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LEU, Lepanto starts CBA negotiation

BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 11) — As the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) series of 2001-2004 between the Lepanto Employees’ Union (LEU) and the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Companies (LCMCo) lapsed last November 17, 2004, the second round of CBA negotiations for the year 2004-2007 starts on December 11.

The non-economic aspect of the CBA will be tackled first in the negotiations. The economic part will follow as soon as the negotiating panels have agreed on the first aspect. This was agreed earlier by the management and the union officials last November 25 when the parties settled the ground rules for the conduct of the CBA.

Four major points will contain the said non-economic discussions, which are the pay-bracket adjustments of the employees; job classification; grievance procedure; and machinery and employees’ promotions.

The workers’negotiating panel headed by their union president Ninian Lang-agan expressed hopes for the possible outcome of the negotiations. Lang-agan reminded his companions to be wary of the possible tactics the management may employ to limit the flow of the negotiations. In the past, the management used the alibi “quality” time setting aside as much as they could the quantity of agreements they would be able to arrive at.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU-Cordillera) Regional Coordinator Lorico Espejo, Jr. said that the non-economic proposals of both the LEU and LCMCo can be settled in no time. Espejo explained that the non-economic aspect may be finished in a day but the economic part of the CBA will take much longer as it will involve the wages, incentives and benefits of the workers.

“There will be much arguments and deliberations between the two negotiating panels as it affects the financial interests of the workers and the company,” warned Espejo.

The next round of negotiations will depend on the results of the second but the union officials expect January 8, 2005 for another dialogue. # Aldwin Quitasol for NORDIS

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