THE management of Kepco SPC (KSPC) and the company’s labor group failed to reach a settlement on its dispute in a conciliation meeting at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) 7 yesterday.
NCMB 7 Director Edmund Mirasol set another conference on June 30.
Lawyer Alan Fontanosa, KSPC legal counsel, said that the management will not allow the reinstatement of supervisor Lowell Sanchez as the latter allegedly violated the company rules and regulations by using the company time and facilities in organizing the rank-and-file union.
Fontanosa also said that the supervisory union of KSPC, where Sanchez serves as the union president, is not registered, hence, the group has no legal personality to submit a notice of strike to NCMB.
Dennis Derige of the Partido ng Manggagawa, however, said that the supervisory union of KSPC has been recognized as a local chapter of the Workers Solidarity Network (WSN), which is allowed by a department order issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) to submit a notice of strike.
KSPC, in a press statement, however, said that while the supervisory union may be deemed a local chapter of a federation, the issuance of the charter grants legal personality only for one, limited purpose-filing a petition for certification election.
KSPC said the law requires a local chapter to submit the requisite documents to the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) before it may attain the full status of a legitimate labor organization. Under the law, only a legitimate labor organization may file a notice of strike.
Derige said the KSPC supervisory union will conduct a strike vote at WSN headquarters in the City of Naga, Cebu today.
If majority of the supervisors will vote for “yes,” a strike may be staged on July 7.
Derige also said that the supervisory union will hold a certification election on July 6, which is a pre-requisite to get a certificate of registration from the BLR.
Mirasol said that the conciliation meeting yesterday was already the 6th time.
He said that the management wants a compulsory arbitration, which means that the case shall be filed directly to National Labor Relations Commission, while the labor group prefer for a voluntary arbitration. This means, the NCMB will form a panel to arbitrate the case.
“We will exert all remedies to settle the labor dispute amicably to prevent power outage,” Mirasol said.