PLDT firm on Sept dialogue with workers’ union despite strike threat

MANILA – Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. will not sit down with its workers union, Manggagawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas (MKP), until September despite the threat of a strike.

In a statement on Tuesday, PLDT said its management is “willing and able to negotiate” with MKP at the right time, which is during the freedom period or at least 60 days before the expiry of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on Nov. 8.

“The time to sit down and start collective bargaining with MKP is in September 2024, not today,” PLDT said.

This comes after the MKP sent PLDT their “Notice to Negotiate & Submission of Statement of Proposals” to negotiate on a new CBA on Feb. 20, followed by a notice of strike on April 5 on grounds of the company’s alleged refusal to bargain.

The MKP also held a strike vote on May 14 and 15, with the majority voting in favor of a strike.

Some 83 percent of the 4,041 total members of the MKP voted in favor of a strike to push for the immediate start of negotiations for their CBA 2024-2027.

“It is PLDT’s position that a strike conducted on this ground has no valid basis. This is supported by law and the parties’ rich bargaining history over the past 30 years,” it said.

The MKP alleged that PLDT’s refusal to negotiate before September is meant to deliberately prolong and delay negotiations to stretch the gaps between CBAs as Philippine labor laws allow.

It added that if the notice sent to PLDT management in February exceeds the deadline of six months, workers may no longer receive up to eight months of retroactive pay, including pay increases that will be part of the CBA. (PNA)