BACOLOD City-There will be no strike to be held by the workers’ union of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) after the Department of Labor and Employment(DOLE) assumed the jurisdiction over the labor dispute.
Ceneco Union of Rational Employees (CURE), composed of rank and file employees of the electric cooperative had scheduled to hold a strike on Feb. 7, but it was not pushed through following notice of order issued by the Secretary of Labor Silvestre Bello III, that the agency will assume the jurisdiction.
“With DOLE’s assumption of jurisdiction, “no-strike” shall be held by the members of CURE, and business, as usual, Ceneco management said.
Earlier, the CURE held a referendum for a strike vote among members on Jan. 29, and 291 voted yes for the strike. Only 10 voted against it.
CURE president Steffanie Montenar said they submitted the result of their referendum to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) of the DOLE.
A seven-day “cooling off period” was observed after the result of the referendum was submitted, and the strike was supposedly scheduled on Feb.7.
The strike stemmed from Ceneco’s alleged failure to implement the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) approved in September 2021.
Ceneco officer-in-charge General Manager Jose Taniongon explained that among the reasons the cooperative was unable to give the employees’ benefits under the CNA was a condition set by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) – Ceneco’s collection efficiency should be 95 percent./PN
