A UNIVERSITY administrator said on Tuesday, March 11, it was the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) — not the UST administration — that had refused to allocate money to restructure the salaries of Senior High School (SHS) teachers.
Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta made the correction in reaction to the Varsitarian’s March 10 report of the SHS faculty’s statement rejecting the administration’s reported “final offer” in ongoing talks for a new salary and benefits deal.
The SHS faculty association had decried the P1.5 million allocation to its teachers for “rank upgrades,” which involves the restructuring of salaries of faculty members with advanced degrees and research outputs but stuck in lower ranks.
Management’s “final offer” presented by USTFU before a general assembly vote on March 10 involved a total of P17 million for rank upgrades, down from P26 million originally sought by union negotiators.
UST also offered to increase medical benefits to P150,000 a year from P100,000, and a critical illness benefit of P200,000. The latter benefit will be increased to P300,000 if the union membership agrees to the P17-million rank upgrade offer.
Writing on behalf of the UST management panel in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations, Peralta clarified that five options for SHS salary upgrades were initially considered, ranging from P1.5 million to P10.5 million.
Peralta told the Varsitarian that these options were designed to allow flexibility. However, she claimed that union negotiators “refused the allocation for SHS faculty salary upgrades altogether and proposed removing it.”
“To preserve some allocation for SHS academic staff, the Management Panel settled on the Php1.5 million proposal, assuming this would be the option ultimately approved,” Peralta, head of the UST panel, said in a March 11 letter to the Varsitarian clarifying “inaccurate” reports about the CBA negotiations.
The Faculty Association of Senior High School (FASHS) had claimed it had to choose between “accept[ing] a P1.5 million allocation for the salary restructuring of our academic unit” or declaring a deadlock, despite knowing that P10.5 million was initially among UST’s “own proposed options.”
Peralta responded: “Framing the Php1.5 million figure as a unilateral ‘85% reduction’ without this critical context misrepresents the reality of the negotiation process.”
Peralta pointed out that SHS faculty would also get an 8.489% salary increase and benefits improvement from Academic Year (AY) 2020-2021 to AY 2023-2024 meant for all UST faculty.
She also reiterated that the P200,000 critical illness benefit would remain “intact” regardless of the outcome of the vote on the P17-million allocation for rank upgrades. The amount will go up to P300,000 if USTFU agrees to the allocation of tuition increases, she said.
“There is no reduction in the critical illness benefit should the body disapprove of the TFI allocation for rank upgrade and salary restructuring,” she said.
Union chief says Peralta’s correction ‘misleading’
In a message addressed to the UST administration panel but also sent to reporters, USTFU President Emerito Gonzales refuted Peralta’s clarification, saying it was “misleading” and “does not reflect the actual events.”
The UST administration and the USTFU had been at odds over where to source the P26 million restructuring for all faculty members, he said.
By law, 70% of tuition hikes must go to the salaries of faculty and support staff. UST argued that the rank upgrades should come from teachers’ tuition hike share, while USTFU wanted it shouldered by the UST treasury.
“The administration claimed that if we did not agree to their allocation plan of P26M from the TFI (tuition increase), they would return the money to the students, which, they warned, could have “dire consequences,” Gonzalez’s message read.
After being given this “ultimatum,” Gonzales said the USTFU mulled declaring a deadlock but returned to the bargaining table, only to be offered by administration negotiators a “final proposal.”
This offer, according to Gonzalez, slashed the initial P26 million rank upgrade to P17 million — the majority of which would go to college faculty members, with “only P1.5 million for the SHS faculty.”
USTFU said it would allow its members to decide the outcome of the CBA, as it prepares to conclude the March 10 to 11 vote on the final offer.
“We remain firm in our commitment to fair salary distribution for all faculty members, especially the SHS,” the message read. “We call for transparency and accuracy in public statements regarding these negotiations.”
The 2021-2026 CBA talks have been delayed, with the agreement still being hammered out already in the penultimate year of coverage.
A “yes” vote means the faculty member accepts the administration’s final proposal, allowing the CBA to be ratified once finalized. A “no” vote signals rejection of the offer and support for declaring a deadlock in CBA talks.
If USTFU members vote to declare a deadlock, possible outcomes include the filing of a notice of strike with the DOLE, mediation or arbitration, or resumption of talks to seek a resolution.
