Food firm wants resumption of CBA talks with union

THE management of Lapanday Foods Corporation (LFC) filed on Tuesday a request for preventative mediation before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) to resume negotiations between them and the union members over a deadlock in collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

In a press briefing Tuesday at the Hotel Elena Davao City, LFC corporate legal counsel Lawyer Lailani Espejo said Lapanday Box and Plastic Plant Workers Union-Association of the Democratic Labor Organization-Kilusang Mayo Uno (LBPPWU-ADLO-KMU) declared a deadlock in their negotiations over the economic items of the CBA and filed a notice of strike (NOS) before the NCMB on October 11.

Espejo pointed to the union members as the ones closing the negotiation with the company's management by declaring a deadlock on October 10 and refusing to consider the counter-proposal presented by the LFC on September 17, before the union members.

The workers' union is composed of the daily rank and regular employees of the Lapanday Box and Plastic Plant.

She said the workers' union must not file the NOS, since both parties have not yet started the negotiation over the economic items that union members demanded from the company.

She said some of the demands of the workers include wage increase, security pay, sick leave, emergency loan, medical assistance.

In a previous report, one of the demands of the union is an increase of P75 in their wage a day while LFC, in its counter-proposal, can only give a P5 increase.

The union is also demanding P3,000 worth of yearly medical assistance, but the management offered only P300 yearly medical assistance.

"We have to talk it out and discuss. But, when they saw our proposal, they stopped it and declare a deadlock," said Hernani Geronimo, head of the Human Resource Services of LFC.

Espejo added that through the declaration of deadlock is a ground for filing NOS, she said there is no real ground for calling a deadlock since negotiations have not yet even started between both parties over the economic items in which union members are demanding.

Geronimo added the company’s management is amenable to the resolution of this issue with the union members "in a manner that there’s a mutual agreement."

In a press release, LFC welcomes the intervention of the NCMB that is expected to call for a series of conciliation talks. While there is much room for dialogue leading to an acceptable agreement, calling for a deadlock this early is not helpful.