THE UNIVERSITY has dismissed what it labeled as “misleading” and “inaccurate” claims it was sitting on P12 billion in “unrestricted earnings,” which UST Faculty Union (USTFU) negotiators wanted to tap for a contentious salary restructuring and rank upgrade benefit.
In a statement released on Wednesday, UST clarified that the P12-billion figure quoted by the union actually represented unrestricted net assets, an amount that included fixed and other non-current assets such as buildings and property, equipment, software, operating systems, and supplies owned by UST and UST Hospital.
“It is incorrect to suggest that these funds are available for reallocation or distribution,” UST said.
An independent check by the Varsitarian of UST’s latest financial statements from Academic Year 2022-2023 found that the University had indeed declared P11.7 billion (excluding UST Hospital) in net assets, after deducting total liabilities from total assets.
UST reports 6.2% growth in revenues in 2023 despite dip in tuition collections
Most of these assets are non-current, meaning they are not liquid or convertible to cash in the short term.
Assets, or things of value owned by a legal entity, are different from earnings, which represent the excess of revenues over expenses as a result of operations.
Union negotiators had intended to tap into these “billions” to fund the P26-million allocation for faculty’s salary restructuring and rank upgrade, a deadlocked provision in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations.
Management wanted to source the P26-million rank upgrade and salary restructuring from teachers’ mandatory 70% tuition hike share, while USTFU wanted it to come from non-tuition hike funds, arguing that rank upgrades are promotions, which are a management prerogative.
UST said sourcing the P26 million in salary restructuring and rank upgrades from the 6% portion of the tuition hike collections in Academic Year (AY) 2023-2024 is “legally consistent with existing government regulations.”
“Since the rank upgrades and SHS salary restructuring are clearly classified as improvements in the salaries, wages, and benefits of academic personnel, sourcing their funding from the 70% TFI (tuition increase) share of academic staff is not only legally consistent with existing government regulations but likewise ensures a sustainable source for funding new policies,” it said.
In a March 10 general assembly with union membership, USTFU President Emerito Gonzales said faculty negotiators wanted to leave the 70% tuition hike share intact by getting the P26 million from UST’s other revenue streams.
He argued that limiting economic negotiations to the 70% share defeats the purpose of collective bargaining and shows that that UST is unwilling to negotiate beyond the minimum required by law.
Gonzales also claimed 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.”
READ: EXPLAINER: Why UST faculty, admin are at odds over P26-million salary restructuring fund
In a March 11 statement, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta, who heads the UST panel in CBA negotiations, said it was USTFU that negotiated the P26 million down to P17 million coming from tuition hike collections.
This reduction also led to the controversial P1.5-million allocation for Senior High School faculty, which the teachers deemed insufficient.
USTFU filed a notice of strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board on March 25, elevating the industrial dispute to government mediators and invoking it to mediate in future bargaining.
NCMB will have 30 days to attempt to produce an agreement, otherwise, the USTFU may call for a strike vote on April 24.
The earliest possible strike is on May 2 if the Secretary of Labor fails to resolve the dispute through compulsory arbitration.
