THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas Faculty Union (USTFU) has proposed a 3% salary increase for academic staff for Academic Years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 as part of the renegotiation of its 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
In a March 10 letter to the University’s negotiating panel, the union outlined key economic provisions, including a progressive adjustment in the salary scale of National Service Training Program facilitators ranging from 0.6% to 24.4% depending on rank.
The letter was addressed to College of Education Dean Pilar Romero, the new head of the administration negotiating panel. Romero replaced Prof. Cheryl Peralta, the vice rector for academic affairs.
USTFU said the adjustment was meant “to ensure equitable compensation, recognize social justice, and correct existing salary compression.”
The union announced the start of renegotiations of its salary and benefits deal for the final two academic years on April 24, saying an initial meeting had been held between union and administration representatives.
“[B]oth parties engaged in constructive dialogue and have already reached agreements on a number of items,” the union said in a statement.
It described the talks as “an encouraging start that reflects the shared commitment to a fair and meaningful negotiation process.”
“The union enters these negotiations with optimism and a firm commitment to fostering industrial peace grounded in mutual respect, constructive dialogue, and shared responsibility,” it added.
Aside from salary adjustments, the union proposed changes to other economic benefits, including raising the eyeglass allowance to P10,000 every two years and increasing the Christmas bonus to P25,000.
It also proposed P10,000 in technology support per semester, replacing the existing P15,000 one-time grant.
Other proposals include increasing the rice subsidy to P2,500 every other month, the laundry allowance to P400 per month, and the clothing allowance to P4,000 per semester.
The union also pushed for a P5-million hospitalization fund grant.
USTFU wants faculty members retiring at age 65 and with at least 10 years of service to receive 150% of their monthly salary for each year of service, based on a 10-year average of actual load, without a 21-unit cap.
