LABOR coalitions, teachers’ unions, and two progressive senatorial candidates have thrown their support behind the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) as it moves toward a strike over a deadlocked salary and benefits deal.
On March 25, USTFU filed a notice of strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), formally expressing its intent to halt work.
Labor leader and 2025 senatorial aspirant Leody de Guzman backed USTFU’s calls for increased salaries and benefits and called on Thomasians to support their teachers.
“Sana’y gamitin ninyo ang inyong pag-aaral para lubusang mahubaran ang pretensyong matino at progresibo ang UST administration,” he said in a statement on social media.
“Ang mga guro, mga sahurang manggagawa, ang bumubuhay sa UST,” he added. “Pero sa halip na kilalanin ang kanilang mahalagang papel sa paaralan sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng nakabubuhay at may dignidad na sahod at benepisyo, tila dine-deny pa ng administrasyon ang nararapat para sa kanila.”
De Guzman, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2022, leads the labor groups Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Partido Lakas ng Masa.
Another senatorial candidate, Rep. France Castro of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), echoed USTFU’s concerns and accused the administration of prioritizing profit over faculty welfare.
“Nakakaalarma na ang isang institusyon na kumikita nang malaki mula sa walang humpay na pagtaas ng matrikula ay nagdadamot sa mga guro nito,” she wrote in a statement on social media.
“The fight for 100% hospitalization benefits to replace the inadequate PHP 100,000 annual coverage is not just about finances — it’s about recognizing the dignity and welfare of those who dedicate their lives to education.”
Hospitalization benefits were among the two provisions deadlocked in the 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations.
UST management offered to increase the medical benefits cap by P50,000 to P150,000 annually plus P300,000 for critical illness, but the latter is conditional upon the faculty’s acceptance of a rank upgrade and salary restructuring scheme.
Under Republic Act 6728 or the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act, schools are mandated to set aside 70% of tuition increases for salaries of teaching and support staff.
UST thus wants to charge the P26-million rank upgrade and salary restructuring to this share, which has amounted to P246 million since August 2020.
USTFU, however, wants UST to shoulder the amount, arguing that rank upgrades are promotions, which are a management prerogative.
UST contends that the rank upgrade and salary restructuring were used to justify a 6% tuition increase in Academic Year 2023-2024, and that it must implement the scheme as an obligation to students.
READ: EXPLAINER: Why UST faculty, admin are at odds over P26-million salary restructuring fund
ACT Partylist chapters also declared support for USTFU, such as its NCR chapter, which consists of over 80,000 public school teachers in Metro Manila, and its private schools group.
’More than workers’
Faculty from various schools also stood in solidarity with the USTFU.
The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (Contend) composed of University of the Philippines faculty claimed UST was using its teachers to justify tuition increases and “extort more profit from students” while having “no genuine concern for the welfare of faculty.”
Meanwhile, the Association of Faculty and Educators of De La Salle University commended the USTFU’s “principled stand,” saying academic institutions are bound to honor teachers’ contributions with sustainable livelihoods and other forms of support.
It stressed the teachings of the popes in the Church’s social encyclicals, which upheld unions’ rights to collectively bargain.
“We recognize that the struggle for fair labor practices is not confined to one institution but is a shared endeavor that strengthens the foundation of higher education across the Philippines. The Church’s social encyclicals inspire us to always stand in solidarity with our fellow workers,” it said.
Employees of San Beda College Alabang said teachers have an indispensable role in learning institutions as they are “more than workers.”
“We are the guardians of learning, the developers of character, and the pathway to a brighter future,” the San Beda College Alabang Employees Association said. “To recognize our value is to invest in the institution’s long-term prosperity.”
