Labor unions rally support for Philex

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

(Thet Mesias, Philex information officer sent us this email regarding issues the company is facing like on labor which came out recently in the media. In the interest of fair play, we are printing it in this corner):  

Labor unions at Philex Mining Corp. (PMC) have rallied support for the company, saying they have been paid for all the overtime work rendered by their members, and that protective gears are issued to all workers, whether regular or contractual.

This developed following allegations that some members of Philex Mining Supervisory Employees Union (PMSEU) and Philex Rank-and-File Employees Union (PRFEU) had approached a leftist group based in the Philippine summer capital of Baguio City, to complain about non-payment of overtime work and unsafe working conditions.

 “These allegations are obviously meant to advance the group’s interests and gain media mileage in order to be heard,” Ka Undo Mataro, supervising officer of the two labor unions, said.

 He described those who had approached the leftist group as disgruntled workers desperately wanting to put up their own labor union with left-leaning agenda. He said these workers also wanted to disrupt the harmonious relationship between management and the two labor unions. 

Mataro has helped and assisted the PMSEU and PRFEU, which are members of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), in the monitoring, implementation, and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). He has also represented the labor unions in their grievances regarding their respective work assignments.

Members of PMC labor unions, which are local affiliates of the Associated Labor Unions and Associated Professional Supervisory Office & Technical Employees Union, have volunteered for the cleanup and rehabilitation drive in Balog Creek after the Aug. 1 accident at Padcal Mine, in Benguet. 

 PMC voluntarily stopped operations at its Padcal Mine, in Benguet, on Aug. 1 after the accidental discharge of sediment from its Tailings Pond No. 3 that followed historically unprecedented heavy rains brought about by typhoons Ferdie and Gener. 

 Mr. Mataro stressed that the allegation that the company did not pay the workers has no factual basis, saying the PMC management, through its manager of Finance Department at Padcal, Roselyn Dahilan, provided documentary evidence to refute this.

 And while there were cases of minor illnesses like LBM, headache, and body pains among employee-volunteers at the site, these have been taken care of by PMC’s medical personnel, headed by Dr. Mariele Ventenilla, who report to the site daily. 

 Workers with history of said minor illnesses were assigned to lighter jobs. Even before the Aug. 1 incident, some workers were allowed to be transferred to other departments with lesser workload, upon the discretion of the occupational head doctor.

Mataro said, meanwhile, that besides providing employee-volunteers with personal protective equipment (PPE) while working, additional safety gears, such as belt harness and nylon ropes, were assigned to those doing the cleanup of Balog Creek.

 “There is no way that the company would allow our union members in particular and its workers in general to carry out their work without safety gears,” he added. 

Mr. Mataro said that he, PMSEU President Renerio Lardizabal, Jr., and PRFEU President Alex Badongen have been in constant dialogue with PMC’s HR personnel in Padcal headed by Andy Zabala and Elsa Prangan.