THE ATENEO Employees and Workers Union (AEWU) voted overwhelmingly to hold a strike last Tuesday after continuous disputes regarding wage increase conditions in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

232 out of 243 employees voted “yes” to the strike, with only one voting “no.” Four were considered “spoiled votes,” and the rest withdrew their vote.

The union may decide to proceed with the strike seven days after the vote.

According to AEWU President Sonny Amata, the union was able to collect a strike fund of around Php 500,000 since the CBA deadlock to support the members, should they proceed with the strike.

However, if they are able to finalize their CBA negotiations with the administration, they may choose to withdraw the strike.

“Magco-conciliate pa ‘yan, and I don’t think isa lang. They’ll try to call several meetings within the next week,” said AEWU legal counsel Arturo Tan. “If negotiations go well, kahit pa may strike vote na ‘yes,’ the union does not have to go on strike. It will only go if it is necessary.”

“No union wants to strike,” Tan added. “You go on strike because you have no other way to go.”

AEWU and the administration panels have been attempting to negotiate on the terms of the employees’ wages and benefits, with the former demanding higher wages from the administration. The administration, on the other hand, insists that they cannot meet the union’s demands due to lack of funds.

After many attempts at negotiation, the union decided to file a notice of strike on December 21. Both parties then agreed for a 30-day “cooling-off” period. Though many conciliation meetings took place thereafter, the two parties have yet to come to an agreement.

CBA Administration Panel Chairperson Jose Mario Francisco, SJ said that University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ and other administrators are already talking about how the situation will be handled if the strike pushes through.

“We have been very, very respectful of the rights of the union, but at the same time, we would like to promote and protect the general well-being of the students, the faculty, the community during the strike if it happens,” he said.

AEWU demands ‘fairness’

Tan said that the union is asking the administration that they “catch up” with the rate of increases given to non-union employees, as union employees were “left out.”

However, Tan said that the administration declined “because the budget is not enough.”

Francisco noted, however, that the union was offered “the same package as the rest of the university” in previous CBA negotiations prior to the current one being implemented. This is why, he said, that “there are now two different systems.”

Francisco also said that the university is trying to make the total percentage of increase “as equitable as possible, in terms of percentage.”

Francisco also reiterated that the kind of work union members and non-union members do are “different.”

“What they are asking for is that the exact amount of the increase of a professor should be the exact amount of the increase of a union member, whatever his or her position is,” he said.

He added, “I asked point-blank in a meeting, I said, [for example], ‘Dr. [Luis] Dumlao, professor ng Econ, Dean ng SOM, kung ang increase ng sweldo niya ay Php 500, sinasabi niyo ba na dapat Php 500 din ang increase niyo?’ Sabi nila, ‘Opo, Father.’ But that’s what they mean by fair and equitable.”

(I asked point-blank in a meeting, I said, ‘Dr. Dumlao, professor of Econ, Dean of SOM, if his salary increase is at Php 500, are you saying that your increase should also be at P500?’ They said, ‘Yes, Father.’ But that’s what they mean by fair and equitable.)

In spite of this, Francisco assured that the administration is treating the workers with “equity.”

“Hindi namin tinatawaran ‘yung halaga ninyo bilang mga tao. At sinusubukan nga namin, hangga’t maaari, na pantay-pantay tayo dito sa komunidad (We’re not devaluing your worth as people. And we try as much as possible to be fair in this community),” he said.

“What pains me is that these are people I know. These are people we see every day. Mga nagluluto sa amin, and so on and so forth. But, you know, I just feel that, you know, it’s just very hard to justify their position at present,” Francisco said.

Only source?

Tan also maintained that the legally-mandated 70% allocation of the TFI should not be the only source for the increases.

“Kung kinakasa niyo lang ang budget niyo sa increase sa 70% sa TFI sa CBA, we will never reach an agreement (If you only fit your budget in the 70% TFI increase from the CBA, we will never reach an agreement),” Tan said.

Francisco said that the main source of wages for the workers is the TFI, which he said was depleted due to the K-12 transition.

“We were paying salaries then, but there were no students kaya saan mo kukunin ‘yun? Kaya nga inutang-utang ‘yun, in-adjust-adjust. But they don’t mention that (We were paying salaries then, but there were no student so where will you get that? That is why we borrowed that, we adjusted. But they don’t mention that),” he said.

Francisco added that the students may have to pay a higher tuition fee in order to sustain the demands of the union.

“First, it puts burden on the students, it puts burden on your families. Second, we do not want to price Ateneo out of the market. We want Ateneo to be as diverse and as accessible as possible to people from different economic backgrounds,” he said.

Transparency

The union’s lawyer also scored the administration for their “lack of transparency” on the 70% TFI and the general fund. “If you notice, lahat ng announcements nila, they never shared ‘yung net income. Hindi dini-discuss. Lagi lang silang naka-focus sa 70% TFI,” Tan said. “The problem is, kahit doon, hindi sila transparent.”

(If you notice, in all their announcements, they never shared the Net Income. They never discuss. They always focus on the 70% TFI. The problem is, even then, they’re not being transparent.)

Francisco, however, asked why the union did not mention the figures of the general income during the K-12 transition.

“Sabi nga namin, eh, bakit hindi nila sinabi ‘yung general income na negative minus 350 million [Php -350 M] noong nag K-12 (We said, how come they didn’t they mention the general income that was negative 350 million when K-12 was implemented)?” Francisco said.

Francisco also said that the general fund AEWU was referring to “is not liquid cash.”

“Part of that is the cost of the buildings that have been built,” he said.

Francisco also maintained that Ateneo is transparent with their figures. “The financial statements of Ateneo are public documents, you can look at them sa website, sa SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission]” he said.

Tan said that it is “unfair” for Ateneo to focus its General Income on Property & Equipment, as Ateneo mentioned in their January 5 statement.

“Fine, spend money on facilities, eskwelahan ‘yan eh. Pero hindi puro facilities lang ang paaralan, may tao ‘yan eh, may empleyado ka,” said Tan. “Kung binibigyan mo ng halaga ang gusali, bigyan mo rin ng halaga ‘yung tao.”

(Fine, spend money on facilities, it’s a school. But the school isn’t just made up of facilities, you have people, you have employees. If you’re giving importance to the buildings, give importance to the people, too.)

‘Too disparate’

Francisco said that the administration still intends to finalize their CBA with the union through the conciliation meetings, though the proposals are “too disparate.”

“It’s unfortunate that there is this situation,” said Francisco. “It’s just that right now, their demands and what the university is offering is just too disparate.”

But Tan believes that the union is being “fair” in their negotiations and that Ateneo should act the same.

“We are not asking you to be generous. We’re just asking you to be fair,” said Tan. “We don’t even ask that of them. Right now, kung nag-‘yes’ sila sa aming CBA proposals, that’s being generous… but now, all we’re asking for is for them to be fair.”

Academic operations to continue

Tan said that the union will “respect the rights of students,” in spite of the inconveniences that occur should the strike push through.

He also asked Ateneans to “bear with them” due to these inconveniences.

“Ipagpaumanhin niyo lang, pero may inconveniences sa inyo ‘yan. [Pero] tulad ng sinabi ng union sa isang statement, it will respect your rights, ‘wag kayong mag-alala,” he said. “Hindi maaabala ang aral niyo. Tuloy ang aral niyo. ‘Wag kayo mag-alala diyan.”

(Just consider that there will be inconveniences for you. [But] as the union said in a statement, it will respect your rights, do not worry. Your studies will not be bothered. It will continue. Do not worry about this.)

Tan also urged Ateneans to speak with the administration or with AEWU for any concerns and clarifications, since they are also “invested” in the issue.

“As students, you’re entitled to be enlightened by Ateneo about its financial commission,” said Tan. “You can sit with [the union] and discuss these things. In fact, you should.”

On the other hand, Villarin will hold an open forum with students on the matter this Friday, January 26, 5:00 to 6:30 PM at the Faura AVR.

In the event of an actual strike, Francisco reassured that University operations will go on smoothly. He also said that the University will not hire workers to replace those who went on strike.

Francisco said that they will “do everything by the book,” assuring that they will stick to the ground rules of the strike.

“The university will be prepared that the students, faculty, and everybody will be least inconvenienced,” he said. “Classes can go on, teachers can teach, students can learn, students can go to the library… that’s what we are going to do.”