RMN union members end 8-day strike

AFTER eight days, union members of a radio network lifted the labor strike and signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the management on Wednesday.

In a phone interview, Rey Fabe, president of the Radio Mindanao Network-Davao Employees' Union (RDEU), said the management has already agreed to grant the workers' demands.

Fabe said the agreement signed covers the employees' P40 daily salary increase starting July 28, the P60 daily increase by 2013, and the two sacks of rice per year, a signing bonus of P2,500, and a daily meal subsidy.

Aside from these, the management also agreed to give them three days emergency leave and five days sick leave, which are convertible to cash if not used, 70 days maternity leave, medical health insurance and P5,000 hospitalization assistance.

Fabe said the P1.3-million CBA package will benefit RMN-Davao's 22 employees over the next two years.

Fabe said they will no longer pursue their plans of filing a complaint before the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) for the alleged "illegal broadcasting" by the management while the union members were on strike.

To recall, workers switched off the transmitters of two radio stations of RMN to protest the alleged management's refusal to discuss salary increases and benefit package on July 10.

The AM station was back on air on July 11 thus, the union considered the act as a "guerilla type" since the management was allegedly broadcasting secretly.