(1st of 2 Parts)
AFTER NEARLY A decade of stagnant wages, coupled with an “uncooperative” management, employees of San Beda University (SBU) finally let their grievances out in the open, speaking to The Bedan on what they perceive to be “inaction” from the administration to keep up with the rising cost of living. This is the first in a two-part series detailing the financial and personal struggles faced by the University’s personnel at a time of grave economic strain.
The last reported increase of salaries for the teaching and non-teaching personnel of the University through a negotiated collective bargaining agreement (CBA) took place way back in 2015, the last instance in which a CBA was successfully closed by the management and the San Beda College Union (SBCU) with a corresponding increase. In 2017, as the SBCU negotiated a new CBA, it did not push for any salary increase in the final agreement, opting only for a raise in the employees’ de minimis benefits, after the management projected an increase in 2018 pending a planned tuition fee increase that following year.
However, since 2017, the economic landscape has changed dramatically. The COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects continue to haunt workers in the country. The cost of living has continued to rise, placing added financial pressure on teaching and non-teaching personnel who are already feeling the pinch of their stagnant wages. Meanwhile, the absence of any meaningful action on the part of the administration has only served to exacerbate feelings of frustration and resentment among the University’s workforce, where the promises of a wage increase have remained unfulfilled, leaving many employees disillusioned, while struggling to make ends meet.
The issues at hand
No other people are more familiar with the plight of the rank-and-file employees in the University than the current SBCU President, Mr. Bernardo Tayag of the Instructional Media Center (IMC), and his immediate predecessor, Assoc. Prof. Josephine Prudente, DBA of the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) Department of Business Management and Entrepreneurship (DBME). In an exclusive interview with The Bedan, the two Union officers laid out the case for expediting the increase in employee salaries and benefits, as well as why the management should be more “cooperative” and “transparent” in negotiating with the group.
Mr. Tayag identified three issues that the SBCU currently has with the administration. The first and the second, he says, are the ongoing negotiations for 2020 and 2022 CBAs, both of which are under deadlock, after the Union and the management failed to close the agreements. “N’ung 2020, ongoing siya [na] nasa [National Labor Relations Commission] and then ‘yung 2022 naman, magfa-file pa lang tayo ng [sic] sa NLRC,” said Mr. Tayag.
The third issue, according to the Union president, are the salary increases that the employees of the University are entitled to, following San Beda’s successive implementation of tuition fee increases in 2022 and in 2023. “Nasa batas naman [na] 70% it goes to the employees, ‘yun lang ang inaasahan natin na ibibigay ng [administration]. Pero hanggang ngayon wala pa, and then wala pa tayong naririnig sa kanila na paliwanag.”
What Mr. Tayag was referring to is Republic Act No. 6728 (RA 6728), otherwise known as the “Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act.” It stipulates that “seventy percent (70%) of the… tuition fee increases shall go to the payment of salaries, wages, allowances and other benefits of teaching and non teaching personnel” and that “at least twenty percent (20%) shall go to the improvement or modernization of buildings, equipment, libraries, laboratories, gymnasia and similar facilities and to the payment of other costs of operation.”
Aside from this, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 3 series of 2012 also affirms the provisions of R.A. No. 6728, mandating higher educational institutions (HEIs) to file a Certificate of Intended Compliance (COIC) and a Certificate of Compliance (COC) before the Commission, detailing its adherence to the law prior to the implementation of any tuition fee increase.
As of press time, the University has yet to provide its teaching and non-teaching personnel with their entitled salary increases under the 2022 and 2023 tuition fee increases that it has already implemented.
Lack of progress on CBA, commitment to increasing salaries
Despite being entitled to a “long overdue” raise in their salaries and benefits, the Union officers say that they are afflicted with an “uncooperative” management, which has reportedly refused to counter their proposals during the negotiations.
By the end of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union began negotiations with the management for a new CBA, where it pushed for an increase in salary, provision for an internet allowance for distance learning classes, hazard pay for the non-teaching personnel (NTP) who were reporting in-person, and teacher ranking in the Integrated Basic Education Department (IBED), among other demands.
According to Dr. Prudente, after 14 meetings with the management, the CBA ended in a deadlock, in which most of their requests were turned down by the University. Its ultimate counteroffer was not taken well by the members of the Union because there was no clear basis for their offer. “[Sa] latter part ng CBA, may in-offer na sila—2020 to ah—kasi 14 meetings ‘yun eh, I think ‘yung sa pang-ten or 11th meeting… nag-offer ng five pesos [increase per day],” according to Dr. Prudente.
“Ngayon ang gusto ng Union n’un, ang mga members, ipakita ng school ang financial statement, para malaman, maintindihan natin ‘yung limang piso, ‘di ba? Kasi syempre, ‘di naman reasonable na humihingi ka, e wala naman pala talagang pera,” she added.
Throughout the process, the two Union leaders maintained that they asserted their “right to be furnished” with the necessary information and documents that they need heading into the negotiations, a right granted to Unions by the Labor Code. Through it all, the Union continued to submit numerous proposals, and appealed for a disclosure of the University’s Audited Financial Statements (AFS). But despite this, the management allegedly “remained unfazed” from all the pressures.
Union files strike notice before DOLE
The Union’s requests for the release of the University’s AFS for the years 2018 to 2020 were repeatedly delayed and their efforts to renegotiate their 2020 CBA were met with a lukewarm reception from the management at the plant level. Ultimately, as mediations between the two entities broke down, the Union members voted to strike against the management last August 2021. This was a move known to some quarters in the Bedan community.
“At the time na may pandemic kasi… nag-survey kami… sa page namin: ‘Ano ang gusto ng [members]?’ And then, majority ng member [sic] nagsabi na magfa-file tayo ng NOS, notice of strike. And then, nag-file kami… sa [Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)],” said Mr. Tayag.
Despite filing an NOS, the members of the Union would still have to vote whether to push through with the actual strike itself. During the voting supervised by the DOLE, the members ultimately voted in favor of a strike. “…Ang lumabas na result is… ‘yes to strike’ ang Union, ‘yun ang nanalo. [Ang] majority gusto nila mag-strike,” said Mr. Tayag.
However, plans to proceed with the strike were abandoned, as disclosed by the SBCU President, due to the “no work, no pay” policy. In the end, he says that the Union acknowledged that a strike could further exacerbate the financial strain on the employees, particularly the NTP, who were already struggling to make ends meet at the height of the pandemic.
The reason why the NTP bore the brunt of the burden during the pandemic-induced lockdowns were because of their limited work arrangements at the time due to the physical distancing requirements of the government for onsite work. According to Mr. Tayag, “that time mabugbog [sic] ka na sa COVID, ibig sabihin marami na sa mga NTP na ‘no work no pay.’ Totoo ‘yun, even ‘yung vacation [leave] namin, kinuha na nila lahat. [‘Yung leave credits ko] naubos talaga.”
Their next steps moving forward
In this same sit-down interview, the Union discussed and furnished The Bedan with copies of documents about a pending case it filed against the University. As the case is allegedly still pending before the Supreme Court, The Bedan will refrain from discussing the parties’ claims and defenses in the said case.
Despite the repeated spate of setbacks faced by the Union, Mr. Tayag and Dr. Prudente remain optimistic about the fate of their efforts. “Actually, tayo’y nagdadasal naman e… Alam naman nila ‘yung stand ng unyon. Makikinig ang unyon, makikinig sila… Talagang ako, hinihintay ko lang at may necessary naman na sinabi ako puwede kaming mag-usap—real talk,” said Mr. Tayag. Keeping in mind the welfare of his members and fellow employees, Mr. Tayag adds that all he wants is what’s “best for the school and the Union.”
For her part, Dr. Prudente advised her successor to “use his knowledge” to “protect the people.” “Kasi nakikita ko kapag—siyempre sino pa ba ang magpo–protekta sa mga kasama natin sa San Beda na hindi naman, kumbaga hindi pamilyar sa batas, e ‘di siyempre ‘yung mga nakakaalam ‘di ba?”
Despite stepping down as president, Dr. Prudente assured Mr. Tayag and the Union that the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is there to “help” and “assist” the employees. She also reminded him of the other resources and key people at their disposal, including their legal counsel and their members. “Kasi at the end of the day, ang iniisip pa rin natin ‘yung sinabi niya, para sa ikabubuti ng marami, ‘di ba? So isantabi natin ang interes nating pansarili. Talagang kailangang magsa-sacrifice tayo,” added the former Union president.
As for their plea to the management, Mr. Tayag emphasized that they had no intention of “hurting” the administration. “We decide, as a whole, ‘yung mga member sinasali… namin sa lahat ng desisyon, na hindi lamang Board ang sinasangguni namin.”
He adds that since there is no pending criminal case against the management, he hopes they could again sit down with them. “Isantabi na natin ‘yung [nangyari], mag-usap tayo nang mabuti para sa San Beda at sa mga empleyado. ‘Yun lang. Kung ano ‘yung nakakabuti [sic] sa school at saka sa mga empleyado, ‘yun lang ang gusto ko.”
For Dr. Prudente, after having went through the “grievance” process to discuss the issues, a “mediator” might be necessary to broker a “peace accord” between the Union and the management. “Saan natin ilalagay si Union, ‘di ba? Pero tama ‘yun, si Sir Bernard [Tayag], kasi napapag-usapan din namin sa general meeting ‘yun ‘no? We are actually looking for somebody na pwede maging mediator para sa peace accord. Imagine ah, gan’un kabait ang Union, I could say, kasi nag-iisip pa kami na how can we settle this issue.”
Still, the former Union president says that she still continues “pray” for a resolution. “Pero well, hindi naman tayo matitigil sa pagdadasal e, ‘di ba? Na magiging open din ang hindi lang doors pati [ang] bintana, ‘di ba?”
The plight of the University’s employees underscores the pressing need for meaningful dialogue and action between the management and the Union. The ongoing deadlock in negotiations, compounded by the failure to address long-standing grievances, has left many employees disillusioned and financially strained. Despite the ongoing legal actions and appeals for transparency, progress remains elusive. In part two of this series, The Bedan shall delve deeper into the voices and experiences of the University’s rank-and-file personnel, shedding light on their struggles and aspirations.
Editor’s Note: The Bedan has already reached out to the University Comptroller, Mr. Romeo Mary, for a response to the claims made by the Union and clarify certain issues in this article, particularly the prolonged delay of the release of the salary increase that the employees are entitled to under the 2022 and 2023 tuition fee increases. As of press time, he has yet to respond. This article will be updated with his reply once it has been received.
(with reports from Thirdy Pabilico and Paolo Vital)