Church saves Visayas from power loss

Manila Times.net
BY JOMAR CANLAS REPORTER

The Catholic Church has helped settle the ongoing row between labor and management of the Visayan Electric Co. (VECO) to prevent any power interruptions in Visayas. This was after the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group asked power consumers to pressure both parties to dialogue and settle amicably.

According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news, Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, head convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG), asked the public to write to all people involved in the labor dispute and urge them to sit down and dialogue.

Alminaza pointed out that it is to the best interest of everyone that the dispute is settled through conciliation to avoid labor strike, which could only bring inconvenience to the public.

It was pointed out that the workers might resort to a strike if the management continues to remain close to possible negotiation.

“Nobody wants a strike and the corresponding disruption of electrical services, especially during the Christmas holidays,” he added.

Alminaza said the workers’ right to strike is guaranteed by the United Nations Declarations on Human Rights and the teachings of the Church.

He said the public consumer “must know the facts of the case, and pressure both parties to resolve the issue peacefully and justly, in the interest of all affected people.”

The labor dispute began on October 28, when VECO terminated Casmero Mahilum, president of the Visayan Electric Co. Employees Union (VECEU) for alleged violation of the Company Code of Discipline.

Mahilum and the union protested against the termination, as it allegedly did not follow the steps of grievance procedure specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The workers asked Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to talk to the management but VECO remained firm in its decision.

During the VCDG gathering on November 8 to 9 in Cebu City, Mahilum asked the clergy’s help to settle the dispute.

The VCDG sent a letter to the VECO management asking for it to implement the CBA fully. The group also offered to mediate for a peaceful resolution of the issue. 

The VCDG has earlier offered to mediate the dispute but VECO management refused saying the case has been submitted already to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).

But the NLRC, in a response to the clergy’s query said that mediation is still the preferred solution to the problem.

Both the NLRC and the National Conciliation and Mediation Board support the VCDG’s initiative to mediate between the two parties.

But Veco management declined the offer of mediation saying, “there are legal issues involved in our case that must be answered so we can achieve industrial peace that cannot be solved by mediation proceedings.”