Mimosa’s CBA negotiations with employees resolved

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga: Negotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the estate-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and Clark Mimosa Employees Association have been concluded.
The CDC Special Project for Resort Operation (CDC-SPRO) announced on Wednesday the “successful” conclusion of the CBA after the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on December 1.

CDC President Benigno Ricafort said all issues have been resolved after CDC-SPRO gave generous paramount importance to the welfare of Mimosa employees when it decided to continue operating the tourism estate in 1999 despite of the uncertainties in the business conditions at that time.

In the MOA, both the CDC-SPRO and union officials agreed on 18 noneconomic benefits and four economic benefits which include occupational, health and safety/miscellaneous benefits; grievance machinery; separation/gratuity pay; and salary increase, among others.

“Among the other important provisions in the MOA,” Ricafort said, “is the endorsement of the SPRO employees to CDC as
the new investor.”

Ricafort quoted the MOA saying “All employees shall be endorsed by the CDC-SPRO resort to the new investor, subject to the latter’s management prerogative.”

To assure smooth and peaceful operations of the 215-hectare Mimosa Leisure Estate and pending its transfer to a new operator, Ricafort said the MOA also included a “No strike/lockout clause.”

In 1999, CDC-SPRO took over operations of the Mimosa Leisure Estate following the nonpayment of arrears of Mimosa Leisure Park under firmer tourism secretary Jose Antonio Gonzales in 1999.

SPRO employees have been receiving competitive salary wages, which are comparable to other resort operations in Central Luzon and Metro Manila, Ricafort said. –Mark Roxas, Manila Times