UP Diliman to pay delayed salaries of researchers by end of week

The University of the Philippines Diliman on Monday said it will be able to pay the delayed salaries of its science research assistants (RA) "by the end of the week."

UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo said university officials have worked to "clear bottlenecks and streamline approval" so that they can finally pay the RAs, some of whom have not received their salaries for at least the last six months. 

In a statement, Nemenzo said the campus' administration acknowledges a "systemic problem" involving externally funded projects that has led to the delay in the release of salaries of RAs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

STEM graduate students and workers have banded together to demand payment. In a Facebook page, the group said they found that UP Diliman researchers' salaries were delayed for an average of four months in 2019 and seven months in 2020.

Some of them, they said, have not been paid for up to 17 months.

Nemenzo said UP Diliman "needs to implement long-term reforms to address administrative inefficiencies and strengthen coordination with funders," adding that payment delay is also an issue among lecturers and teaching associates in the UP unit.

He said the administration will be in "continuous dialogue" with all stakeholders to ensure payments are done on time in the future.—LDF, GMA News