AFTER a years-long wait for a new salary and benefits deal, UST faculty members are set to receive a major upgrade: 100% hospitalization coverage under the agreed-upon 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
This landmark provision comes after 25 years of the hospitalization benefit being pegged at P100,000 annually per faculty member, according to UST Faculty Union (USTFU) President Emerito Gonzales.
“[This is] a long-overdue and deeply significant step toward building a more humane, compassionate, and dignified workplace for all,” Gonzales said in a statement to union members on May 23.
The full hospitalization coverage, which can be exclusively availed at UST Hospital, will undergo trial for two years to gauge the financial viability of UST shouldering the medical expenses of approximately 1,400 tenured and probationary faculty members.
USTFU proposed that the hospitalization fund be named the “Pope Francis Hospitalization and Medical Benefit Fund.”
Although this improved benefit will offer 100% coverage, it is not unlimited. Once the union’s total annual hospitalization expenses reach P10 million, a tiered reimbursement scheme will be followed.
For costs ranging from P10 million to P15 million, only P750,000 will be reimbursed to USTFU. Should the total reach P15 million to P21 million, the reimbursable amount would further be reduced to P500,000.
Once the total expenses surpass P21 million, UST management will allot P150,000 for regular confinement and P350,000 for critical care, almost similar to its offer before the declaration of a deadlock.
While relieved after securing the deal, Gonzales admitted that there was a point during the negotiations when he believed achieving full hospitalization coverage for teachers was a “lost cause.”
“The aim for the 100%, akala namin that’s dead…But I believed, I trusted the advice of Atty. [General] Du,” he told the Varsitarian, referring to the union’s legal counsel. “The deadlock is a reset button. We were able to reboot it (negotiations).”
The USTFU president added that the improved hospitalization perk reflected the union’s shift in priorities, with the new deal — expected to be signed and ratified in June — favoring cases involving those in most need of medical support.
“Ang ginawa ng panel binaliktad namin: kung sino ang unang nangangailangan, bigyan mo siya ng 100%” he said.
In comparison, hospitalization benefit for support staff — represented in bargaining talks by the Samahang Manggagawa ng UST (SM-UST) — also increased allowable hospitalization loans.
UST support staff who have worked for at least two years were eligible to acquire loans up to P100,000 (1.5 years to pay), up from the previous P50,000 (one year to pay).
Meanwhile, UST Hospital employees also enjoy 100% hospitalization coverage.
The USTFU had sought the 100% hospitalization coverage even before it declared a deadlock in CBA talks with UST administration on March 14. However, management negotiators were firm on their proposal to raise the basic perk to P150,000 from P100,000 and a critical illness fund to P300,000 from P200,000.
The latter was conditional on USTFU’s acceptance of management’s P17-million rank upgrade proposal.
During the April 24 and April 29 conciliation conferences, UST management revised its proposal to a P150,000 base benefit, P300,000 critical illness fund, and a one-time P5 million replenishment to the hospitalization fund.
On its supposed “final meeting” on May 6, UST management increased the one-time replenishment offer to P7 million.
The union had planned a strike vote on May 15 but decided to defer it after the May 13 meeting, when it introduced a tiered reimbursement scheme for the hospitalization coverage.
The contentious provision was finally resolved during a May 20 meeting with government mediators, where UST management agreed to the proposal for a 100% hospitalization coverage, but paired with the tiered reimbursement scheme.
After the planned signing of the 2021-2026 CBA in June, union and management negotiators are set to return to the bargaining table again in August during the renegotiation period, where they will revisit economic perks. with reports from Fernando Pierre Marcel B. de la Cruz
