Geothermal firm awards P120M retirement benefits to workers

AFTER CONCILIATION-MEDIATION

MANILA, Philippines—Seven cases of preventive mediation in one of the country’s biggest geothermal companies have been settled by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) following a series of conciliation conferences that resulted in the awarding of more than P120 million in retirement benefits.

In a report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, NCMB Executive Director Reynaldo Ubaldo said the management of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and its seven labor unions from the company’s various geothermal steam fields nationwide agreed to a retirement package offered earlier by the management.

The EDC management notified its employees of the implementation of the company’s Early Retirement Program (ERP) last August 9, 2010, prompting the seven labor unions to file preventive mediation cases before the regional branches of the NCMB. These labor unions are Pegea (NCR), Nuriwo, PELT-Atsape-Apsoteu, Lagpeu and TWU-Naflu-KMU (Region VIII), and Mawu-ALU-TUCP, and Mapteu-Apsoteu (Region XII).

Ubaldo said the NCMB regional boards concerned immediately conducted a series of conciliation conferences until the management and the unions agreed to a settlement last September 9, 2010.

Under their settlement agreement, the management committed to pay all the 95 affected workers retirement benefits equivalent to 250 percent of their basic monthly salary per year of service on top of other benefits like the livelihood programs for the affected employees provided they are qualified based on accreditation requirements.

Conciliator-Mediator Tomas Biboso of the NCMB Region VIII reported that 49 affected workers in EDC Ormoc City received their retirement benefits amounting to a total of P50 million last September 15, 2010, the same day the 37 workers in EDC Kidapawan received their retirement benefits amounting to P63.6 million as reported by NCMB Region XII Officer-in-Charge Feliciano Orihuela.

Also, nine affected workers in EDC Manila received a total amount of P14 million as payment of their retirement package.

Secretary Baldoz has lauded the NCMB, especially the conciliator-mediators, for the speedy resolution of the dispute at the EDC, one of the awardees of last year’s Most Outstanding Labor-Management Cooperation (LMC) for Industrial Peace.

“This is a clear indication that we are on the right track in terms of fulfilling President Aquino’s commitment to strengthen the labor and management cooperation toward the attainment of industrial peace,” Baldoz said. “And this is, indeed, commendable and it also shows how far we have already gone in strengthening the mechanism of LMC that we established in many industries like the EDC.”

The EDC which has around 2,583 employees nationwide is engaged in the exploration, development, and operation of geothermal projects in the country. It is also involved in geothermal steam production and generation of electricity for commercial use.

The company, which is under the Lopez Group, operates 12 geothermal steam fields in five geothermal service contract areas such as the Leyte Geothermal Production Field, Southern Negros Geothermal Production Field, Bacman Geothermal Production Field, Mindanao Geothermal Production Field, and Northern Negros Geothermal Production Field. –INQUIRER.net