Globe management, union sign new CBA

The management of Globe Telecom Inc. and its rank-and-file union, Globe Telecom Workers Union-Federation of Free Workers (GTWU-FFW), formally signed the renegotiated 2004-2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) recently.

The main signatories to the agreement were Globe president and chief executive officer Gerardo Ablaza Jr. in behalf of the management and GTWU president Santos Gudao Jr. in behalf of the labor union.

The CBA signing was witnessed by Globe chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II and Labor and Employment Undersecretary Josephus Jimenez.

"We are fortunate that the relationship between management and union in Globe has been marked with a lot of cooperation and working together in the past. This goodwill has helped us forge a CBA that is fair, just and reasonable. Most of all, our recent discussions helped us enhance harmony and understanding toward collaborating in building an even stronger Globe," Ablaza said.

Also speaking in behalf of the management, Globe human resources head Cesar Maureal said, "The parties have invested much in bringing about this new CBA and proudly so because the CBA equates to industrial peace, which is an indispensable ingredient in the success of every great organization such as ours."

For his part, Gudao said, "A broad and extensive study and review was done by the union to ensure that the CBA would be just, true and reasonable, one that is based on the strong and stable relationship of the union and management. At the start of the formal or even the informal talks of both sides, we agreed on the aim to develop the most important resource of the company – its employees."

The conclusion of the CBA renegotiation of Globe Telecom’s rank-and-file employees assures the company of continuous harmony as it carries out its business of providing quality communication services.

This also further strengthens the stability of the company as it embarks on its most aggressive expansion yet this year to reach more localities and more Filipinos, especially those residing outside the urban areas.

The highlights of the agreement are the salary increase of 10 percent plus P260 for this year and 10 percent plus P260 for next year, and the signing bonus of P20,000.

The CBA negotiations, which officially began last Feb. 5, were successfully completed in three months’ time.

The memorandum of agreement between the management of Globe Telecom and the GTWU-FFW was ratified by a majority of the union members last May 4 during their general membership meeting.

The GTWU is currently affiliated with the Federation of Free Workers.

The law provides for a renegotiation of the economic and non-economic provisions of the CBA after a three-year period.

Thus, the current CBA between Globe Telecom and GTWU-FFW, which has a term of 2001 to 2005, was renegotiated at the start of this year as the three-year period ended last Dec. 31.

The subjects of the renegotiations were the economic and non-economic provisions that would cover the remaining years (2004 to 2005) of the existing 2001-2005 CBA.

The 2004-2005 renegotiated CBA covers approximately less than 1,000 rank-and-file employees that are mostly in the National Capital Region and Luzon.

The management panel was composed of Teresa Kong, head, Wireless Network Technical Group; Cesar Maureal, head, Human Resources Group; Emmanuel Aligada, head, Customer Service Division; Leonor D. G. Velasquez, head, Sales and Distribution Division; Filoteo Villamayor III, head, Billing Division; Roland Marquez, head, Strategic Staffing and Employee Relations Division; and Noel Santos, head, Employee Relations Department.

The union panel was composed of Santos Gudao, GTWU president; Eduardo Mendoza, vice president; Roselina Isidro, secretary; Angelito Banaga, chief steward; Nancy Guerrero, PRO and education head; Jose Bringas, auditor; and Salvacion Luzano and Raquel Araneta, board members.