Majority of SPC union members may not join upcoming strike

CEBU, Philippines - Majority of the members of the rank and file union of SPC Power Corporation have reportedly become disgruntled over the current union leadership and will not participate in an impending strike against the company following the lapse of the cooling off period of the notice of strike last week.

In a statement to The Freeman, the said union members said they are disappointed with the leadership of Union president Gaudioso Iso and union treasurer Joel Tolentino because the two allegedly want them to go on strike to push for much higher compensation “for no work more than half the year.”

Iso and Tolentino are reportedly demanding for a 20 percent increase in salary along with extended leave benefits like a 24-day holiday leave, 24-day sick leave and 150-day union leave, terms that they reportedly do not agree to.

They said Iso and Tolentino do not have the moral ascendancy to make such demands, considering that they reportedly have been receiving high salaries- Iso with P 78,241.34 and Tolentino with P50,216.55 in 2008.

Iso and Tolentino could not be reached for comment but in an earlier interview, Iso dismissed the claims and described them as “not credible.”

SPC, for its part, could not yet confirm the figures alleged by the union members, as the company might be accused of union busting.

Still, Alfredo Ballesteros, head of the management panel in the CBA negotiations, said they intend to formally ask permission from the National Conciliation and Meditation Board to provide the public of “accurate information,” especially on the salaries of the two union leaders.

“We believe that in a democracy, the publication of the truth is paramount. However, there are processes that we must observe to avoid complications especially now that the SPIU has filed a notice of strike,” Ballesteros said.

He said the SPC management believes that the public deserves to know the real income of Iso and Tolentino in a controversy that threatens Cebu with brownouts due to demands for more benefits.

Ballesteros is also asking the labor union not to press opposition should NCMB grant SPC’s request to release its records.

The Salcon Power Independent Union filed a notice of strike with the NCMB in mid-June 2009, alleging that the SPC management has shown lack of good faith in the negotiations for the Collective Bargaining Agreement. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO (THE FREEMAN)