THE UNIVERSITY administration and the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) remain far from signing a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA), with only 2% of 554 proposed items approved as of August.
In an interview with the Varsitarian, the USTFU president, Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales, said negotiations for the CBA covering years 2021 to 2026 still had a long way to go.
“Malayo. Malayo pa. Madami pa,” Gonzales said on Sept. 25 when asked about the status of negotiations.
“Honestly, wala pa akong nakitang CBA in my stay sa UST na on time,” he added. “Karamihan talaga delayed. Una, mahaba; maraming issues na dapat mapag-usapan. Unlike the CBA ng hospital or support staff, the CBA of the teachers is broader.”
A CBA is a collaborative process in which the employer and the employees, represented by a labor union, negotiate and establish the terms and conditions of employment, such as pay, working hours, and benefits.
Among USTFU’s proposals are expanded health benefits, aligning compensation for non-tertiary faculty members with those teaching in college, and introducing tailored evaluation tools for non-teaching academic staff.
In a progress table sent to faculty club leaders, the USTFU reported that the current CBA proposal includes 554 items: 342 new items, 194 changes to existing provisions, and 18 items proposed for removal.
As of the Aug. 16 negotiation meeting, 60.29% of the items had been discussed, but only 0.18% were accepted as proposed, while 1.81% were approved with revisions. Nearly a quarter, or 23.65%, were rejected, and 34.66% were deferred.
After two rounds of negotiations, Gonzales said the UST administration had rejected over 70% of the union’s proposed political provisions, which pertain to governance and decision-making processes within the University.
“Most of those did not change at all kasi ‘yong mga proposed suggestions natin dyan, denied. In favor of retaining the current — ‘yan ang sagot ng admin,” he said, referring to Articles 1 to 9 of the CBA, or those concerning academic freedom, tenureship, and job security among others.
The USTFU estimated the proposed economic provisions to cost P360 million annually, while UST auditors valued them at about P1.3 billion per year. Gonzales said this huge amount seemed too high for the UST administration.
Transparency
Prof. Revenendo Vargas, president of the UST Faculty Association of the Institute of Religion, said previous agreements had longer delays. The 2011-2016 CBA was ratified by the faculty in 2014, while the 2016-2021 CBA was ratified in September 2020.
However, Vargas, who ran for the USTFU presidency in 2021, noted the lack of transparency in the current bargaining process.
“Ang medyo problema lang is as far as I am concerned, hindi namin alam kasi hindi naman na masyadong nagbibigay ng update ‘yong panels,” he told the Varsitarian.
“Whatever is ongoing, they can be transparent to the members…kung wala kaming naririnig na mga official statement coming from them, we really have no idea kung anong nangyayari doon,” he added.
Vargas emphasized that delays in finalizing the CBA would affect the delivery of certain benefits that could not be applied retroactively.
“Halimbawa lang, mayroong nakuha magandang benefit dito that will lighten up the load of the faculty member; hanggang hindi ‘yan nara-ratify, hindi mo na mababawi ‘yan,” he said.
Aside from the new CBA, the USTFU is also awaiting the distribution of faculty members’ share in tuition hikes, which totals about P8 million. This amount, provided for in the previous CBA, will be disbursed on or before Oct. 15.
The USTFU will hold its general assembly on Friday, Oct. 4, at the Medicine Auditorium, where it is expected to discuss scenarios in the bargaining process with the legal adviser of its negotiating panel.