Cebu Country Club: No labor dispute

CEBU, Philippines - The management of Cebu Country Club has clarified that there is no ongoing labor dispute between the club and those holding a picket outside its grounds. It also denied committing unfair labor practice.

"This statement is issued to clarify the misconception that the club has a labor problem and has been engaging in unfair labor practices. It has not. The club has no problem with its employees," the management said in a statement.

It said that the problem lies with the caddies who, aside from not being employees of Cebu Country Club, have allegedly refused to recognize and comply with the requirements set by club.

Two weeks ago, around 100 caddies who have affiliated themselves with the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines launched a "strike," which the country club management called as a picket. The caddies have protested the order of the country club management to accredit all caddies rendering services at the golf course.

The country club said that of the many years it has partnered with caddies, it is only now that a conflict like this occured. The club was founded in 1928.

The club insists that there is no employee-employer relationship between the management and the cabbies. Because such relationship does not exist, the club imposes no rules on how the cabbies apply their professional skills, judgments and services to the players.

Strictly speaking, the only relationship that exists, the management said, is the relationship between the caddies and the golf players. The players employ the caddies' services for a particular game.

The management said that the caddies are being paid by the players at mutually-agreed fees. As a guide, however, the club has suggested a fee of P250 for nine holes and P400 for 18 holes. Nevertheless, players are free and under no restriction to pay their caddies more.

"Because they are non-employees, they report for work only at their choosing. In effect, they come and go as they please, which is never the case under any employer-employee circumstance," the management said.

In the absence of an employee-employer relationship, the statement says, such a protest is nothing more than an illegal act, an illegal strike, whose only purpose is to coerce and intimidate the club into submission.

The club says it has tried to keep its peace and attempted to forge a reasonable solution to the problem but it appears that the situation is not headed toward this direction.

It added that the caddies' non-employee status has always been the club's position since it opened. This is reportedly normal practice supported by jurisprudence.

In the case of the Manila Golf and Country Club vs. Intermediate Appellate Court and Fermin Llamar, the Supreme Court ruled that no employer-employee relationship exists between golf clubs and persons rendering caddying services for club members.

In relation to this, the Cebu Country Club management called on ALU-TUCP to be mindful of the fact that a strike, being a powerful and destructive weapon, must be resorted to only within the bounds of law and only by employing means that are legal.

The management further said that the few protesting freelance caddies maliciously timed their act to coincide with the signature golf tournament of the club – The Coral Invitational Golf Tournament last January 15 to 17, which caused much embarrassment to the club and its members and placing them unfairly and unnecessarily in a bad light.

"This was a clear stab in the back that unequivocably shows the character of the protesters, and the nature of their protest," the statement further reads.

In light of the problem, starting this year, however, and prompted by incidents of petty crimes victimizing club members, the club imposed an accreditation policy that, in effect, allowed only caddies accredited by the club to enter the premises.

Majority of the caddies complied with the requirement and have continued to provide services without any problems, the statement reads.

The club has around 250 caddies prior to the protest. For now, only 150 are left rendering services in the club. (FREEMAN)