THE conflict between the senior management of Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) facility in Naga City, southern Cebu and members of the Kepco Cebu Employees Association-Workers Solidarity Network (KCEA-WSN) was resolved on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
Dennis Derige, workers’ union officer, told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, April 12, that the management and union members had already signed a settlement agreement, putting an end to the dispute between the two parties.
But Derige said he could not divulge the details of the settlement deal due to the sensitivity of the information and the need for confidentiality.
He added that the signing was witnessed by branch director Gemma Poloyapoy and Conciliator-Mediator Rosemarie G. Oxinio of the Regional Conciliation and Mediation Board-Central Visayas (RCMB 7), who facilitated the mediation of the two parties.
It can be recalled that on March 2, Derige informed SunStar Cebu that the union will stage a labor strike to express its concerns to the power plant's management.
The majority of the union members decided to vote for a strike when the Kepco management refused to acknowledge the group as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative and renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) despite the rulings of the main and Central Visayas offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) favoring the union organization.
The Kepco management did not recognize the union because their CBA had expired.
The strike, however, was cancelled when Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma brokered a truce between the two parties on March 7.
If the strike occurs, according to a notice from Laguesma, there will be a massive power interruption in the Central Visayas affecting households, essential industries and institutions, including government offices, among others.
The 206-megawatt Kepco power plant in Barangay Colon, Naga City, generates power for the Visayas grid, including Cebu and Bohol. (EHP)