Industrial Relations

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) on Sunday slammed as a “midnight decision” the order signed by acting Labor Secretary Romeo Lagman that found the planned PAL spin-off as a valid exercise of management prerogative.

ENERGY Secretary Jose Ibazeta on Friday urged National Power Corp.’s employees to prepare for a coming reorganization that will likely result in layoffs, saying the state-run firm was overstaffed.

MANILA, Philippines – A workers’ union at ABS-CBN network criticized management for alleged unjust dismissals and harassment of its members. ABS-CBN IJM (Internal Job Market) workers’ union president Antonio Perez claimed that management had discriminately terminated, delayed, or rearranged work schedules of dozens of ABS-CBN IJM workers since midnight Wednesday.

Dear PAO, I’m working for an ESL school in Cebu City. I just tendered my resignation letter a couple of weeks ago. It’s effective three months subsequently after I handed my letter of resignation. I wanted to avail a week leave within my remaining months of tenure in this school but they disapproved my leave…

MANILA, Philippines – More than 50,000 rank-and-file government employees who are co-terminus with President Arroyo could lose their jobs after she steps down from office on June 30.

CEBU, Philippines – The intervention and mediation of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) is being sought to resolve the labor dispute involving the attack on the picket line at the alleged runaway shop of R&Y Augousti in Mandaue City.

The normal consequences of illegal dismissal are reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and award of back-wages from the time the salary is withheld up to actual reinstatement. But can separation pay be also awarded aside from back-wages? This is the issue raised once more in this case of Mang Pepe.

PUBLIC health or public social workers, who have been transferred or reassigned without written notice or justification, can file an appeal with the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Policy positions differ in the trade union movement, both at national and international levels concerning the use of temporary work agencies. Views vary from total bans on such agencies, to partial bans, to strict regulation. There are also differences as to on what basis workers should be covered by collective bargaining agreements. However, there are…

CEBU, Philippines – Stones and cups of hot water were literally flying at midmorning yesterday outside a Mandaue City furniture firm, the subject of a workers’ picket for two weeks now.

MANILA, Philippines – Death is no exit for erring government officials being probed for administrative offenses like grave misconduct, dishonesty, and the like as their cases still would not be dismissed, a recent Civil Service Commission (CSC) circular said.

The next European generalized system of preferences (GSP) would provide additional liberalization for exports of developing countries such as the Philippines, according to EuroCommerce, a group representing the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors in Europe.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has submitted to President-elect Benigno Aquino III a 100-day economic road map that aims to help the new administration fulfill its own economic agenda.

OFFICIALS of Clark Development Corp. (CDC) announced the peaceful conclusion of the collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with two CDC employees’ unions recently.

MANILA, Philippines – Employees of the Bureau of Customs assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport may soon get their overtime pay after five years of waiting.

CEBU, Philippines – Workers affiliated with the ALU-TUCP yesterday staged a picket in front of their company, R & Y Auguosti, a furniture firm in barangay Pagsabungan, Mandaue City, accusing management of being a run-away shop, unfair labor practice, and violating the economic provisions of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

This is another case illustrating that a final decision can no longer be modified. This is the case of Lito who was hired as technical salesman by a company engaged in the distribution of various chemicals from foreign suppliers (MTI). After more than six years of employment, MTI terminated Lito’s services on July 15, 1997.

AQUINO TOLD MANILA, Philippines—A labor group has urged apparent President-apparent Benigno Aquino III to persuade American lawmakers to pass a bill that seeks to revive the textile and apparel trade between the United States and the Philippines, and create thousands of new jobs in both countries.

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In his Googled biography, apparent president-elect Noynoy Aquino was portrayed having the utopian dream of an industrialized Philippines where finding jobs will be a matter of choice for workers and not of necessity.

Dear PAO, I am working as a computer analyst in one of the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Quezon City. The contract that I signed states that I am a probationary employee and that it is valid for six months only. I have been working now for seven months and four days. What is…

MANILA, Philippines — The Lucio Tan-led Philippine Airlines (PAL) has postponed a plan to outsource about 3,000 jobs by the end of the month amid the government’s moves to resolve issues between the company and labor groups.

ABOUT 1.5 million government employees are assured of continued wage increases in the succeeding three years, even as President Gloria Arroyo ends her term in Malacañang on June 30.

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Employers sometimes put up as a defense in illegal dismissal cases, abandonment or refusal to return to work by the employee. To establish such defense however, employers must show that they have complied with the requirement of notice. This is illustrated in this case of Lucy.

THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) is willing to work with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and similar groups to amend “outdated” provisions of the 34-year-old Labor Code.

MANILA, Philippines – A village guard allegedly shot dead his colleague for reporting late for work in Quezon City Friday night.

BY PERSIDA ACOSTA Dear PAO, I just want to know if I am entitled to have a separation pay even if I resigned because of personal reasons? I worked for 4 years in a private firm (trading company) in Makati City. Scorpio Girl

Without demeaning Filipino labor, its strength and voice through the years has increasingly been diminished and silenced. This year, sans the din of election campaigning, we note that there are fewer workers who would march the streets or lay their lives for the cause.

Today is a non-working holiday by virtue of Proclamation 2043 issued on April 28. Like many other people with five-day workweeks from Monday to Friday, I personally benefited from the non-working holiday proclamation. An extra day off is always welcome particularly at this time when the heat is more oppressive than usual and given the…