Rodney Baslot, President of Brokenshire College Faculty and Staff Union, scores the moves of the school management against the union and their members. (davaotoday.com file photo by Ace R. Morandante)
Rodney Baslot, President of Brokenshire College Faculty and Staff Union, said they might take this means of last resort as the management made several moves against the union, the latest being the “illegal dismissal” of 11 instructors on March 8.
By CHERYLL D. FIEL
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines– The faculty union of Brokenshire College is set for a strike after the management allegedly failed to comply with their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and resorted to terminating employees.
Rodney Baslot, President of Brokenshire College Faculty and Staff Union, said they might take this means of last resort as the management made several moves against the union, the latest being the “illegal dismissal” of 11 instructors on March 8.
Baslot said the union and the management have set May 4 to 6 to discuss the matter, and if worse comes to worst, the strike will push through.
The union filed a notice of strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board-XI on March 22 and won a majority vote in the strike balloting.
Brokenshire College currently employs 150. Only 62, however, are members of the union.
Like any other private institutions, the faculty and staff of Brokenshire find the union as their means to defend their rights and demand what is due them.
The workers’ weapon
“The union is our leverage to be able to bargain for what should be rightfully given us by our employers,” Baslot said, adding that had they not unionized, they would not have seen any increase in their wages.
Before they formed the union, a worker’s minimum salary was only PHP 285 a day. But this was increased to PHP 400 following their CBA negotiations.
Baslot said they pushed for the increase, as they find it atrocious that the college has been increasing its tuition fees yet they had not received salary increases in the past five years.
Thus, the faculty and staff formed their union in October 2012. They hammered a CBA negotiation but reached a deadlock in the economic issues, particularly on the terms of the improvement of salaries and benefits of the teaching and non-teaching personnel. This led to a strike on December 4.
Prior to this, Baslot said, the union had even adjusted its economic demands just to come up with an acceptable solution to the dispute.
In fact, he cited, the union even initially withdrew most of its demands for salary increase, additional credits for sick, vacation, emergency, study, service, maternity and paternity leaves, and other economic benefits and demanded only what was taken away from them by the Brokenshire College Administration (BCA).
The strike was, however, short-lived when the Department of Labor issued an Assumption of Jurisdiction (AJ) Order, forcing workers out of the picket line and back to work. The strike lasted for one day, but Baslot said, they did not give up at once.
While the AJ order was implemented, the union persisted on the CBA negotiation with the BCA and managed to conclude an agreement last February 11.
Among the provisions agreed upon include a signing bonus of PHP 500 and a rice allowance balance of PHP 550 per month from November 2012 to June 2013, for every union member. Also included was a pro-rated scholarship/discount for 17 identified union beneficiaries amounting to PHP 147,500 and a pro-rated vacation leave benefit to be given this summer, among others.
Baslot cited there are still some provisions that have yet to be implemented, such as rice benefits and an increase in the salary rate of the masters and doctorate degree holders.
A portent
Amid this, sad news swept the union on March 8 when the management informed that 11 of their fellow workers would be removed from work, citing “redundancy” as reason.
Redundancy under the concept of Philippine labor laws is one of the authorized causes for termination of employment under Article 283 of the Labor Code. It is said to exist when the number of employees exceeds the actual requirements for the operation of a business.
However, Romualdo Basilio, spokesperson for labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno- Southern Mindanao, pointed out it is not merely for the employer to declare they are “over-manned.”
“They have to base it on the actual requirements of the business, and not in this case, where they are basing their declaration of redundancy on a mere projection. What they are doing is already a circumvention of the labor law,” Basilio said.
Baslot said the union does not also accede to the management’s declaration, saying they are aware the latter is even up to hiring workers.
Besides, he said, the 11 clinical instructors have been working for the College for years. “It is totally unjust to kick them out just like that,” Baslot said.
Terminating their colleagues is like breaking the back of their resistance, Baslot added, as these are the “active” union members. One of the 11, he said, is the union’s vice-president.
“An injury to one is the concern of all, and one worker unjustly removed is one too many,” he said. Also, in a condition of labor dispute, he added, an 11-count vote could make or unmake their struggle. “That is why we see this move of the management as union-busting,” Baslot said.
The union sat with the management last April 25, to bargain for the retention of the 11 and presented counter-proposals, one is transferring them to other related tasks.
But last Monday, when they inquired about the amount a worker dismissed for the reason of “redundancy” is supposed to receive, Baslot said they were told by College President Dr. Leopoldo Naïve that they would have to write a letter adhering to the management’s move, to receive such.
The labor law, according to Basilio, cites that the worker affected by this move is entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least one month for every year of service.
The matter about separation pay, Baslot reiterated, is therefore an entitlement that the management “still has the nerve to get away with.” Besides, Baslot added, they learned that such separation pay would be sourced from the retirement security benefit for private school employees under the Private Education Retirement Annuity Association (Peraa).
And the Peraa, based on their research, withholds the release of any fund to cases considered under circumstances of a labor dispute.
But, none of the 11 are giving in to the management’s schemes, Baslot said. What they are most concerned about now is that this might set a bad precedence for other union members if they allow the management to get away with this.
Pending any resolution, Baslot said, they are set to hold a strike based on their constitutional right, and that they have the basis to declare so, that the conditions of their employment and the existence of their union are clearly being threatened. (Cheryll D. Fiel/davaotoday.com)
Brokenshire College, davao, Department of Labor and Employment, Kilusang Mayo Uno, workers
