Around 280 members of the Silliman University Faculty Association (SUFA) in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, have launched a labor strike.

SUFA president Jan Antoni Credo said the labor strike was decided by the members of the union after the group and the management failed to reach an agreement on seven issues.

"The union has indeed been very patient and reasonable to SU administration, however it is unfortunate that this patience and rationality was never esteemed or valued by the University administration. The union was thus left without any option but to go on strike," Credo said.

SUFA is demanding a one-time bonus of P38,000, a P1,500 across-the-board salary increase in 2017, and another P2,300 increase in 2018, a productivity enhancement incentive (14th month pay), improvement in retirement pay, Christmas and Founders Day Bonus, and K-12 transition scholar's subsidy.

However, according to the administration panel chief negotiator Atty. Sheila Lynn Besario, the university cannot afford the demand of the union. She said the amount SUFA wants would reach P110 million but the available fund the school can provide is only P63 million.

"That P63 million is available, we can afford that we can sustain that. I just also would like to make a point in terms of sustainability our parameters as admin panel given by the board of trustees requires us to give what is derived from tuition fees because that is what is sustainable,"said Besario.

The administration panel also said the school's revenue has been reduced due to the implementation of K-12 program.

"If you look at the revenues of the University it has really gone down as a result of K-12 but the demands of the faculty has gone up so there is this disparity,"said Atty. Meyles Bejar.

Despite the ongoing strike, Silliman University administration announced that classes would continue as usual. The school administration said measures has been put in place so classes won't be affected.

The Department of Labor and Employment has scheduled a joint Tripartite Industrial Peace Council meeting Thursday with the members of the union and Silliman University administration in order to come up with a win-win solution.