The group Partido Manggagawa
slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for imposing an
assumption of jurisdiction (AJ) order that stopped the union at the KEPCO
(Korea Electric Power Corporation) Cebu coal power plant from staging a work
stoppage. The union has been deadlocked in its collective bargaining (CB)
negotiations with the company.
“The DOLE’s AJ is favorable
to the company as it prevents workers from exercising leverage to achieve its
reasonable demands. Moreso, DOLE violated its own DO 40-H-13 in imposing an AJ
without the following the required procedure. Both KEPCO and DOLE are pasaway
(misbehaving) labor relations actors!,” stated Dennis Derige, union organizer
of SENTRO and spokesperson for the PM chapter in Cebu.
The KEPCO union is an
affiliate of SENTRO and its members voted overwhelmingly for a strike, as
required by law. DOLE’s AJ was handed down on the eve of the planned strike .
“Since the union could not legally go on strike, KEPCO remains hardline in its
bargaining position as it felt relieved of the pressure of an impending work
stoppage,” Derige added.
The deadlocked CB provisions
included wage increase, medical allowance, signing bonus, union security,
grievance procedures, agency fees and the formation of a just transition
committee composed of the union and management.
Derige explained that “None
of the union’s economic and political demands are controversial or excessive.
In fact, the union has shown flexibility by reducing its initial demands. But
KEPCO—despite being stable and profitable—has been intransigent and just
disrespects the union.”
He added that DOLE DO 40-H-13
requires that an AJ can only be ordered if either both parties requested for an
AJ or the DOLE first called for a conference of the two parties prior to the
issuance of the AJ. Derige said that neither of these two conditions were
satisfied.
According to latest information posted on the National Conciliation and Mediation Board’s website, the DOLE has already issued three AJ’s as of February this year. In comparison seven AJs were imposed for the whole year of 2024. The Philippine government has been the subject of complaints to the International Labour Organization for its indiscriminate use of AJs that results in the effective prohibition of the right to strike, aside from the killings of trade unionists and other forms of repression of the freedom to unionize.
April 4, 2025
