THE PRESIDENT of the UST Senior High School (SHS) faculty association has expressed willingness to wait for a better salary restructuring offer from UST management to remove one roadblock to a new salary and benefits deal for all faculty members.
The association president, Emerson Hernandez, said that while SHS teachers have long been calling for salary hikes, they won’t stand in the way of reaching a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the UST administration.
“Sabi nga namin, nakapag-antay na kami. Matagal na ito e. Medyo matagal na itong negotiation na ito. Ano pa ang ikasasama noon kung mag-aantay pa kami ng another period of negotiation?” Hernandez told the Varsitarian at the sidelines of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) general assembly on May 15.
“Baka magkaroon pa ng mas positive na outcome ‘pag mag-re-renegotiate ka.”
Hernandez said discussion on the union’s proposed P10.5-million SHS salary restructuring fund was deferred because it was seen as the “only obstacle” delaying negotiations between USTFU and UST management.
“In-inform din kami na parang ‘yon ‘yong nagiging balakid — the only obstacle — para magtuloy-tuloy na ang flow ng negotiation,” the he said.
“Ang view namin dito, ako particularly, mas maiging lumaban kami nang hinog kaysa hilaw,” he added.
Tertiary-level professors’ salary restructuring fund remained in ongoing talks, though both parties have yet to settle on whether to source it from UST’s tuition hike or non-tuition hike funds.
USTFU President Emerito Gonzales said that while crossed out from current talks, the SHS salary restructuring fund would be prioritized during the renegotiation for the 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
“Ang comments po ng NCMB (National Conciliation and Mediation Board) conciliator-mediators, ang salary restructuring ng SHS should be top priority in the renegotiation of the CBA, for AYs 2024-2025 and 2025-2026,” Gonzales said.
CBAs, which outline terms and conditions of work, are typically renegotiated halfway through their term. However, the UST faculty CBA is already in its penultimate year, prompting an immediate renegotiation in August.
Gonzales said the UST Board of Trustees is considering four out of five proposals from the union for the SHS salary restructuring, though it has yet to give its approval.
In March, the SHS faculty association decried the alleged drastic cuts to their proposed salary upgrade, after the UST administration’s initial P10.5-million salary upgrade was supposedly slashed to P5.5 million and further down to P1.5 million.
READ: ‘We deserve better’: SHS teachers call for ‘no’ vote on UST’s salary, benefits offer
UST Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta, head of the administration panel in the CBA talks, said it was USTFU that “refused the allocation for SHS faculty salary upgrades altogether and proposed removing it.”
SHS has about 230 faculty members, while tertiary-level faculty number more than 2,000.
Union and management negotiators are set to meet with NCMB for the final time on May 20. with reports from Sydney Venice V. Berba
