ALL is well with the management and workers of the Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC) in Toledo City.
The CCC management and the Carmen Copper Workers Labor Organization (CWLO) signed yesterday the Collective Bargaining Agreement that would take effect in the next five years.
The five-year agreement has been dubbed as a symbol of industrial peace.
Adrian Ramos, director and executive vice president of CCC said the significant change in the agreement is a new principle on labor relations.
The CBA, Ramos told reporters, provides “a venue for the workers and the management to work together.”
The company has contributed significantly to the economy of Cebu in terms of providing employment and paying taxes. In 2013, the CCC was the top exporter and second-biggest importer in the whole of Cebu.
Ramos is looking forward to a trusting and cooperative relationship with the CWLO in the years to come.
The CBA also includes wage increases in the next three years, medical benefits which include medicine allowance and outpatient medicines.
Ramos added that the decreased prices of copper did not affect the wages and other benefits of the workers.
CCC has a workforce of 3,600, of this 2,400 are union members.
William Ligutan, president of CCWLO assured the management of their cooperation. “It is time to change the attitude of our workers,” said Ligutan in his speech.
“It is a promise, that we will discipline our workers. We can’t achieve all of these if there’s no focus,” he added.
The CWLO won the certification election last year and replaced the Panaghiusa sa mga Mamumuo sa Carmen Copper (PAMCC), the labor union for Carmen Copper from 2008 until 2015.