent that governs wages, working hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
The agreement lasts for five years, while economic provisions, such as salary increases and benefits, can be negotiated after three years. This means that while new negotiations are ongoing, the existing CBA, which covers the years 2021-2026, remains in effect until both sides agree to adopt a new one.
During the business hour of the general assembly, Gonzales said the faculty’s share from tuition increases should be treated as the “floor” and not the “ceiling,” a lesson he said the union learned from previous CBA negotiations.
He explained that relying solely on the legally mandated share from tuition hikes may limit the benefits that faculty members could receive.
“The heart of every negotiation must look beyond TFI and toward the real financial capacity of educational institutions, as reflected in their full financial statements,” the union president said.
The USTFU had also proposed separating discussions on tuition hike benefits from CBA negotiations, which Gonzales described as the “ideal” system practiced in some universities.
READ: UST Faculty Union wants tuition hike benefits separated from CBA negotiations
Under Article 261 of the Labor Code, which governs the CBA negotiations, the University is expected to respond within 10 calendar days before both parties return to the negotiations.
Gonzales declined to disclose the details of the union’s proposal, saying it would be premature to reveal them before formal negotiations resume with the administration.
“We can’t release it yet until they reply and we’ve all had a chance to talk… Because they might say we’re preempting them. It’s been with them since the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th. That means their lawyers are already studying it,” he said. F
