Caraga miners, workers adopt protocol

MINING FIRMS and workers in Mindanao’s Caraga region have agreed on a protocol to follow when disputes arise between them, a recent statement of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) read.

The statement quoted the department’s regional director for Caraga, Ofelia B. Domingo, as telling Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz that the Mining Industry Tripartite Council (MITC) of the region — which Ms. Domingo heads — has agreed on procedures to follow in handling disputes.

“I am pleased to report to the Secretary that the MITC in the Caraga region had passed its voluntary code of good practices,” the statement quoted Ms. Domingo as saying.

She said MITC vice-chairmen Dulmar M. Raagas and Ramon Erazo, who represent the management and labor sectors, respectively, pushed the approval of a resolution, dubbed “Adopting the Mining Industry Voluntary Code of Good Practices on Dispute Settlement and other industry concerns.”

The signatories to the code included representatives of Hinatuan Mining Corp.; Philex Mining Corp.; Delta Earthmoving, Inc.; Philippine Gold Mining Corp.; Case Mining Co.; Philnico Mining and Industrial Corp.; Oriental Synergy Mining Corp.; Pacific Cement Corp. (PACEMCO); and PCC Mining Co.

Also signing the code were the officials of the Taganito Labor Union; PACEMCO Employees Supervisors Union and PACEMCO Mamumuong Nagkahiusa.

“This code is another social partnership aimed at providing the mining industry a venue for social dialogue as means of getting across its concerns, especially issues that can be resolved at the industry level,” Ms. Baldoz said.

“The code will serve as benchmark for the mining industry in the Caraga region to address industry-specific issues with less intervention and regulation from the government.”

Among others, the code:

* forms a grievance machinery to provide the starting point in efforts to resolve disputes involving collective bargaining agreements, personnel policies and other plant-level issues;
* commits signatories to adhere to a 30-day conciliation-mediation period when such disputes arise; and
* forms a “Committee of Six,” composed of one representative each from the Chamber of Mines and DoLE, as well as two representatives each from labor and management that will mediate in such disputes.

Ms. Baldoz said that the code aims not only to ensure that labor standards are upheld, but also that workers improve productivity.

She noted that other sectors in other regions have adopted similar codes, namely: the information and communications technology sector, the hotel, restaurant and tourism sector, as well as the education sector in Western Visayas; the business process outsourcing sector in the Davao region; and the hospital sector in Metro Manila. “Through their codes, these industries have articulated their pledge to promote industrial peace based on social justice, thereby ensuring the welfare and protection of our workers,” Ms. Baldoz said. –Businessworld