The University of Santo Tomas Faculty Union (USTFU) filed on Tuesday a notice of strike before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) after collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations reached a deadlock after nearly a year of dialogue.

The notice of strike reportedly stems from UST's refusal to release the faculty's share of the tuition fee increase amounting to more than P220 million collected from 2020 to 2023.

Representing over 1,400 faculty members of UST, the USTFU said the unjustifiable delay violates the Republic Act No. 6728 or An Act Providing Government Assistance to Students and Teachers and in Private Education as well as the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 8 Series of 2012, which requires that 70 percent of tuition fee increases be immediately allocated to the salaries and benefits of teaching and non-teaching personnel.

This prompted CHED to issue a show cause order on 7 March, compelling UST to explain its apparent non-compliance with mandatory compensation and transparency requirements.

"While UST has publicly claimed to offer an 8.489 percent salary increase, this figure is inflated by aggregating three years’ worth of increases and fails to match the 23.9 percent cumulative inflation from 2021 to 2024," the USTFU said in a statement.

"Moreover, the offer disproportionately benefits a small fraction of the faculty — only about 17 professors are set to receive the highlighted back pay of nearly P500,000, while the vast majority of faculty members will receive substantially less," it added.

The faculty union also condemned the University's piecemeal and outdated healthcare proposal.

"Faculty members are demanding a comprehensive HMO plan or full hospitalization coverage at UST Hospital. The current offer—a P50,000 increase in general medical coverage and P200,000 for critical illness—falls far below industry standards. UST’s hospitalization benefit was last adjusted in 1998, and its real value has been eroded by 192.49 percent inflation," it continued.

"The P100,000 cap in 1998 is now equivalent to P292,487, yet no meaningful adjustments have been made," noting that other universities — including Ateneo, De La Salle, and Far Eastern University — offer significantly more competitive HMO plans.

"In contrast, UST Hospital employees receive full hospitalization coverage, with 80 percent coverage for dependents, while the very faculty — who educate and train the future frontliners — receive far less. Even the UST Hospital workers’ union has publicly supported equal benefits for the teaching staff," it added.

The USTFU further argued that the UST "has more than enough resources to grant fair compensation" to its faculty members.

In the spirit of Dominican justice and teaching, the USTFU called on the UST Administration "to act with fairness, good faith, and fidelity to its stated mission of upholding human dignity and the common good."

Meanwhile, in a statement, UST assured it "recognizes its academic staff as its most vital resources," citing several efforts to the "development" of the Thomasian community, including graduate studies program, research initiatives, and Covid-19 assistance.

"While other institutions resorted to reduced compensation or 'no work, no pay' schemes, UST maintained regular salaries and benefits, even conducting and completing CBA negotiations for the 2016-2021 cycle online to secure better terms for staff," UST said.

"While layoffs were seen in other institutions, the University was distributing goodwill bonuses, pandemic assistance, and technology allowances to help academic staff navigate the stability. Salary increases from the 2016-2021 cycle have also helped academic staff cope with economic challenges in past year," it added.

The university noted that it approaches CBA negotiations "as a collaborative platform for meaningful dialogue with the USTFU, aimed at identifying and addressing the needs of academic staff."