This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 20, June 26-July 2, 2005
LABOR WATCH
Lepanto Labor Row, Far from
Over A
multipartite meeting involving the striking union, Lepanto management, local
government and labor officials, coupled with several pre-dawn dispersal
operations, failed to weaken workers’ resolve to push for their demands.
BY Lyn V. Ramo and Abigail T. Bengwayan
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The
labor dispute in the Lepanto Mines in Mankayan town is far from over despite the
third multipartite negotiations with Benguet Gov. Borromeo Melchor, the National
Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) and the Department of Labor and
Employment (DoLE) at the governor’s office on June 23. The picketlines remain
intact despite open ingress and egress and workers remain steadfast not to
return to work, defying and earlier Return-to-Work Order by DoLE Undersecretary
Manuel Imson. Ronaldo Maslian, auditor
and spokesperson of the Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) said, “Saan pay a
nalpas ti negosasyon” (The negotiations are far from over) after the union
and management arrived at tactical agreements here. While leaders of the LEU
and the management of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMCo) agreed to
adhere to some points already reached at the second negotiation in Mankayan on
June 21, no talks have been held to address the issues for which the strike was
launched. Tactical agreements In a joint manifestation,
the parties specifically agreed to open Gates 1, 3, and 4, Tubo, Nayak and Buaki
for union officers to freely consult and coordinate with their members, subject
to security procedures. They also agreed that management is free to convince
workers to return to work while the union will also have the freedom to persuade
workers not to enter the workplace. Likewise, there will be a status quo at the
picket lines and that the parties shall not use any intimidation, harassment or
misrepresentation in convincing union members relating to the issues involved.
Ninian Lang-agan, LEU
president, asked that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) be drawn up between the
union and the company before going back to the negotiation on wages and deadlock
issues. He said there should be an atmosphere of peace when the negotiations
resume and the labor dispute finally settled. Defying DoLE At the opening of the
negotiations, Labor Regional Director Jalilo de la Torre offered to submit to
voluntary arbitration the termination of 75 LEU members including officers and
their reinstatement in the payroll. Since the multipartite body did not agree,
De la Torre asked them to submit their respective positions until 5 p.m. on June
24. He said, however, that the DoLE secretary’s order has settled the issue on
wages on June 9. DoLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas ordered P25-P27-P29 against
LEU’s P29-P29-P33 and Lepanto’s P21-P26-P28. LEU rejected the proposed
wage settlement and defied DoLE’s return-to-work order. In a proposed MoA read
by the union’s legal counsel, LEU demanded, among others, that management
consider, recall or withdraw the notice of termination it issued on June 11 and
that Lepanto consider all members reinstated while negotiation on the increase
in wages and other benefits is ongoing. The officers said they would not report
for work unless management assured them that no retaliatory action would be made
against them and their members. LEU also assailed Lepanto’s
move at hiring new workers while the union is on strike and negotiations are
underway. Lepanto allegedly announced that it needed miners and reportedly,
recruits Philex retrenched workers into its workforce. LCMCo position The Lepanto
representatives, legal counsel Weldy Manlong and Assistant Resident Manager
Ernesto Laoagan said they do not want to reinstate the dismissed strikers and
wanted them to “pay for the consequences of their action” by filing cases in
appropriate courts. They also demanded the lifting of the strike. DoLE’s De la Torre,
however, said that the legality of the strike might be threshed out in another
forum, reminding Lepanto that National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has its
hands full with thousands of labor cases up for settlement. He said it would
take a long time before it could decide on the cases. He convinced management to
soften its position. The union wants an
assurance that issues are settled with finality on the negotiating table and
asked that Lepanto’s chief operating officer or its president attend the
negotiations. Company representatives
said they will consult the chairman and members of the Board on the issue.
Laoagan appealed to the
workers to lift the strike and return to work so Lepanto could pay its
obligations. He said the National Power Corporation (NPC) has served its
statement of account for unpaid electric bills. Maslian challenged labor
officials to visit the picket lines even as De la Torre agreed to take the
issues directly to the general membership of the union and the owners of the
company. He said LCMCo is on a black propaganda blitz informing workers that
the negotiations are over and convincing them to return to work. Pre-dawn dispersals
Tension at the picketlines
heightened after the police dispersal on June 18, 20 and 21, led by PNP’s Col.
Ernesto Gaab and the company security force, or the Reaction Force under Col.
Wilhelm Doromal in the Tubo and Nayak picket lines. Most of the dispersals were
carried out in the dark, just before dawn. According to the Kilusang
Mayo Uno (KMU)-Cordillera, two miners were injured when the company’s security
men forced open part of the Tubo gate to unload supplies brought by a
six-wheeler truck last June 18, 3 a.m. Mauricio Cadangen and Lolito Onio were
among the miners who blocked the gate. Doromal struck Cadangen in the wrist with
a rattan stick. Onio was reportedly hit on his right knee by Doromal’s men.
On June 20 at around 2:30
a.m., workers blocked the way of policemen escorting a company truck toward the
Nayak picket line. KMU said the police pushed the strikers and attempted to
handcuff miner Artemio Tictic. Tictic was also hit in the hand with the
handcuffs and kicked. After the scuffle, another miner, Denver Tictic, reported
his cellphone as stolen. Meanwhile, Luvina Tictic, who tried to pacify the
policemen, was hit with a rattan stick in the right arm. The following day at 4
a.m., over 200 policemen, armed with M16 and M14 rifles, surrounded the strikers
at the Tubo gate and started dismantling the picket area. Makeshift tents,
banners, and kitchen utensils were confiscated. Prescilla Dilem of Timpuyog
dagiti Babbai iti Minas ti Lepanto (TBML) said that one of the policemen tried
to empty one sack of rice into the ground. Other food supplies were scattered,
she added. The miners’ wives have been helping man the shift since the strike
took off on June 2. The victims filed
complaints at the municipal hall. Union officers condemned the manner by which
the dispersal was done. Maslian said PNP’s actions
made it very clear that it is siding with the company. Frantic management Lepanto management has
reportedly filed criminal charges against the LEU and claimed some 80 percent of
the workforce has reported back to work. “That (filing of case) is
only a threat. They say they intend to close the mines if we don’t return to
work. That is impossible since they have applied for expansion of operations.
Investors are already on the way,” he said. On June 23, while union
officers were in a dialogue with Melchor and representatives of the NCMB, DoLE
and Lepanto, Doromal and his men reportedly went to the picket lines and
announced that the negotiation was over and union officers had already given in
to management. The management also
distributed an open letter to the four picket lines on June 23, accusing union
officers of misinforming the members, even questioning their leadership.
According to a KMU press
release also on June 23, the Lepanto management continues to hold meetings to
persuade miners’ wives to convince their husbands to return to work. Junita Farrong of TBML
however stressed that the miners’ families will continue to support the workers
until all demands are addressed. “Sisasagana kami nga ituloy daytoy strike”
(We are determined to continue with the strike), she said. With reports
from Aldwin Quitasol / Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat