Alleging unfair labor practice: VECO union files 'notice of strike'

CEBU, Philippines – The employees union of the Visayan Electric Company filed a notice of strike at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board yesterday.

The members of the Visayan Electric Company Employees Union - Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (VECEU-ALU-TUCP) filed the notice of strike after their president was sacked from his job.

The union filed the notice to strike on the grounds of unfair labor practice.

Union president Casimero Mahilum said that he was terminated on the ground of loss of trust and confidence.

ALU-TUCP on the other hand expressed disgust over the management's decision to terminate the local president and vowed to give its full support to the union.

Mahilum said that union members will be holding a strike vote either on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. It has a total of 239 members. 

VECO, in a press statement, assured the public that there will be no interruption in the delivery of power to its franchise area in case the strike will push through.

VECO spokesperson Ethel Natera said that they shall ensure that their services such as customer requests, applications and payments as well as complaints will be acted on in a manner that the VECO customer requires and deserves.

Natera said that the notice of strike came after Mahilum was terminated effective yesterday. 

Aside from the termination of Mahilum, the union alleged that disciplinary cases against union members can be considered union busting.

"It is unfortunate that the Union leadership has chosen to endanger the livelihood of its members whom it is sworn to protect and has completely disregarded its responsibility to public service as employees of a public utility," the press statement read.

Josefina Cabatingan Lim, ALU-TUCP director for education and information, in a statement said that VECO management accused Mahilum of instigating activism within the company when it filed Notice of Strike for various violations committed by the latter which includes among others harassments, suspension of 21 members without following the grievance procedure and on the issue of labor only contracting which contributes much to the decline of union membership in the company.

Lim said that Mahilum's administrative case never followed the grievance procedure but instead, was conducted by an investigating team created by management headed by Atty. Manolet Dinsay, lawyer of the company.

"The Union never participated in this investigation for the reason that it viewed such act as a "moro-moro" or kangaroo investigation scheme since Mahilum could not expect to win in the investigation considering that VECO is the complainant, the investigator and the judge," Lim's statement read.

Lim added that the administrative case is also the content of the three other criminal charges filed by management against Mahilum based on the May 1, 2009 (Labor Day activity) that came out in various local dailies.

She further stated that though a collective action of the union, the management singled Mahilum leading to the filing of a libel case, which was also used as basis for the decision on the ground that the same is a manifestation of the former being unworthy of trust and confidence by the latter.

Of the three criminal charges filed, one was dismissed while the other two are still pending before the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office. -/NLQ (FREEMAN)