House probe sought over retrenchment of RPN9 workers

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker is seeking a House inquiry into the retrenchment of some 200 employees of RPN9, a government-sequestered television station.

Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello filed House Resolution 2821 urging the committee on labor and employment to investigate the retrenchment program implemented by the RPN9 management and the implication of the mass termination on the rights of the affected workers.

"Given the social justice dimension of the issue, an immediate investigation should be conducted with the end view of determining whether or not the guaranteed rights of the workers under the applicable provisions of the Constitution, labor statutes and collective bargaining agreements have been violated," he said.
 
"The mass termination program was undertaken without the benefit of discussion and consultation among the affected workers, and was implemented a week after management and the unions agreed on how management will pay covered employees' unpaid benefits amounting to P50 million," Bello said.
 
He added that there was "bad faith" in the implementation of the mass retrenchment program.
 
The RPN9 management earlier stood by its decision that 200 workers of the network will be retrenched effective November 15 as the network transitions to a private corporation.
 
Akbayan said it strongly backs the workers' unions of the station, the RPN9 Employees' Unions (RPN EU/Rank-and-file Union) and the RPN Directors and Supervisors Union (RPN DSU).
 
Bello called on Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma to support the workers and mandate the suspension of the impending retrenchment.

"These workers are public servants who provided their skills for the operation of RPN9 as a public broadcasting agency. By serving the people, by serving the government, it is only appropriate that Secretary Coloma intervenes to suspend the retrenchment and ensure that management abides by the initial agreement that they signed," Bello said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)