THE UNIVERSITY must invest more in its faculty if it wants to foster a reputation of academic excellence, the president of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) said amid stalled negotiations for a long-delayed salary and benefits deal.
In an interview with the Varsitarian, USTFU President Emerito Gonzales reiterated the union’s stand that UST’s proposed P26-million allocation for some faculty members’ salary restructuring must come from non-tuition hike collections.
This amount has been a contentious item in the 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks and was among the provisions deadlocked by the USTFU.
“Investing more in faculty welfare isn’t just fair, it boosts morale, keeps talented educators at UST, and helps maintain UST’s academic excellence. It’s time UST truly invests in its people,” Gonzales told the Varsitarian.
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The P26-million figure, or 11% of the total tuition hike share of the UST faculty, came from the 6% tuition increase in Academic Year 2023-2024 proposed by the administration to support faculty rank upgrades and salary improvements.
The USTFU had wanted UST to shoulder the amount, but settled for a lower P17-million allocation after the management panel insisted on sourcing it from the teachers’ tuition hike share.
By law, 70% of tuition hikes must go to salaries and benefits of faculty and support staff.
UST has pointed out that all faculty members stood to get an 8.5% increase in salaries and benefits under the new CBA.
EXPLAINER: How much will UST profs get under proposed salary, benefits deal?
In a March 10 general assembly, Gonzales explained to union members why USTFU negotiators insisted on taking the amount from non-tuition hike shares, arguing that UST management must go beyond what the law requires.
“Even without a union, we are entitled to that 70% by law. To refuse to negotiate beyond the 70% TFI (tuition increase) is tantamount to rendering our CBA negotiations inutile, having nothing to negotiate beyond what is already provided for by law,” he said.
Gonzales earlier said UST management negotiators had warned the union that the amount would be returned to students should the USTFU refuse to fund it from tuition hike shares.
“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,’” the union president had said.
Only 2 provisions deadlocked?
On March 14, the USTFU formally declared a deadlock in the CBA negotiations, outlining 11 provisions they sought to renegotiate in a formal notice to the UST management panel. These items are all economic, as political provisions are not subject to deadlock.
Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta, head of the UST management panel in CBA talks, had contested this declaration, arguing that only two provisions — the hospitalization benefit and salary upgrades — remain unresolved.
READ: UST admin: Only 2 provisions unresolved in faculty salary, benefits deal | The Varsitarian
While suggestions and counter-offers on the other nine provisions had been made between management and union negotiators, Gonzales said that nothing had been “written in stone.”
“We shall raise them again in the NCMB (National Conciliation and Mediation Board) hearings and argue more for them,” he said.
The Varsitarian tried to get the side of the UST administration through Peralta but she has yet to respond as of posting time.
During the five-working-day “cooling off” period, the USTFU convened faculty club presidents to discuss how faculty members can participate in union activities when the NCMB steps into the dispute.
“To support these initiatives, I and the USTFU panel established standing committees and called for volunteers from both the Faculty Club and individual faculty members. I’m pleased to report that many have enthusiastically stepped forward to volunteer,” Gonzales said.
The USTFU is set to file a notice of strike with the NCMB, an agency under the Department of Labor and Employment, on Tuesday, March 25, at 1 p.m.
If the NCMB fails to get both sides to reach a compromise within 30 days, Gonzales said the USTFU will set a strike vote on April 24, where union members will decide if they will temporarily stop working in protest of the CBA dispute.
Deadlocked talks for faculty salary, benefits deal won’t disrupt classes — UST
If union members vote to strike, the Secretary of Labor will have seven days to assume jurisdiction and, for the final time, attempt to resolve the dispute. The earliest possible date for a strike is on May 2, according to USTFU.
UST had assured Thomasians that the deadlock in negotiations would not disrupt classes. With reports from Mabel Anne B. Cardinez
