Tanduay, union agree on new 3-year CBA

MANILA, Philippines - Management and union officers of Tanduay Distillers, Inc. (Quiapo plant) agreed yesterday to renew their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the period 2011 to 2014, ushering another three years of industrial peace at the company’s pioneer and oldest liquor bottling plant in Manila.

The month-long CBA negotiations began March 1, 2011 and ended after seven meetings on March 29, 2011 when both parties agreed on the CBA’s revised economic provisions.

The union thanked Tanduay for the new CBA which provided modest improvements in economic benefits while retaining all other existing provisions of past agreements. Management, meanwhile, praised union officers for their cooperation and sincere desire for a win-win solution. It also cited the new CBA as a manifestation of management’s concern for its workers amidst the harsh business environment.

“The CBA was outstanding in terms of economic and non-economic benefits,” said union president Ben Agaloos. It took the union and management only a month to agree on the terms of the new CBA. And it is worthwhile to note that the talks were held under an atmosphere of respect and cordiality between the union and management, he added.

Agaloos, who has been the president of the 63-year-old union for five decades now, said militancy has ceased to become a norm in the local labor movement, adding that CBA issues, no matter how difficult, can be resolved on the negotiating table.

“There is no need to resort to use of offensive language. In our case, the talks were hectic but went smoothly. No irritants whatsoever,” he said.

Tanduay’s negotiating panel was led by SVP-CFO Nestor Mendones; VP Joseph Tcheng, assistant to the COO; manager Josefina De Luna, personnel head; and manager Chito Bugia, corporate services head. The Tanduay Distillers Labor Union (TDLU) panel was composed of the union’s 18 elected officers led by TDLU president Agaloos and Benedict Monfero, Association of Democratic Labor Organization representative.

Tanduay officials likened a CBA negotiation to a two-way street, or a give and take situation. Two parties can’t reach an amicable agreement if one party will insist only on one position, the company said.