PDI management, workers’ union sign new 3-year CBA
THE PHILIPPINE Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Daily Inquirer Employees Union on Tuesday signed a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The signing capped 10 negotiation sessions over two months on various proposals of the union and the counterproposals of management. In the end, the two panels agreed to just focus on the wage issue in recognition of the tough challenges facing the INQUIRER.
The CBA, which takes effect retroactively on July 11 and extends to July 10, 2019, preserves the existing benefits enjoyed by employees and provides them with wage rates at par with, if not more than, the industry levels in the next three years.
Longest negotiations
Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez, president and CEO of the INQUIRER, thanked both panels for the conclusion of the CBA negotiations, which she described as one of the longest in the 30-year history of the INQUIRER “simply because we are in challenging times.”
She said she was heartened to hear from both panel heads the words “being together, working together to enable the institution to continue to prosper, be sustainable and be profitable.”
“This institution is bigger than any of us and it should last as long as it can. The Philippines, especially during these times, is in need of institutions like the INQUIRER. We need to be able to ensure it is strong, that it can take whatever external pressure we might face and we can only do it together. And at the center of that is our mission to empow- er the Filipino,” she added.
Romualdez also stressed the importance of mutual trust and respect in making that mission possible. “With mutual trust and respect, we can face challenges, which grow greater and greater as the years go by.”
Rene Reinoso, INQUIRER COO and head of the management panel, said the big winner in the CBA resolution was not just the employees but the INQUIRER as an institution.
Reinoso called the recently concluded bargaining one of the most challenging, enlightening but entertaining negotiations he had led. “Despite that, I’m truly proud that reason, understanding and patience prevailed during the course of the negotiations,” he said.
Beneficial partnership
For his part, the union president and head of the union panel, Jerome Aning, cited the winwin approach taken by both panels in the negotiations.
“In the end, the union and management panels, mindful of the challenges and changes confronting the INQUIRER, chose the win-win approach to resolve the deadlock and get back to work, to business,” Aning said.
“We chose to move forward. The new CBA is evidence of the beneficial and resilient partnership between management and union, a relationship that helps make the INQUIRER brand great,” he added.
The negotiations included preventive mediation sessions at the Department of Labor and Employment under the supervision of Ethel Bautista of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.
Members of panels
Bautista thanked the INQUIRER and the union for entrusting her with the conciliation task after the two panels submitted a manifestation formally declaring the resolution of the CBA.
Aside from Reinoso, the members of the management panel were Rudyard Arbolado, Abelardo Ulanday, Raymund Soberano, Jose Gil Pineda, Connie Kalagayan, Jesse Francis Rebustillo and Neyla Manzano.
Aside from Aning, the other members of the union panel were Marlon Ramos, Alje Lomuntad, Mark Anthony Lopez, Adela Mendoza, Iris Desvarro, Rodelio Roberto, Glenn Mark Velasco, Grace Pagulayan, Alvin Mancilla and Menelyn Monreal.