STRIKE ALERT, P-NOY

Aquino’s visit to Cebu on Labor Day coincides with Kepco-SPC power plant labor dispute  

When President President Benigno Aquino III visits Cebu today he may be flying into the  first labor strike in Cebu in over a decade.

The president is here to attend a foreign-funded job forum in celebration of Labor Day and tour  a new private hospital of the University of Cebu  in Mandaue City.

Then he takes a helicopter ride to Naga city in the south to inaugurate a  new cement mill of the Apo Cement Corp. plant of Cemex Philippines.

Farther down the national highway in Naga, employees of  Kepco-SPC  power plant  are set to mount a strike today, after  last-ditch mediation talks collapsed at the end of a 15-day cooling off period.

“Yes, strike will push through,” said Dennis Derige, spokesman of the Partido ng Mangagawa (PM) in a text message past 10 p.m. after  meeting with members about the protest action.

As a contingency,  the management recently hired seven new engineers.

Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas has been “strike free” for more than a decade.

In 2010, the Department of Labor and Employment announced that the region had a  ‘zero-strike’ record for the past seven years.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, who  will be accompanying Aquino to Naga, yesterday said he was hopeful  no strike would disrupt the President’s visit.

“I’m hopeful that the strike  planned by some workers of  Kepco won’t push through,” said the governor. Davide said he plans to  bring to Aquino’s attention a  budget request for provincial roads, bridges and ports.

The governor said he will also congratulate the president for  seeking a reprieve for death row prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, whose execution in Indonesia was called off Wednesday dawn at the last minute following the surrender of her  alleged illegal recruiter in the Philippines.

The Korean-Philippine owned power plant operator  in Naga produces about 200 megawatts , about a third of the capacity of Cebu, and also suppplies electric  power to parts of Panay and Bohol.

A fledgling union of rank-and-file and supervisory workers is   seeking recognitionfrom the management, and has demanded standardization of salaries and the reinstatement of a supervisor who was terminated on March 31.

Both labor and management representatives failed to reach an agreement  after a seven-hour meeting at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) in Cebu City yesterday.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Kepco-SPC  representatives were still awaiting advice from  the top management in Korea.     (See related story on Page 2)

President Aquino will first  attend at 10 a.m. today the JobStart Philippines forum at J. Centre Mall in Mandaue City.

At least eight Cabinet members are with him, including Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, who was formally asked last Monday by Kepco-SPC to intervene in the labor dispute.

From the forum, Aquino will tour the newly completed University of Cebu Medical Center in Mandaue  before traveling by chopper to Naga city to inaugurate the Cemex cement mill.

Kepco-SPC operates a power complex farther downthe road in Naga City.

Whether the union, which claims to have 45 percent of the 140-member workforce behind them, can cripple operations remains to be seen.

The protesting workers belong to the  Kepco  Cebu Employees Association and Kepco Cebu Supervisors Association which is seeking recgonition as bargaining agent of  the employees.

Aquino  will  be accompanied to Cebu by Local Government Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, Trade

Secretary Gregory Domingo, Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Tesda Secretary Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, acting Health Secretary Janette Garin and  Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma.

At least 1,000 policemen will be deployed for the presidential visit and the various Labor Day activities in Metro Cebu. They include six platoons of policemen for crowd control.

“We are prepared,” said Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, chief of directorial staff of the Police Regional Office 7, said they have been on  heightened alert since Wednesday.

Policemen will provide security to and avert trouble  if rallyists  converge at Fuente Osmeña and Plaza Independencia.

JOBSTART

JobStart, a forum th President  will attend,  aims to provide technical and life skills to youth beneficiaries. It is jointly implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment, Canadian International Development Authority, and Asian Development Bank.

Meanwhile, about 2,000 people are expected to converge at the Mandaue City sports complex for the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council meeting.

Mandaue Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede, vice-chairman of the TIPC Mandaue chapter, said they were told to be ready for a possible visit by Aquino.

The event will gather representatives from the different industrial peace councils in Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu cities.

The council aims to attain industrial peace through tripartite consultations among representatives from the labor sector, government and management.