Mine firm observes labor rules

by Dexter A. See, Manila Standard, Jan. 29, 2017

TUBA, Benguet—The management of the Philex Mining Corp. is strictly adhering to the government’s policy against contractualization of its workforce, citing that most of its over 2,100 managers, supervisors and rank and file are hired as regular workers.

Engineer Eulalio B. Austin Jr., Philex president and chief executive officer, said the company is also hiring contractual workers from service providers and contractors that are accredited by the Department of Labor and Employment pursuant to existing labor laws, rules and regulations.

“We have to strictly comply with whatever policies handed down by the present administration as we have already regularized a majority of our workforce even before the President Duterte’s pronouncements against contractualization since it is part of our practice as responsible mining firm,” Austin stressed.

The Philex official revealed the hiring of service providers and contractors are done in consultation with the Philex Mines Supervisors Union and the Philex Rank and File Union because the two labor unions are also monitoring the compliance of the company to existing laws, rules and regulations.

According to him, the company is hiring some 10 to 20 percent of its workforce from duly accredited service providers and labor contractors to allow the available jobs to be done in time because of the company’s need to also comply with their prescribed deadlines.

Because of the existence of the two labor unions in the mine site, he claimed Philex is one of the preferred employees in the region to date because the nearly P600 daily wage is almost 20 percent higher than the prevailing wage in the National Capital Region and nearly 292 percent more than the existing P285 daily wage approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in the Cordillera.