Silliman University teachers end 3-day strike

The almost three-day strike of teachers and staff members of Silliman University in Dumaguete City has ended after the Silliman University Faculty Association (SUFA) and the school's administration have come to an agreement late Friday.

In a Facebook post, the Weekly Sillimanian said that the one year and three months negotiation on a labor dispute between the university's staff and its administration has been concluded with the drafting of a collective bargaining agreement.

More than 180 teachers and staff members of Silliman University joined a protest rally on Wednesday, which was came after the SUFA and the school's administration failed to reach an agreement on deadlocked issues.

The SUFA is asking for the following:

• A one-time bonus of P38,000.00
• Across the board of P1,500.00 on the 2nd Year (effective June 1, 2017)
• Across the board of P2,300.00 on the 3rd Year (effective June 1, 2018)
• Christmas and Founder's Day bonus
• K+12 Transition Scholar’s Subsidy
• Reduction in the class sizes in the Early Childhood (K1 and K2) and Elementary (G1 and G2) levels
• Improvement in the retirement pay
• Administration’s proposal of a Productivity Enhancement Incentive (14th month pay) without any conditions

“The long struggle is finally over. But it is not completely over yet until we sign the final documents,” SUFA president Jan Antoni Credo was quoted as saying.

The Weekly Sillimanian reported that although the SUFA’s demands that led to a deadlock were not fully given by the administration, Credo believed that the SUFA panel has done its best in the final negotiation with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that lasted for three hours.

“We believe that we have secured fair, just and equitable benefits for all the members of the union,” Credo said. —Ted Cordero/ALG, GMA News