Unions decry smear drive vs Napocor

The three employee’s organizations of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) – the National Employees and Workers Union (NEWU), the Napocor Employees Consolidated Union (NECU) and the Executives Association EXA – deplored yesterday the orchestrated media attacks being waged by a vested interest group against Napocor and its projects, even as they expressed full support for President Arroyo and former President Fidel Ramos.

The unions sent two letters addressed to Finance Secretary and Napocor chairman Jose Isidro Camacho, branding the media attacks as plain blackmail to force the power company to give in to the vested interest group’s agenda. The unions vigorously defended all Napocor projects saying all of them "went through the prescribed government procedures for their prosecution and implementation."

The unions also lamented that some politicians identified with this vested interest group are actually blindly supporting moves to mothball Napocor’s 11 power plants. They branded the move as ridiculous "because these include coal-fired plants complete with environmental compliance certificates and hydroelectric power plants the cost of which have been fully amortized, and, are therefore providing power at a very low cost."

The three unions also deplored the personal media attacks against Napocor officials and employees for "alleged acts that have already been officially passed upon by Napocor and ruled as being above board and that these are matters of record."

The unions lamented that despite all these attacks "there have been no official statements from top management" to belie such allegations. They complained that several co-terminus officers with the appointing authorities are still retained despite the austerity measures and the fact that there are several employees who are qualified, willing and able to perform the duties and responsibilities required by these positions.

The unions complained that some employees who were relieved of their duties because of gross incompetence were even rewarded by being asked to participate in the Napocor’s Special Program to Enhance Electricity Demand (SPEED). These employees, the two unions alleged, are under investigation for gross neglect of duty in relation to the most recent Luzon-wide blackout. They claimed that Malacañang is not even aware that these people who are actively involved in the government’s SPEED program were the culprit in that infamous power outage.

The three unions, however, fully support the Power Development Program of Napocor implemented under several administrations "knowing fully well that its foremost intention is to promote economic stability by providing reliable and stable power supply to the country." They also expressed their trust that President Arroyo will not lose sight of these noble objectives.

"We are behind and in full support of former President Fidel V. Ramos during whose administration the power supply has been stabilized and thereby caused the influx of foreign investments into the country. We are also very thankful to former President Ramos whose administration was responsible for the alleviation of employment conditions of each and every Napocor employee when, in 1994, he authorized the adoption of compensation levels comparable with privately owned utility companies," the three unions stated.