AN HOUR before the Ateneo Employees and Workers Union (AEWU) was legally allowed to strike, Loyola Schools faculty members and students marched on campus, asserting their joint call to continue holding onsite classes in the event of a strike.
WATCH: The congregation marches on to the AEWU Office. | @TheGUIDON pic.twitter.com/UJw0bqXsqH
— Derreck De Leon (@Derr_TheGUIDON) March 27, 2023
The student body and the faculty, both condemning the University administration’s decision to proceed with an online setup, submitted their respective open letters to both the Office of the University President (OP) and AEWU President Raymond Tano.
According to the faculty’s open letter, shifting classes online is an act to isolate the Ateneo community from the dispute. They added that should the Union strike, this act should not be viewed as an “inconvenience” but rather an encouraging means to renegotiate.
Meanwhile, the student body recognizes the administration’s “lack of transparency” amid the 2019-2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations. As of press time, the respective open letters have 1,051 students and 128 faculty signatories.
AEWU was legally allowed to begin their strike yesterday, March 27. However, they said they will have to put it on hold in the hopes of settling disputes. This comes as the Union and the administration panels are set to meet today, March 28, for final negotiations.
According to their current negotiations, the earliest date that the Union can strike is on April 4. However, the Office of Student Activities believes that the most likely date the strike could start is April 11 in consideration of Holy Week observances.
Faculty’s call for resolution
In an interview with The GUIDON, Political Science instructor Arjan Aguirre explained how the faculty hoped for the issue to be resolved as soon as possible. Thus, they addressed the letter to both the union and the University administration, compelling them to continue the CBA negotiations.
“We are not here to worsen the situation, pollute or muddle the ongoing investigations. We are here to help,” he added.
Aguirre clarifies that the move to craft the joint open letter and spontaneously present it to both parties was made following consultations with many concerned faculty members. While only a few faculty members initially planned and wrote the statement, the campaign “snowballed” and spread through their connections, garnering more than a hundred signatures in support of their statement.
Furthermore, Aguirre said that the subsequent handing over of open letters was meant as a formal symbolic gesture to publicly acknowledge student and faculty opinions regarding the current negotiations.
After the conclusion of AEWU’s negotiations with the administration today, March 28, Aguirre said that the congregation also plans to write a follow-up letter to both the union and the OP.
For the students
When asked about the purpose behind crafting a joint letter with the faculty, Sanggunian President TJ Alcantara expressed that shifting online only brings more challenges to learning. He added that shifting online has numerous implications, among which is detrimental to students, as seen during the transition to virtual classrooms during the pandemic
“We also believe that shifting online will deprive the seniors of the opportunity to spend their last few weeks on campus as students,” as mentioned in the students’ open letter.
Thus, Alcantara called upon both parties to strive in creating a just settlement amicable to both parties, as well as rebuild trust in the spur of negotiations.
He shared that the Sanggunian spearheaded the writing of a student-signed open letter as a “response” to the faculty’s own statement. He added that the students’ letter reiterates the calls for solidarity and transparency, mentioned in their prior statement.
In reference to these demands, Union President Tano shared that the student’s welfare is still at the top of their priorities. Tano told students, “Sinagad na nga namin ang hinihingi namin sa kanila (University administration), para lang matigil ito kasi kayo ang iniisip namin.”
(We already maximized the amount that we are bargaining from them just so these negotiations would end because we are thinking about your welfare.)
Despite being able to legally strike, AEWU still looked forward to resolving the deadlock to avoid the possibility of a last-resort strike. However, the administration is yet to issue a response to this letter.
No end in sight
As per the administration’s FAQs, the CBA deadlock rests on five main issues: wage increase, rice allowance, union pays with leave, terms, and effectivity of the CBA, and signing bonuses.
Amid joint calls from the Union, faculty, and the student body, the administration asserts that their counterproposal is the most sustainable and fiscally responsible. They add that their refusal to heed union demands is in consideration of other sectors of the University that may be affected by changes in budget allocation.
Following both parties’ negotiations meeting with the Department of Labor and Education in previous months, Assistant Vice President for Student Activities and Leadership Formation Joy Rodriguez-Salita said that a seven-day cooldown period will be considered.
Amid the negotiations, Tano had this to say in view of the faculty and the student body’s support, “Nakakataba ng puso. First time sa AEWU na nangyari ito—na may suporta sa Union ang mga estudyante at faculty. […] Nakakatuwa ‘yung mga estudyante. Dati, hindi nakikinig, pero ngayon sumusuporta na sila… kaya sobrang masaya kami.”
(It fills our hearts. For the first time, AEWU is being supported by the students and faculty. […] It gladdens us because students in the past didn’t listen. Now they support us; we are so happy about this.)
On March 30 at 4 PM, the Sanggunian and faculty will hold another forum at Leong Hall to reflect on the results of today’s negotiations.
ERRATUM: In an interview with The GUIDON, Political Science Instructor Arjan Aguirre referred to negotiations, not investigations. We apologize for this oversight.
