THE UNIVERSITY has vowed to distribute P27.8 million to UST faculty members on or before May 20, an amount that represents teachers’ long-delayed share of tuition increases traced back to Academic Year (AY) 2020-2021.
In a statement Monday, UST management said the undistributed amount was supposed to be incorporated into the proposed new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), as discussed with the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) panel in an April 24 conciliation and mediation conference.
This marks the most significant breakthrough in negotiations under the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) so far, which has spanned four meetings and confirmed agreements on three contested provisions.
READ: UST admin, faculty union reach deal on 3 issues
“While the amount is now part of the ongoing negotiations, the University, as a gesture of good faith and continued support for its academic staff, agrees to release the P27.8 million,” UST said in a Facebook post.
“The University manifests that it is ready and willing to release the Php27.8 million on or before May 20, 2025,” it added.
Management agreed with USTFU to split the amount, adjusted from the initial computation of P26.44 million, into two: P6 million for hospitalization benefits and P21.8 million for across-the-board salary upgrades.
In an April 28 statement, USTFU welcomed the UST management’s acknowledgement of its obligation to immediately release the amount as stated in the existing collective bargaining deal.
“It must be emphasized that an earlier agreement had already been reached (prior to the declaration of deadlock) on the allocation of the TFI (tuition hike) share for AY 2020-2021,” the union said.
However, the allocation of P26 million from the faculty’s share of tuition increases in AY 2023-2024 remains contested.
UST administration remains firm on its plan to use the money to fund Senior High School (SHS) faculty salary upgrades and promotions or reclassification of select faculty members.
But union negotiators wanted the money to come from UST’s non-tuition hike collections, arguing that rank upgrades are promotions, which are a management prerogative.
“The Union panel maintains its position that the SHS deserves salary upgrade through salary restructuring but it must be sourced from UST’s other income, not from the faculty’s legally mandated TFI share,” the USTFU said.
Of the P26 million, USTFU, citing UST management, said only about P4 million would be used for tertiary rank upgrades, and “the balance would largely be distributed as back pay to all members.”
USTFU requested UST management to present its final offer during the last NCMB conference on April 29.
“The University remains steadfast in negotiating in good faith for a mutually beneficial and sustainable CBA to resolve the collective bargaining deadlock between the University and the UST Faculty Union (USTFU),” UST said.
