A strike looms at the Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative 1 in Bindoy, Negros Oriental, following a strike vote among members of the employees union who are members of the Philippine Agriculture Commercial Industrial Workers Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.
Union President Marlito Amante disclosed that 15 out of 18 holding supervisory positions in the electric cooperative voted in favor of the strike.
Also, 87 of the 97 employees who sent a letter-complaint before the National Electrification Administration also cast their ballots, with 82 in favor of the strike, four spoiled ballots, and one voting against it.
The tentative schedule for the strike is on Sept. 5 while they processing for permits.
Amante said they want the affected member-consumers in the NORECO I coverage area to understand that they are doing this “to protect the interest of the Cooperative members”. In particular, the Union is seeking the ouster of its general manager, Juvileo Acabal.
The employees’ union raised before the NEA several complaints against Acabal including: lack of satisfactory management decision-making and aptitude skills, excessive use of the Cooperative vehicle for personal purposes, unwarranted liquidation expenses for non-Coop-related matters, unauthorized claims of information dissemination allowance based on actual NEA audit findings, and abuse of management prerogative through repetitive lapses in the hiring and promotion of unqualified applicants filling up plantilla positions.
In response to the complaint, NORECO I General Manager Acabal accused 97 of the 121 regular employees of the Cooperative for libel. A preliminary investigation was conducted Thursday at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
Acabal is represented by the Cooperative’s lawyer, Whelma Yap; the 97 employees are represented by their legal counsel, Atty. Dante Zamora.
In an interview Thursday afternoon with Garnet Yso, chapter president of PACIWU NORECO, and the local president, Marlito Amante, they clarified that they would have wanted the issue to be resolved internally, hence directing their letter-complaint to the proper authority.
The NEA Deputy Administrator for electric cooperative management services had furnished a copy of the Leadership Performance Evaluation & Assessment of Working Relationship among employees and other stakeholders of the Cooperative.
The NEA had recommended to Acabal the conduct of constant communication and consultation with the employees, and that policies regarding the concerns raised by the employees be formulated or revisited through a Board resolution.
The NEA had also recommended for the GM department, area and division managers including management and staff to undergo a supervisors’ training course; and for the Board of Directors, the GM, and management and staff to exercise cooperativism, teamwork, dialogue, and dedication to work for the interest of the employees, financial viability, and power service reliability; and for the BOD to convene a dialogue between the employees and the GM to talk, discuss, and patch up differences for the sake of the consumers.
Despite these findings and recommendations, the Union members were charged with libel before the Provincial Prosecutors Office.
Both Amante and Yso claimed the the BOD had earlier approved a Resolution terminating the General Manager, on which the NEA has yet to act. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)