Sanofi med reps win wage hike, conclude CBA after four days of natiowide protests:

After days of nationwide protests and bringing the company on the verge brink of a strike, the med reps of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Aventis (Phils) Inc. won their demand for a wage hike and concluded their new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA was signed by the union and management late last night after a marathon whole-day mediation meeting called by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to avert a planned strike.

“What we were not able to achieve in four months of protracted negotiations at the table, we won in four days of nationwide protests in the streets. We owe this victory to the unity and activism of the union members, first of all, and then next to the solidarity of our sisters and brothers in the labor movement. Ang panalo ng Sanofi med reps ay panalo ng lahat ng manggagawa,” declared Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU).

SAEU members with a tenure of 10 years and above will get a P2,800 monthly salary increase every year for three years and a merit pay increase of P600, equivalent to a 9% hike in average monthly wages. Employees with less than 10 years tenure will get P1,800 per year for the duration of the CBA and a merit pay hike of P400.

“The salary hike we obtained will ensure we remain at the living wage and that our compensation is competitive with our labor productivity and company profitability. Further, the CBA we have attained will hopefully set a benchmark that will benefit all workers in the pharmaceutical industry,” averred Joseph Corpuz, a SEAU officer.

Sanofi had been in the news recently because the Department of Health had ordered just for this year some P3 billion worth of anti-dengue vaccines that is solely manufactured by Sanofi. According to media reports, executives of the French-owned global company met President Benigno Aquino III on the sidelines of the Paris climate change talks ostensibly over the vaccine contract.

CBA negotiations between SAEU and Sanofi were deadlocked in October last year which led to a notice of strike. After the strike notice matured more than a week ago, SAEU organized daily protests in the Sanofi office in Makati and the cities of Angeles in Pampanga, Calamba in Laguna, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao. The mediation yesterday was billed by the union as a make-or-break meeting which would have led to a strike if no “fair deal” was reached.

Renato Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM), among the groups which supported SAEU, said that “The hard-won victory of SAEU is an inspiration and a lesson to colleagues in the labor movement. SAEU the David slayed the goliath Sanofi through unity and action. Sanofi blinked when it was brought to the brink of a strike that SAEU had prepared well.”

Aside from PM, labor groups such as the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), Bayer Philippines union, Federation of Free Workers and Industri-ALL global union had participated in the Sanofi med reps mass actions. 

January 26, 2016

SAEU

Advisory: Restive med reps to hold prayer rally tomorrow on 2nd day of protest

MEDIA ADVISORY

January 21, 2016

Contact: Joseph Corpuz @ 09175451276

Pharma firm Sanofi on the verge of a strike:

Med reps to hold prayer rally on 2^ndday of protest

WHAT: Med reps of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis to hold prayer rally

WHEN: Today, January 21, 2016, 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Sanofi-Aventis, Feliza Building, 108 V.A. Rufino St, Makati

DETAILS: On the second day of protests over a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations, med reps of pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis are holding a prayer rally this afternoon. Since October last year, CBA talks have been deadlocked over ten items from salary hike to hospitalization plan.

In protests held nationwide yesterday, some 100 med reps launched a rally at the Sanofi corporate headquarters in Makati while scores of other union members picketed the Department of Labor and Employment regional offices in the cities of Angeles in Pampanga, Cebu, Bacolod and Davao.

Any day now the union Sanofi-Aventis Employees Union(SAEU) can organize a work stoppage as their notice of strike already matured last Friday. SAEU vowed to sustain daily actions to push for the resolution of the CBA deadlock.

Lei Lucido, president of the said that “We call on management to meet halfway the demands of its loyal, hardworking employees. Sanofi med reps are just asking for a salary we deserve. We are appealing for a fair share of the fruits of our labor.”

Med reps of big pharma firm hold protest due to CBA deadlock:

Scores of med reps of the big pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis held a protest this morning to call on management to accede to workers’ demands for a wage increase and end the collective bargaining negotiations deadlock. Since October last year, bargaining talks have been deadlocked over ten items from salary hike to hospitalization plan. Last Friday, the notice of strike filed by the med reps union matured and a strike can be launched any day according to law.

Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi-Aventis Employees Union(SAEU) said that “We call on management to meet halfway the demands of its loyal, hardworking employees. For two straight years, med reps have met their tough sales quotas and revenues are increasing while the number of employees are decreasing. Sanofi med reps are just asking for a salary we deserve. We are appealing for a fair share of the fruits of our labor.”

In the noisy but peaceful protest by SAEU, several members spoke in turn about the challenges of achieving sales quotas and the stress of meeting productivity demands by management. They also held a noise barrage using whistles to symbolize their hope that management will hear their just demands.

“A good collective bargaining agreement that provides for a living wage and decent benefits is the Rx for the productive and demanding work that med reps deliver. Sanofi-Aventis is a very profitable company that can afford to be generous to its employees. We remind management that happy workers are productive workers,” insisted Joseph Corpuz,  a SAEU officer.

He added that “Labor costs comprise just two percent of the operational costs of Sanofi-Aventis. Granting our demand for a wage hike will hardly make a dent on the profitability a giant multinational company like Sanofi.”

SAEU members in cities of Angeles, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao also held protests at the regional officers of the Department of Labor and Employment. The mass actions today is the start of daily actions to push for the resolution of the CBA deadlock.  

SAEU represents some 200 med reps working for the company over the whole country. Sanofi-Aventis is among the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the Philippines and is fourth largest in the world in terms of sales. Sanofi-Aventis (Philippines) Inc. is the subsidiary of the multinational firm Sanofi based in France.

SAEU

January 20, 2016

Media Advisory: Sanofi med reps to hold protest over CBA deadlock

MEDIA ADVISORY

January 19, 2016

Contact: Joseph Corpuz @ 09175451276

WHAT: Med reps of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis to hold picket-protest

WHEN: Tomorrow, January 20, 2016, 7:00 a.m.

WHERE: Sanofi-Aventis, Feliza Building, 108 V.A. Rufino St, Makati

DETAILS: Scores of Sanofi-Aventis med reps are holding the protest tomorrow to call on the company to end the deadlock over collective bargaining negotiations by meeting workers’ demands for a wage increase. Since October last year, CBA talks have been deadlocked over ten items from salary hike to hospitalization plan. Last Friday, the notice of strike filed by the med reps union matured and a strike can be launched any day according to law.

Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi-Aventis Employees Union(SAEU) said that “We call on management to meet halfway the demands of its loyal, hardworking employees. For two straight years, med reps have met their tough sales quotas and revenues are increasing while the number of employees are decreasing. Sanofi med reps are just asking for a salary we deserve. We are appealing for a fair share of the fruits of our labor. We aim to conclude a good CBA that will be an industry benchmark which should benefit all pharmaceutical workers.”

SAEU represents some 200 med reps working for the company over the whole country. Similar pickets will be held by SAEU members in cities of Angeles, Cebu and Davao. The protest tomorrow is the start of daily actions to push for the resolution of the CBA deadlock.