Hospital closure not caused by us – union

CEBU, Philippines - The labor union of employees of the controversial Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House Inc. (CPCMHI) assailed insinuations the group caused the facility to stop operating.

“Gipagawas man sa management nga tungod daw sa union nga nanira ang hospital. Di man kami ang nag-strike, sila man ang nag-strike,” said Fundador Alforque, vice president of the Cebu Maternity Hospital Employees Independent Union-ADLO – Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Alforque explained it was actually on the day the “cooling-off period” expired on January 28 when the facility’s management announced the hospital’s temporary closure.

Despite this and the announcement the hospital would no longer accept patients, employees still reportedly continued reporting for work.

Still, despite the closure, Alforque said they are still open for negotiation with the management. He said, however, that they are not closing the possibility of a strike.

The more than 90-year-old hospital has 133 rank and file employees, of which 110 are union members, who are mostly midwives and nurses.

The union is demanding for a P20 and P25  per day salary hike in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

However, the management would reportedly only give a P1 per day increase.

Last week, the hospital filed a notice of lockout before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board-7 to stop its business temporarily and close its premises amid the ongoing labor dispute raised by its employees.

CPCMH lawyer Celso Reales said they filed the notice to protect patients and non-union members as owing to the possibility of a strike the union might stage, which is seen to hamper hospital operations.

“Aron patas, ni-file mi notice of lockout. Manira daan mi kaso mag-strike sila,” Reales said.

The lockout also means that the hospital would no longer accept patients, which already started January 28.

“Effective January 28, 2016, Cebu Puericulture Center & Maternity House, Inc will temporarily cease to operate due to labor problems and an impending strike. We will no longer accept admissions by said date for the safety of our patients and employees,” read the notice that hangs on its fence.

The first time the union staged a strike was in 1997, 10 years after it was organized.

In the 1997 strike, the union demanded for a hike in salary, longevity pay, and two days off. These demands were all granted.  (FREEMAN)