TWO labor unions at the Opus Dei-run University of Asia and the Pacific (UA and P) have filed their strike-vote reports before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), moving a step closer to a work stoppage after months of unresolved collective bargaining talks.
The UA and P Union of Faculty Members (UA and PUFM) and the UA and P Union of Allied Employees (UA and PUAE) submitted their reports on October 24 after the management again failed to make a new counteroffer during mediation.
The filing begins the seven-day waiting period before a legal strike can proceed under the Labor Code.
In a statement on Sunday, UA and PUFM President Ferdinand D. delos Reyes said the strike vote was prompted by management’s continued refusal to address long-standing issues on pay and benefits.
‘As teachers and employees, we’ve taught and learned of the social teachings of the Church which our institution holds true and dear. We enjoin management to act on the spirit contained in those social teachings, giving priority to people, to persons and their welfare,’ delos Reyes said.
Not enough
THE unions have been pushing for seven economic provisions in the new collective bargaining agreement, including reforms in the salary and promotion structure, health insurgance coverage for dependents, medicine reimbursement, educational and food allowances, and a signing bonus.
Talks reached a deadlock on June 25, leading both unions to enter preventive mediation in July.
They later filed separate notices of strike in August, citing alleged unfair labor practices and management’s refusal to grant non-negotiable concessions needed for conciliation.
By September, delos Reyes told the BusinessMirror that management’s only new proposal was a funeral-loan program, while other offers-such as the P150,000 HMO limit, seed money for a child-minding center, and free lunches-had already been in place.
‘Only the funeral loan is really new,’ he said then.
A document obtained by this newspaper showed that the university’s latest counterproposal, dated October 16, offered modest adjustments tied to financial performance and student enrollment growth.
The proposal included inflationary adjustments for 2025 and conditional salary increases of 1 to 2 percent in the following two years, depending on the increase in the number of paying students.
The HMO limit would remain at P150,000 next year and increase to P175,000 by August 2027 only if enrollment rises by 20 percent.
The document also stated that union representatives would be included in the salary and promotion review committee but without voting rights, giving them a limited, non-decision-making role.
The medical and educational allowance would be reviewed after three years, and a P20,000 lump sum would be given to both unions in lieu of the P10,000 signing bonus per employee that the unions are seeking.
The same employee, when asked how a strike might affect classes, said disruptions could be significant since union members come from both academic and non-academic departments.
‘[The] management said in one email to employees that they are ready so I guess they dont think that a strike would have much effect. We think otherwise,’ he said.
The employee added that many workers are under financial strain, with some struggling to cover daily expenses or send their children for medical checkups.
‘They claim that they don’t have any money but they seem to have the funds to have a Christmas party at a [hotel],’ he also said.
Almost 90 percent of union members voted in favor of the strike during elections held on September 24 and 25.
UA and P management, however, has maintained that its pay and benefits remain ‘above industry standards’ and that the university’s current finances limit further adjustments.