If demand is not met:Hospital workers poised for strike as last resort
CEBU, Philippines — Rank and file employees of Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City are ready to go on strike if the hospital management will not meet their demand for a salary increase.
The Chong Hua Hospital Employees Union-Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, which has 900 members, has asked for a P60 daily wage increase but the management did not have an offer.
As negotiations progressed, the union lowered the amount to P20 per day but the hospital management offered only P15 per day, which resulted in a deadlock in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
"But what enraged the workers is that ang workers sa Chong Hua Mandaue, which is mga about 200 to 300 na sila, ang hatagan og P50 per day nga increase. Wala sila nangayo og increase pero sila ang hatagan og increase. We heard it is due for implementation," said Atty. Nora Analyn Demetrio-Diego, Regional Vice President for Central Visayas of ALU-TUCP.
Because of the CBA deadlock, the union filed a notice of strike and conducted a strike vote the other day at the hospital premises.
The strike vote was facilitated by National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB)-7.
Diego said of the 900 union members, 842 cast their votes. Of this number, 826 union members voted "yes to strike" while 13 union members voted no.
Three others abstained.
Mediation is set for Tuesday, August 27.
“But strike is our last option. We will exhaust all the possibilities and remedies kay kami mismo, dili gyud mi gusto nga mag-strike. Pero kung ang management gahi gyud sila, the workers have no other recourse but to go on a strike," Diego said.
Chong Hua’s legal counsel, Atty. Nolie Espina, told The Freeman negotiations with the union are ongoing. — JMO (FREEMAN)
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