MORE than 200 employees of Apo Cement Corp. (Apocemco) gathered at the City of Naga Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 14, to protest their plight after their management decided to lay off some of their colleagues.
This, as the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Wednesday, Nov. 14, appealed to Apocemco to pity its workers, considering that they are also victims of the recent landslide.
Art Barrit, spokesman and head of special concerns of ALU- (Associated Labor Unions) TUCP Central Visayas, said six months of temporary closure is too long for employees who rely on their job to survive.
Genevieve Patalinghug, Apocemco’s environment officer and representative of the group, was emotional when she raised her concern on what will happen to her colleagues to City of Naga Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong and other city officials.
At least 100 out of Apo’s 300 regular employees and 300 of its 800 contractual workers will be out of work for six months, starting Dec. 13.
Patalinghug criticized officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) for not acting on the hazard reduction plan provided by Apocemco’s sister company, Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC).
The plan would have helped in keeping the employees in the company as they would assist the government in clearing the debris from the landslide-affected site, Patalinghug said.
Chiong told the affected employees that as much as she wants to help them, her hands are tied as she doesn’t have the authority to approve ALQC’s hazard reduction plan.
Chiong said she has asked DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu to approve the hazard reduction plan in the site, but even the DENR and MGB said they have no authority over it.
The two agencies instead pushed for the approval of the plan to the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council.
“Sa pagkatinood lang, mura ra ko’g bola nga gipasa-pasa lang (The truth is, I’m like a ball that is being passed around),” Chiong lamented.
She assured the affected employees that she supports and she will follow up on their concerns.
The TUCP has two affiliate unions in Apocemco: the Apocemco Employees Union (AEU-ALU-TUCP) and the Associated Professionals, Supervisory and Technical Employees Union (APSUTEU-TUCP).
In the dialogue set Thursday, Nov. 15, the TUCP wants an assurance on the rapid rehabilitation and for all affected employees to be taken back to work once the company will reopen.
On the other hand, Department of Labor and Employment 7 Director Johnson Cañete said the agency will be profiling the affected workers so that they can provide the appropriate assistance.
Cañete said the agency can give either emergency employment or referral to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for probable skills training and employment facilitation by the different Public Employment Service Offices. (JKV & EOB)