VECO workers protest “death” of CBA

CEBU, Philippines – Members of the Visayan Electric Company Employers Union held a candlelight protest yesterday in front of the VECO office in Banilad.

Many of them wore black pins to symbolize the death of their Collective Bargaining Agreement.

VECEU President Casmero Mahilum said that yesterday’s activity was the start of the series of protests they have in line for this week.

Today VECEU members will be wearing armbands in addition to the pins and they will have another candlelight activity this afternoon.

On Friday, they will be wearing black t-shirts and on Saturday morning a protest caravan will start from their office in Banilad down to University of San Carlos main campus where a forum will be held in the afternoon regarding the labor dispute.

Mahilum said that until yesterday, VECO Chief Operation Officer Jaime Aboitiz still failed to answer all their queries and all the letters they have sent regarding their CBA.

He added that Aboitiz implemented his own proposals and changes without first consulting members of the VECEU.

“Wala pa na-expire ang among CBA nagsige na og pagpanghilabot si Aboitiz,” Mahilom said.

VECEU has about 246 members who just wanted to protect the security of their CBA.

VECEU’s membership was tremendously reduced when VECO hired workers of labor-only contractors to handle fieldworks like billing and electric line posting, and maintenance.

Now membership of VECEU is confined to the administrative employees of VECO.

Ferdinand Jumapao, of the Membership Recruitment and Services of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, joined yesterday’s activity to show his support yesterday to the VECEU members.

Meanwhile Mahilum, who works as a customer service representative in VECO said yesterday that he received a memorandum asking him why he should not face serious disciplinary action regarding what he told about the media.

He added that he received another memorandum ordering him to report for reassignment of the warehouse of the Material and Management Department effective Monday.

“This is a constructive dismissal on my part, we are just here to express our anguish and to protect our CBA,” he said.

“We never asked anything that is not written on our CBA which is effective until December 31, 2011,” he added. – Johanna T. Natavio/BRP (THE FREEMAN)