The Silliman University Faculty Association (SUFA) and the Silliman administration signed on March 30 a new collective bargaining agreement that grants the faculty across-the-board increases and other benefits for the school years from 2021 until 2026.
According to SUFA chief negotiator Jonathan Mark Te, the new benefits for teachers are negotiated terms, and a product of a protracted negotiation which started in May last year. ”We agreed in good faith and well-grounded reason,” said Professor Te.
After the ratification this month by the SUFA, the Silliman teachers will begin receiving the improved benefits that include an Internet allowance for 2021, rice allowance for at least three years, salary increases of P600 for 2021, P1,400 in 2022, P900 in 2023 — which will be open for re-negotiation in 2024.
Professor Te said the SUFA Panel and Board believes the 2021-2026 CBA will provide “immediate financial relief to its members in this difficult time”, as it continues to be “committed to the spiritual and economic well-being of the academic personnel.
“That we have come to this agreement [with the Administration] is a testament of our collective will and prayers to have a better Silliman,” said Professor Te, president of the 309-strong faculty union .
In his Facebook post, Divinity professor Dr. Karl James Villarmea said a CBA is a “product of a collective resolve”. The terms reflected in the agreement with the University are “products of tears and countless hours of meetings and discussions, hurts and sacrifices, and all”.
“The signing [of the CBA] is not the conclusion. It is rather a commencement of a relationship with management that ensures all agreements are respected and implemented religiously, to the letter, and in the spirit of how it came about,” Professor Villarmea said. “Being in this relationship, therefore, means active and proactive participation that this agreement bears the fruits of labor justice.” (PR)
