Friday, July 18, 2008
Union to stage protests to force Marina to lift suspension on Sulpicio
THE Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) has threatened to stage protests against the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to force it to lift the suspension order on Sulpicio Lines Inc. passenger vessels.
Josefina “Joy” Lim, ALU-TUCP Education and Information Department director, said they were concerned about what she described as the seeming irresponsibility of Marina in prolonging the suspension of the vessels.
Lim said the suspension will affect 2,000 officers and crew members of Sulpicio Lines who are their members.
Job loss
Lim said that while they sympathize with the hundreds who died in the sinking of mv Princess of the Stars last month, they pitied those who lost their jobs because of Marina’s order.
Lim said that while Sulpicio Lines temporarily laid off 136 officers and crew members of eight vessels grounded by Marina, they believe that the number will hit 600 next week if Sulpicio’s operations remain suspended.
In an earlier interview, Marina Administrator Vicente Suazo Jr. said that he cannot lift the suspension order because only the Marina Board has the final say.
Ferdinand C. Jumapao, ALU Membership and Recruitment Services director, said Suazo cannot wash his hands of the delay in the lifting of the order because he was the one who signed it.
Jumapao said that if the 2,000 officers and crew, whom they expect to be affected by the suspension, have least five dependents each, more than 10,000 will suffer economically if Sulpicio Lines will close its business.
This number, Jumapao said, does not include the thousands of others who lost their jobs such as arrastre workers not only in Cebu ports but also in the ports of Manila, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City, General Santos City and Zamboanga City.
“There are several others who also lost their businesses and livelihood like the food suppliers, canteen concessionaires and push carters,” Jumapao said.
Sulpicio Lines lawyer Manuel Espina, on the other hand, clarified that the 136 officers and crew of at least eight vessels were not fired but temporarily laid off, pending the lifting of the suspension order.
Espina said they will be given priority once the vessels resume operation.
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 Director Elias Cayanong, meanwhile, said he will meet with Sulpicio Lines employees temporarily laid off from their jobs.
Cayanong said that Dole 7 can give them emergency training so they can facilitate their employment with other companies.
Cayanong said that because the layoff is temporary, they are still considered employees of Sulpicio Lines for six months. If they still cannot report for work after six months, the shipping firm will have to pay them benefits.
Meanwhile, relatives of 14 Lapu-Lapu City residents who died in the sinking and one survivor received P10,000 from City Hall yesterday.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza also advised them to process their papers to claim the P200,000 assistance from Sulpicio Lines, warning that a syndicate might get the money first.
Radaza said he can feel the pain of the families because he lost his brother, Franky, to a plane crash in 2000. Until now, he said, his brother is still listed as missing.
City Social Welfare Officer Ermelita Digamo said the claimants are the first batch of those who were able to complete the requirements that prove their relationship to identified Oponganons who perished in the June 21 sinking. (EOB/AIV)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 18, 2008 issue)
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