Soft drink workers plan strike vs layoffs

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Three unions of employees in the soft drinks maker Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) have filed notices of strike at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) to stop alleged layoffs and union-busting, their leaders said.

The NCMB on Friday started hearing the cases filed by the unions of sales and manufacturing workers in the CCBPI plants in San Fernando City in Pampanga and Meycauayan City in Bulacan.

The hearings are held to amicably settle the labor dispute without hurting operations.

“The company announced it is giving up 610 workers from Ilocos to Bicol. It cites redundancy to force our union members to retire early,” said Alfredo Maranon, president of the San Fernando CCBPI Rank and File Union (Sacoru).

The unions prefer to preserve jobs than lose these amid the impact of the global financial crisis, he said.

Workers have been picketing the company’s premises during off-duty hours since Monday to protest the early retirement.

At least 111 workers in the company’s plant in Meycauayan and 68 others in San Fernando “have availed of the early retirement program,” according to company’s notice filed with the Department of Labor and Employment on May 29.

The DOLE did not cite this as a case of permanent or temporary layoff.

Anna Gizelle Camua, CCBPI internal communications manager, had said some personnel would be affected because of a “restructuring of its sales, delivery and commercial operations in the [Greater Manila Area] and Luzon.” — Tonette Orejas, Philippine Daily Inquirer