THE ongoing squabble in the management of the biggest bus company in the country which may result in disruptions in the transportation sector is seen to negatively impact the economy of Negros.
Both business and labor sector in the province have expressed fear over the continuing feud among the members of the Yanson family, owner of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said the feud among the siblings and their matriarch as well as the impending workers’ strike might cause disruptions in the bus company’s operations and services.
Carbon said they pegged at 95 percent the inter-city and inter-municipality movements of people and goods in Negros being serviced by the bus firm.
“If the situation worsens, to the point of a full stoppage of the bus operation for instance, we are looking at billion worth of losses in the economy of Negros in just a month,” he said, adding that these losses account for the goods not sold and undelivered services.
It can be recalled that four Yanson siblings namely Roy, Emily, Celina, and Ricky ousted their brother Leo Rey as president of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies in a special board meeting on July 7.
He was replaced by older brother Roy.
Leo Rey, who is backed by their mother Olivia and sister Ginette, refused to step down saying that his ouster was illegal.
Cases are still pending in court as hearings are set on August 30 and September 6 this year.
Amid the squabble, thousands of workers are seemingly put in the middle.
In fact, this led the labor union of the bus company to file a notice of strike at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board last week.
The Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union-Trade Union of Congress of the Philippines (Paciwu-TUCP) said the family squabble over control of the company had affected the workforce.
For the business sector, the impending work stoppage will also affect the workers of other establishments under various sectors.
The MBCCI pointed out that most of the employments are in the urban centers like cities of Bacolod and Dumagute but at least half of the workforce are from outside areas.
Once the private sector workers are hampered, the operations of their respective companies are also affected, the group said.
Disruptions in the transportation sector will also affect other economic activities like movements of raw materials and finished products of small businesses along with students and government employees from out-of-town localities, it added.
Carbon, however, said they hope that the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) will intervene and not allow the conduct of a strike knowing the magnitude of economic losses it may cause.
Carbon, who is also into transportation business, said the labor agency would normally takeover if no settlement will be reached during the cooling-off period.
“Based on my experience with Negros Navigation, the Dole won’t allow the strike. Instead, it will normalize the situation then conduct marathon of negotiations,” he added.
It is, however, complicated for the agency as there are two groups claiming to be in control of the management, Carbon said.
“The labor group and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have to enjoin the court to move fast and decide whose management will be followed,” the business leader said.
Like the business sector, the labor is also worried as there will be directly and indirectly affected if the labor dispute worsens.
Wennie Sancho, secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Associations (Gawa), said the workers of other firms as well as sidewalk vendors especially those at the terminals will certainly be affected as their livelihood depends on the stability of the transportation company.
“The Yanson family has to settle the feud in order to avert whatever negative consequences to the workers and Negrenses,” he said, adding that the absence of industrial peace will demoralize the workers affecting their productivity.
The labor leader further said that the economic existence especially of “own account” workers or “remedio heneral” are on day-to-day basis.
Thus, if the bus operations are disrupted, their livelihood will be adversely affected, Sancho said.
“This is the problem if a business has no competitor,” he said, adding that “the Yansons should fulfill their social responsibility to the community, to the Negrenses.”