TELECOMMUNUCATIONS GIANT PLDT Inc. said it is willing to start collective bargaining negotiations with Manggagawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas (MKP), the exclusive representative of the company’s rank-and-file employees, “at the right time.”
“The time to sit down and start collective bargaining with Manggagawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas is in September 2024, not today,” PLDT said in a statement to the stock exchange on Monday.
“This is the position of PLDT Management, referring to the demand of MKP…, with which PLDT has an existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA), to commence negotiations now,” it added.
The company said the CBA will expire on Nov. 8 this year.
PLDT said the union sent PLDT Management on Feb. 20 its “Notice to Negotiate & Submission of Statement of Proposals.”
“This was followed by MKP’s filing of a notice of strike on April 5, 2024 on the ground of PLDT’s alleged refusal to bargain. The members of MKP reportedly conducted a strike vote on May 14 and 15, 2024, with a majority voting in favor of the strike,” the company noted.
PLDT cited the Labor Code, saying that both parties must meet and negotiate the renewal or modification of the CBA terms at least 60 days before it expires.
“The so-called freedom period… will begin in the first week of September, or more than three months from now and almost seven months from the time they first sent the notice to negotiate,” it said.
“Until then, the Labor Code obligates both PLDT and MKP to respect the current CBA to preserve industrial peace,” it added.
PLDT said it is “willing and able to negotiate with MKP at the right time…, (and) that is during the freedom period.”
“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.”
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
