NLDF supports striking RMN workers

The Nonoy Librado Development Foundation, Inc. (NLDF) has come out in support of the striking  workers of local radio station RMN.
The NLDF said last July 14 the refusal of RMN management to sit with the union officers during negotiations worsened the underlying tension between employees and management.
RMN Employees Union (RDEU) initiated a strike last July 10 after management failed to implement the memorandum of agreement (MOA) it had signed with the union.
The MOA was signed November 11 last year as a condition for management to provide the demands of the workers while negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) were going on.
“We believe in the legitimacy of the demands raised by the workers knowing that the company has been earning huge profits. It is but rightful that the workers be accorded an ample share in the profits they have produced for the company,” said NLDF executive director Emma Ricaforte in a statement.
“Our office has been closely monitoring the turnout of the CBA negotiation between the workers’ union and RMN.  The non-action of management to sit with the union officers worsened the situation,” she added.
Contained in the MOA is the management’s concurrence with the demands of the workers for a lump sum salary increase based on their length of service in the company.
The demands also include rice subsidy and meal allowance.  
Ricaforte believes the local RMN management can produce the demands of the union.
“The workers’ hard labor has gained for RMN not only huge profits but the prestige as the topmost radio station in the city and all throughout Mindanao. This is more than enough reason for the company to be considerate and concern about the welfare of its employees,” she said.
NLDF stressed that among the rights of the workers enshrined in the Constitution and the labor code itself is their right to strike.  This is a legitimate form of workers’ struggle which the management of RMN should uphold and accord with serious attention.
This is also stipulated in the Guidelines Governing Labor Relations which states that ‘the right to strike is a constitutional and legal right of the workers as the employers have the inherent and statutory right to lockout, all within the context of labor relations and collective bargaining.’
“As far as the CBA negotiations between RDEU and RMN management, the workers were left with no choice but to hold a strike in defense of their rights and the welfare of their families,” Ricaforte said.
“We are here to support them all the way as we always do in fulfillment of our pro-workers advocacies,” she said.
The NLDFi) is a non-government organization advocating workers’ rights in Mindanao. [Jade C. Zaldivar]

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