THE UST Faculty Union (USTFU) has contested what it called the UST administration’s “misleading” claim of an 8.5% salary increase offer, which it said was a sum of hikes across three years yet still fell below inflation.
In a press release before filing a strike notice on March 25, the USTFU challenged claims that the salary offer was “truly generous,” arguing instead that it was “inflated” as it combined increases for the years 2021 to 2024.
UST management computation showed that salary increases stood at 2.175% in Academic Year (AY) 2021-2022, 2.769% in AY 2022-2023, and 2.227% in AY 2023-2024, bringing the total to 8.489%.
The union pointed out that the total increase failed to match the 23.9% cumulative inflation in the same period, meaning faculty members were unable to benefit from increased purchasing power.
“All of this occurs in the context of UST’s exceptionally strong financial position. As a nonprofit, non-stock Catholic university, UST has no shareholders to pay and is expected to reinvest its earnings into academic and institutional development,” the statement read.
Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta, who heads the UST panel in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks, had said that the 8.5% increase represents improvements in salary and benefits from Academic Year (AY) 2020-2021 to AY 2023-2024.
All faculty members stood to benefit from this increase, with the exact amount depending on the faculty’s rank and teaching load.
In the press release, the USTFU pinned the filing of the strike notice to the UST management’s refusal to release teachers’ legally mandated 70% share in tuition increases amounting to P220 million.
READ: Faculty union demands release of 70% share in tuition hikes
“The union’s request for a separate P26 million promotion fund is modest and well within the University’s capacity and would increase the proposed salary hike from 8.489% to a fairer 11.65%,” it said.
This amount came from tuition hike proceeds from Academic Years (AY) 2021-2022 to AY 2023-2024, along with remaining undistributed allocations from AY 2020-2021.
UST has repeatedly asserted that a finalized CBA is needed to release the money.
“USTFU asserts that this amounts to economic coercion, pressuring faculty to accept inadequate terms in exchange for what is already legally due,” the union said.
USTFU said UST’s final offer “disproportionately benefits” a few faculty members, claiming that only 17 professors stood to get P500,000 in back wages compared with the total 1,400 unionized faculty.
READ: EXPLAINER: How much will UST profs get under proposed salary, benefits deal?
USTFU also criticized the administration’s “piecemeal” and “outdated” healthcare proposal, which includes a P50,000 increase in general medical coverage and a P300,000 critical illness cap.
Faculty members wanted a comprehensive healthcare plan or full hospitalization coverage at UST Hospital.
“UST Hospital employees receive full hospitalization coverage, with 80% coverage for dependents, while the very faculty — who educate and train the future front liners — receive far less,” the USTFU said.
‘UST has more than enough’
Gonzales had claimed that the USTFU, which commissioned two accountants to examine UST’s finances, found “tens of billions” of pesos in revenue that were “just sitting inside banks and investments.”
The USTFU statement said UST had P14.9 billion in net assets as of July 31, 2023, P11.6 billion of which was unrestricted and available for use.
RELATED: UST reports 6.2% growth in revenues in 2023 despite dip in tuition collections
“Clearly, the University has more than enough resources to grant fair compensation to the very people — its faculty — who have been instrumental to building and sustaining its academic reputation and financial health,” it said.
In its own statement released on March 25, UST said negotiations for economic provisions must “take into account financial sustainability” and strike a balance between sustaining the school’s operations and providing “competitive” compensation to employees.
Disagreements over provisions in the 2021-2026 CBA have reached government mediators after the USTFU filed on March 25 a notice of strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, an agency under the Department of Labor and Employment.
“The USTFU continues to call for a just and dignified resolution to this impasse. But we can no longer remain silent while the administration withholds what is legally and morally due to the faculty,” USTFU said.
“In the spirit of Dominican justice and Catholic social teaching, the Union calls on the UST Administration to act with fairness, good faith, and fidelity to its stated mission of upholding human dignity and the common good.”
