Season of discontent as unions file notices of strike over CBA deadlocks

 

An increasing number of unions are filing notices of strike over deadlocks with management over negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). “This is a season of discontent as workers fight for increases in wages and benefits against companies which are acting like Scrooges. The recent wage orders in different regions do not impact unionized workers who earn more than the minimum wage,” stated Judy Miranda, secretary general of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

 

A case in point is Union Motor Corporation in Otis, Manila, a dealer of Mitsubishi cars. The union filed a notice of strike over deadlock in CBA talks last November 12. Union members also voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike on November 22. Cyrus Salamon, president of the Union Motor Sales Corporation Employees Association, explained that “Since November 28, we are negotiating with management under the auspices of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. Management has finally offered a counter proposal, so we are hopeful for an agreement that is acceptable to union members. Still, the notice of strike remains as we continue to fight for our just demands.”

 

Miranda bared that aside from Union Motor, the faculty union of a big university in the Visayas also has a pending notice of strike due to a CBA deadlock. She added that the dispute at the logistic company J&T Express was also on the brink of a strike but was recently averted through a timely agreement. “Last month, the provincial bus company Mark Eve’s Transport was hit by a strike over refusal of management to bargain with the union. The strike ended with management’s recognition of the union and an offer for the CBA. All these disputes reveal seething labor unrest over employers’ refusal to share with their workers the fruits of production,” Miranda elaborated.

 

Salamon clarified that the union is asking for improvements in the salary, rice subsidy, retirement pay and signing bonus. “Our demands are realistic and based upon the company’s financial capability,” he insisted.

 

Miranda said that a union and management of a tobacco factory is also having CBA talks and while talks have not reached a deadlock, the two sides are still far apart in terms of the union proposal and management counterproposal. “Again, economic demands by workers for improved wages and benefits mirror the difficulties faced by workers due to the high cost of living. Capitalists can easily afford these worker demands as labor productivity has increased by more than 50% over the last two decades while real wages have remained stagnant. In other words, the economic pie has become bigger, but the slice received by workers has remained the same,” she expounded.

 

PM and the Nagkaisa labor coalition are pushing for a P150 legislated wage hike as one pathway for workers to recover the lost purchasing power of their salaries. This was one of the main demands in the recent Bonifacio Day mobilizations across the country.