Silliman University and its faculty union, the SU Faculty Association, appear to be nowhere near a settlement in their Collective Bargaining Agreement for school years 2016-2018.
With the SUFA threatening to go on strike following the mandatory cooling-off period, the Administration has sent assurances to parents that classes and University services will continue in the event of a faculty strike.
SUFA accounts for 294 members out of the University’s 294 faculty. The Office of Information & Publications said there are 407 faculty members.
In the University website, the Administration announced that should Union members go on strike, the deans, directors, non-union faculty, and visiting lecturers will take over the classes.
Both the Administration and Union negotiators could not agree on several issues.
The Union, led by SUFA President Assistant Prof. Jan Antoni Credo, wants the lifting of the 35-year cap, which is the number of years the faculty can serve before retirement. The administration, however, said this is still the subject of pending litigation.
There is also the issue of the annual Founder’s Day and Christmas bonuses, and the issue of a one-time bonus in lieu of the across-the-board salary increase for 2016.
SUFA also wants to limit class size for kindergarten to a minimum of 18 pupils, and Grade I classes to 25 pupils. But the University is sticking with the standard of the Department of Education which is 35 pupils.
The SUFA is also asking for a subsidy for K+12 scholars who are children of faculty members, and the granting of Productivity Enhancement Incentive without conditions.
The administration said it desires to install in Silliman a package of salaries and benefits that are the most it can afford, sustainable, and has the least pressure on tuition cost.
The Union also proposed for an automatic extension on their health plans in the event that no CBA is reached, but the administration rejected this proposal on grounds that the acceptance of the proposal is dependent on the health maintenance organization, a third party provider.
Atty. Golda Benjamin, a faculty at the SU College of Law, had suggested to the University to find more creative, sustainable, and brave solutions for the ongoing negotiations.
For one, Benjamin suggested to solve the stalemate with the appointment of a third party expert (negotiation “amicus curiae”).
“A neutral third party, chosen by both the admin and SUFA, will give both sides objective analysis and peace of mind,” she said.
She lamented that the inability to improve the offers of both sides is a result of totally contrasting assumptions.
Another way is to explore the possibility of using more than 70 percent of the tuition revenue to improve salaries.
“We have enough to construct buildings and buy instructional equipment. What we need to work hard on is to find enough for the salaries of our teachers,” she said.
A third solution is to explore the possibility of getting a portion of the liquidity reserve fund, saying that nothing in the law prohibits Silliman from doing so.
“It will be a reclassification of funds to cover for personnel salaries. If allowed by the by-laws of the university, then it can be done,” she said.
Benjamin also suggested for the University to explore the possibility of non-equal one-time bonuses; and to post all relevant documents online so the Silliman community can contribute intelligently.
“We cannot afford to simply be sending out public messages telling the community why the offer of the other party is not acceptable. Especially because the relationship between the administration and the faculty union is now perceived as strained, what we, the outsiders, need to see is that we are harnessing the brilliance of neutral third parties, of the alumni, and of other stakeholders to find ways to address the interests of all stakeholders,” Benjamin said. (AP)
