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Thursday, March 20, 2008
Labor row endangers tight power supply in Cebu
CEBU CITY -- A labor strike against the Salcon Power Corp. will threaten the already tight power supply in Cebu, the company warned Wednesday.
The National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) is trying to settle the labor dispute between Salcon Power Independent Union (SPIU) and Salcon management to prevent a strike that may threaten the supply of electricity in Cebu.
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NCMB 7 Director Edmundo Mirasol has requested both sides to submit their respective position papers during the next conciliation meeting on March 28. He is optimistic they can come up with a solution to the looming labor conflict.
Mirasol stressed to the two sides the importance of confidence building in settling the dispute.
SPIU president Gaudioso Iso said they filed a notice of strike with the NCMB last March 14 because Salcon refused to recognize their union despite an order from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) naming SPIU as the official collective bargaining agent of the company.
Iso said their union was recognized by Dole in May 2007 and they submitted a
collective bargaining agreement (CBA) proposal to the management in September 2007. But management ignored the proposal until now, he said.
Iso said that they will push through with the strike if the management will still refuse to recognize SPIU after the 30-day cooling off period expires on April 14.
The company, in a statement, said it is appealing to the union to "listen to reason and reconsider the decision to file a notice to strike" saying that "nobody wins in a strike."
"A strike is not in the best interest of management, labor, and Cebu," the company said in a press statement.
The company said it is still studying the proposed CBA because it "intends to positively address the concerns of the rank and file."
SPIU lawyer Jose Vicente Arnado said the possibility of a settlement of the labor dispute seems bright.
"The union is confident that all the conciliation conferences will bear a satisfactory conclusion not only on the part of the union but also on the part of the company," Arnado said.
Iso said they also want to know the real owners of SPC Power Corp. especially that Salcon of Singapore already sold its shares to Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco), which has a contract to build a 200-megawatt coal power plant in the City of Naga.
"There is apprehension by union members especially when Salcon Private Power Limited in Singapore sold its shares to some investors, who changed the business name to SPC Power Corporation," Iso said.
Iso said they don't know about the legality of the business partnership and ownership of the corporation. The ownership issue is also important because it can affect their security of tenure.
At present, Dennis Villareal is SPC president and Lim Chang Loo of Singapore is chairman.
"We want to have a CBA with the management so the union member will have an idea on the real owners of the company, especially that Salcon-Singapore has no more shares with SPC", Iso said.
Sun.Star Cebu failed to interview Dr. Jocelyn Capuli, the company's human resource manager, because she immediately went out of NCMB after the conciliation meeting.
Capuli represented the management in Wednesday's meeting. (EOB/Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (March 20, 2008 issue)
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