BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The Ceneco Union of Rational Employees (CURE) leadership will seek the approval of union members to hold a strike thru a strike vote referendum on Saturday.
CURE president Stefannie Montaner yesterday said that once the yes vote wins, they will hold a strike for the non-implementation of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative management of the approved Collective Negotiation Agreement (CBA). The strike will follow a mandatory 7-day cooling off period with the management.
The Ceneco management has not implemented the approved CBA until now, which include a 5 percent salary increase even after the holding of the Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) on September 26, 2021 and despite the intervention of the National Electrification Administration (NEA).
Instead, Ceneco has set a certain condition that they should attain a collection efficiency of 95 percent which is unattainable given the present situation she said, adding that no such condition was presented during the negotiation.
Montaner said they will hold a strike until the management of Ceneco implements the approved CBA. This could affect the collection, meter reading and other services of Ceneco since their linemen are also union members.
Ray Gorgonio, the union’s legal counsel, said the Ceneco management will incur great losses if the union members hold a strike which is sanctioned by law. The 5 percent increase being sought by the workers from 2021 (instead of 2017) up to the present is only a fraction of the DSM or distribution services and metering.
Based on the financial statement they were provided for last year, the projected collection of Ceneco is about P747 million. The demand of the union members is only about P7 million to be implemented on a staggard basis, he said.
Gorgonio meanwhile said Ceneco cannot hire workers to take over the job of the workers who are on strike since this is in violation of the guidelines of the Department of Labor and Employment.*
