Salcon mgt accuses union of unfair labor practice

CEBU - The management of SPC Power Corporation accused its rank-and-file union as the one that is committing unfair labor practice and not the other way around.

Alan Fontanosa, SPC legal counsel and one of the management panels, said yesterday that the Salcon Power Independent Union is the one practicing unfair labor because of its public admission that their collective bargaining proposals are non-negotiable.

Fontanosa said among these “non-negotiable” proposals are: the management cannot promote any of the rank-and-file employees without the union’s consent and proposals on job security should pass through the grievance committee.

He explained these are among the things the management cannot just accept, saying it is the management’s prerogative to choose who would be promoted.

After more than 15 negotiations, the union and the management are still to agree on the economic and non-economic provisions of the union’s proposed CBA.

Fontanosa said it is not true that the management is not recognizing the union as representative of the rank-and-file employees. In fact, he said they have more than 15 meetings already and have agreed 90 percent on the non-economic proposals, which is more than enough to prove that the company has recognized the union as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent even if it has filed a separate case before the Department of Labor and Employment questioning the membership of the union.

Gaudioso Iso, SPIU president said that Article 1 Section 1 and 2 of their CBA proposals are non-negotiable since it is clearly defined by law and succeeding decisions of the labor secretary through the Bureau of Labor Relations upholding their legitimacy as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of the rank-and-file workers.

Earlier, Iso accused the management of negotiating with them not in good faith because it has filed a case questioning the union’s membership. He insisted that all their members are rank-and-file employees contrary to the claim of the management that some members are supervisory and confidential employees.

Under the Labor Code of the Philippines, supervisory and confidential employees are prohibited from joining rank-and-file union.

Iso also cautioned that if worse comes to worst, the union will go on strike, which will definitely affect Cebu’s power supply. “Yes, we are ready to strike kung di na gyud magkasinabot,” he said.

Fontanosa however advised the union to seek advice from somebody who can assure them 101 percent that the strike would be legal.

“Because if their strike will be declared as illegal, all the union members are automatically terminated. The members can also be terminated if they committed illegal acts during the strike,” Fontanosa warned.

The Labor Code defines strike as any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of a labor or industrial dispute adding that a strike may be declared in cases of bargaining deadlocks and unfair labor practices.

But Fontanosa said the grounds the union cited in their filing of notice of strike are “non-strikeable issues.” — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB (THE FREEMAN)