UA&P unions file strike notice after failed negotiations for higher pay

MANILA, Philippines — Faculty and staff unions at the University of Asia & Pacific have filed a notice of strike after months of negotiations on pay and benefits with the management reached a deadlock.

In a joint statement, the two unions — the University of Asia and the Pacific Union of Faculty Members (UA&PUFM) and the University of Asia and the Pacific Union of Allied Employees (UA&PUAE) — said they filed the notice with the labor department's mediation board on August 7 after the termination of preventive mediation.

The unions said the move came after “UA&P management failed to provide the unions any non-negotiable concessions for mediation to continue.”

Refusal to make counteroffer

Union leaders said the main trigger was management’s refusal to make a counteroffer on the different economic provisions in their proposed collective bargaining agreement (CBA), including a long-sought upgrade to workers' salary and benefits.

“[We] were ready to agree to concessions proposed by UA&P management, conditioned upon a credible counteroffer on seven previously identified priority economic provisions and a suspension of the recently announced UA&P work arrangement policy,” the statement read. 

But the management "refused to give any of these concessions that would have enabled mediation to continue," according to the unions.

Talks collapsed when the university thumbed down the demand to improve employee salaries and benefits through a CBA on top of the "the sudden announcement of a full onsite work schedule," according to the joint statement.

The new policy, which took effect in August, requires all employees to report onsite 5.5 days each week. Previously, non-teaching staff were required to be onsite only three days a week. 

“If you factor in the fact that salaries have not kept up with inflation with the added cost of reporting for onsite work six times a week, that greatly adds to the burden of hardworking employees,” Keith Thadens Panganiban, president of the UA&PUAE, told Philstar.com.

Below-industry salaries

The unions said UA&P salaries have remained below industry standards for more than a decade, even as employees helped the school earn its autonomous status with the Commission on Higher Education and secure multiple program accreditations from the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation.

“Is it just, fair, and dignified to expect employees to provide ‘premium’ service while being paid salaries which are not commensurate to their effort and hard work?” the joint statement read.

They added that they had “exercised significant forbearance” in dealing with management but were “constrained to exercise our right to strike as provided by law” after failed negotiations.

In a June statement, the unions said the CBA negotiations had already broken down for the fifth time after university management failed to make any counteroffer to their demands for higher salaries and benefits.

They added that the presence of even “a single centavo” in proposed salary increases could have kept the negotiations alive, but “sadly, this was too big of a concession which UA&P management could not offer at the negotiating table.”

What’s next

Under the Labor Code, the labor department's National Conciliation and Mediation Board will summon both sides to mediation during the cooling-off period.

“We will be ready to appear, hear, and consider if management would have any new proposals. If there’s no progress, then we do a strike vote,” Panganiban told Philstar.com.

"In the meantime, we are encouraged by the statement of solidarity by various labor groups including unions from private schools," the union president added.

The UA&P management has not reached out to the unions since the strike notice was filed, they added.

In a statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers - Private Schools expressed its support for the two unions, saying their collective demands were justified given the "soaring prices" and "rising costs of living." 

"Aside from these calls, we are also one with the faculty unions in calling for an expanded HMO coverage and improved rice allowance." the group said. 

"Meeting these demands, especially under present economic conditions, is bare minimum," it added. "Private school teachers deserve to be well-compensated for their efforts in shaping generations of students."