Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Salcon willing to meet with union members
SPC Power Corp. management told a conciliation meeting yesterday that it was prepared to meet with unionized workers on April 25.
The move is seen to avert a strike planned by the Salcon Power Independent Union (SPIU).
SPC Power Corp., formerly Salcon Power Corp., was represented in yesterday’s meeting by counsel Hedelito Pascual, human resource manager Jocelyn Capuli and human resource consultant Edith Bayonita.
Bayonita said management will meet with the unionized workers at the power plant in the City of Naga provided that SPIU submits the list of its members, for verification.
Resolution
Last April 14, SPC senior vice president Alfredo Ballesteros wrote SPIU president Gaudioso Iso Jr. to inform him that management is appealing the March 24 resolution by Bureau of Labor Relations Director Rebecca Chato.
That resolution recognized SPIU as a legitimate union and the sole bargaining agent of SPC rank-and-file workers.
“In this connection, we would like to reiterate the position of SPC Power Corp. that its management is willing to sit down with SPIU on its CBA (collective bargaining agreement) proposal provided the roster of your members consist only of regular employees of SPC Power Corporation who are classified as rank and file,” read Ballesteros letter to Iso.
In that letter, Ballesteros also asked the union to “submit to us as soon as possible a complete list of your members for our verification.”
Iso, however, said Ballesteros can just get a copy of the resolution of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), which issued the certificate of registration of SPIU as a union.
In a press statement, SPIU secretary Joel Tolentino said that while they are glad that management is willing to meet with them, they see the requirement of submitting their membership list as a sign of “bad faith” in negotiation.
Membership
Still, Iso and Tolentino said they will meet with management representatives on April 25.
Bayonita said management has been questioning the presence of supervisors in what is supposed to be a rank-and-file employees’ union.
She said these supervisors present themselves to the public as rank-and-file workers even if they have high salary grades and either supervise people or carry out other management functions.
In a press statement, SPC management said that one SPIU official even exercises discretion over the approval or disapproval of minor contracts with suppliers.
According to the management press statement, the supervisors in SPIU can just join the supervisors’ union, which had been cooperating with management in its various projects.
Meanwhile, City of Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong said he hopes that the labor row will not threaten the power supply of Cebu.
“Hopefully it will not come to that. They should have a contingency plan,” Chiong told reporters yesterday.
Since conciliation is ongoing, Chiong also hopes that outsiders will not try to meddle in the issue. The mayor separately met with the management and union last Monday.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who met with Salcon management and Chiong last Monday also said that communication between the company and the employees would go smoothly without “dominant advisers.” (EOB/With JGA)
