Labor group threatens protest at APEC venues

CEBU, Philippines - Members of the militant labor group Partido ng Manggagawa threatened to hold protest actions at the hotel where delegates from Korea to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit are billeted.

Dennis Derige, spokesperson of PM-Cebu, said they will bring the concerns of the employees of Korean Power Corporation (Kepco) in the City of Naga.

There are at least four hotels in Cebu where APEC delegates are billeted. These include Radisson Blu Hotel, Marco Polo Hotel, and Marriott Hotel in Cebu City and Mactan Shangri-La Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City.

"Mamili lang mi asa ana nga mga hotels mi mag-rally. Basta kanang naay mga Korean delegates. We will make an appeal to them about our on-going labor dispute with Kepco," Derige said.

Derige, however, said that the scheduled strike on August 22 can still be averted if the management agrees to the demand of the workers. He said their lines of communication are still open.

The militant group together with some off-duty employees of Kepco yesterday held a picket rally in front of the gate of the power plant. The protest action, however, failed to disrupt the operation of the 200-megawatt modern coal-fired power plant.

A round 67 persons bearing flags held a picket in front of the power plant past 11 a.m. yesterday. The picket lasted for less than an hour.

"KSPC will continue to live by its commitment to provide and deliver reliable and affordable power supply to the Visayas, specifically to its electric cooperative customers and distribution utilities in Cebu, Negros, Leyte and Bohol," read Kepco’s statement.  (FREEMAN)