The University of Sto. Tomas Faculty Union (USTFU) officially declared a deadlock in its negotiations with the UST administration for the 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on March 14. The administration’s unacceptable offer prompted the union to declare the deadlock. The negotiations for the CBA have been ongoing for a year.

Among the demands of USTFU are 100% health benefits for all union members, higher budget for promotions, Christmas bonus, longevity pay, additional vacation days, granting of 11th and 12th month pay for professors, and more. They also called for the immediate release to teachers and employees of the ₱220 million allocation from the 70% share that the faculty will receive from tuition collections for the academic years 2020-2021 and 2023-2024.

On March 10, USTFU members held a general assembly to discuss the latest offer from the UST administration and vote in favor or against the CBA offer. Out of the total 1,193 who voted, 680 teachers rejected the administration’s offer while 400 agreed and 113 votes were invalid. Meanwhile, 150 abstained.

In an interview with UST campus newspaper the Varsitarian, USTFU president Emerito Gonzales said that the union will hold a series of activities and they expect union members to participate to show their solidarity in the fight for a meaningful CBA. “To carve our path for better benefits,stronger union, and meaningful change in our beloved University,” he said.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Private Schools expressed support for the struggle of the UST union and faculty for a meaningful CBA that will benefit all sectors of the union. “Faculty unions and organizations in other universities are inspired by their determination to fight for their rights,” ACT Private Schools information officer and ACT Teachers Party-list third nominee David Michael San Juan said.

ACT Private Schools emphasized the need for the faculty to unite to advance their demands. San Juan said it is very important at this time for union members to build consensus and “unite on a plan aligned with the majority’s vote.”

Thomasian students also support the union’s actions. “The union’s economic struggle is a political struggle for us Thomasians because it is related to our campaign against tuition and other fees increase (TOFI),” the League of Filipino Students-UST stated.

LFS-UST particularly condemned the UST administration for its failure to give the faculty a share of the university’s tuition collections despite a series of increases in recent years. They said that UST’s income from tuition is already very large but it is not being allocated to its supposed recipients.

The group stated that they will strive to inform more students about this struggle of the faculty. This will be part of their campaign to oppose what they called the intensifying commercialization of education in the university.

Following the declaration of deadlock, the union and UST administration will have a five-day “cooling off” period. After this, if the union’s grievances are still not addressed, they will file a Notice of Strike (NoS) with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB). The Varsitarian reported that the union leadership is set to file the NoS on March 24.

According to ACT Private Schools, this is a big challenge for the UST administration and it is important for them to reconsider what their faculty is experiencing and heed their demands.