Holy Angel University labor dispute drags on

ANGELES CITY - The labor dispute between Holy Angel University (HAU) and the HAU Teachers and Employees Union (HAUTEU) is still far from over, as union members held a prayer vigil and candle lighting event on Wednesday.

HAUTEU spokesperson Veronica Pangilinan also appealed to the HAU administration to become “more open hearted and open minded” in respecting the rights of the HAUTEU in expressing their rights and sentiments with regards the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) deadlock.

The HAUTEU held a candle lighting event in front of the Museo Ning Angeles in relation to the labor issue.

Pangilinan said some of their members have been complaining of alleged eavesdropping and monitoring of HAU security personnel.

“The security guards of HAU have been following us whenever we do activities. In fact we received reports that some teachers, while doing their classes, are being videoed by some security guards,” Pangilinan said.

Some guards, Pangilinan added, have also been videotaping their events outside of the school which she said is a violation of their rights.

She said the HAUTEU feels that such action of HAU security personnel is meant to “instill fear” on some members of the union from attending union events.

Pangilinan said they still hope to resolve the issue in a more peaceful manner.

The negotiations have reached a deadlock after the HAU management refused to account for and disclose the amount of money it has collected from tuition increases, a large chunk of which is due to workers, according HAUTEU president Edmond Maniago.

HAU’s chair of the management panel, Edna Marriza Santos, was earlier quoted by the press stating that management cannot accept the proposal “for the end-of-year re-computation of figures with regard to the amount of incremental proceeds from tuition increase and the distribution of the 70 percent of proceeds to our employees’ salaries and benefits.”

“It invokes its prerogative to handle its business operations and processes according to its best judgment and guided by the prescription of law. In doing so and in good faith, it also exercises its prerogative to keep university records of such nature in utmost confidentiality,” Santos said in a previous interview with the national press.

Maniago said the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) has mandated that 70 percent of tuition increase “shall be used for the payment of increase in salaries, wages, allowance and other benefits of teaching, nonteaching and other staff.”

The 20 percent, it said, “shall go to the improvement or modernization of buildings, equipment, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and similar facility and to the payment of other costs of operations.” The remaining 10 percent goes to profit.

The HAU raised tuition for school years 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, Ched documents showed. It also filed certificates complying with the 70-20-10 percent proceeds, according to reports.

“It won’t show us a recomputation of the incremental proceeds of 70 percent of tuition increase,” Pangilinan said.

Santos, however, said the incremental proceeds were shown and discussed in September last year.

HAU boasts of being the biggest Catholic University in Central Luzon founded by a lay person. The HAU board of trustees is currently chaired by businessman Manuel Pangilinan.

Both parties have also urged students not to get involved in the issue in the January 25 web post of the Nexus, the official student publication of HAU’s College of Arts, Sciences and Education.