NEWS RELEASE

National Conciliation and Mediation Board

23 August 2010

Power firm settles labor dispute; new CBA signed

The management and the employees union in one of the major electric companies in the country have ended the impasse in their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) following the signing of their CBA recently.

In a report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) Executive Director Reynaldo Ubaldo said the union and management of the Philippine Electric Corporation (PHILEC) finally signed the three-year CBA with an estimated economic package amounting to P5,972,460.

The sealing of a new CBA stands to benefit about 93 workers who will receive P500, P800, and P1,000 per month salary increases for the first, second and third years, respectively.

Other economic benefits include production bonus scheme, union vehicle, and signing bonus, among others.

Ubaldo said the settlement of the labor dispute came after a series of conciliation conferences handled by Conciliator Mediator Estrella Rosal of the NCMB Region 4-A immediately after a Notice of Strike was filed by the union last July 15, 2010.

“Earnest efforts were exerted to convince parties to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to their dispute,” the NCMB head told Secretary Baldoz.

PHILEC, partly owned by the Lopez Group, is a manufacturer of transformers and Meralco is one of its principal clients. It employs a total of 155 workers, of which 93 are union members.

The last CBA concluded with the former bargaining agent, Philec Workers Union (PWU), expired on May 31, 2009. A certification election was conducted and a new group, the Philec Employees and Workers Association (PEWA), was certified as a new bargaining agent in December last year.