The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has assumed jurisdiction over the labor dispute at the Visayan Electric Company (Veco), averting a labor strike in Metro
Cebu’s lone power distribution company.
The labor department has ordered the Veco management to reinstate the union president in its payroll and the union to refrain from carrying out a strike because of its impact on consumers.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz issued the order last Nov. 10 while the labor dispute between the management and union of Visayan electric company (Veco) is being resolved.
She placed the management and the Veco Employees Union under the compulsory arbitration of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).
Baldoz ordered Veco to reinstate union president Casmero Mahilum in its payroll.
This means that Veco continues to pay Mahilum his wages and benefits but does not actually allow him to work.
The labor secretary ordered the union not to carry out its plan to strike until the labor case has been resolved.
The union filed a notice of strike last Oct. 28 after talks over their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) bogged down.
Veco management has been assuring that power connection and other operations would remain unhampered because systems have been put in place.
Both the management and the union said they will respect the Dole order which “refrains them from committing any act that will worsen the situation."
Baldoz noted Veco’s being the second largest electric utility in the country with a franchise coverage of 672 square kilometers with a population of about 1.73 million. - PNA
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=34356.0
