Strike hits PASAR

Operations at the plant will continue at reduced capacity as many of its 730 regular rank-and-file employees are expected to report for work despite the strike

ORMOC CITY — A small and independent group of unionized workers of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (PASAR) went on a strike after collective bargaining negotiation for P300 daily wage increase hit a snag.

Some 50 strikers belonging to Concerned Organization of PASAR Progressive Employees for Reform hanged banners and put makeshift tents to announce their collective action at the main and north gates of the 425-hectare Leyte Industrial

Development Estate complex in Isabel town where PASAR is one of the locators.

COPPER was formerly affiliated with the National Federation of Labor Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno but has registered with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) as an independent labor organization.

The strike started Monday afternoon after the 11th and final collective bargaining negotiation between labor and the management mediated by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board ended in a deadlock.

The management said the company cannot afford the “excessive economic demands” of the union, including a P300 daily wage hike at this time when the global market slowdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.

A PASAR official said the management is tightly guarding the control room and other critical facilities where the strikers reportedly planned to hold a sitdown strike.

He said operations at the plant will continue at reduced capacity as many of its 730 regular rank-and-file employees are expected to report for work despite the strike.

Personnel from the Leyte Police

Provincial Office have been dispatched to keep the peace in the area while the military is put on alert to support the police should violence break out at the picket line.

PASAR is the country’s only copper smelting and refining company and one of the biggest in Asia.

It produces 320,000 metric tons of electrolytic copper cathodes a year, contributing about 30 percent of the gross regional domestic product.

The copper cathodes used in the manufacture of electronic products are among the top 10 exports of the country.