Fact sheet on the Lacosta Shipping & Lighterage Co. Inc. labor dispute

Lacosta Shipping & Lighterage Company Inc, a shipping company operated in Mindanao Provinces, focus to serve the mining industry in the island of Surigao such as Taganaan Nickel Project (Formerly Hinatuan Island Mining), Valencia Nickel Project (The Cagdianao Mining Co.), South Dinagat Mining Corp. (Nonok Island), Taganito Mining Corp. and the newly opened Albor Mining and Adlay Mining. All of them are owned by the Zamora’s except the Japanese Owned Taganito Mining.

Almost hundred ships (LCT) assigned in the nickel mining of Surigao. Lacosta Shipping is one of the shipping companies who transported the minerals from this Island shore connecting to the foreign owned vessels waiting them anchored at the off-shore near the Pacific Ocean who came from Japan, Australia and China on their restless operation predatory to the rich mineral deposit from our country.

According to the workers and crews that observes the mining operation, every year hundreds of foreign vessels carrying almost an average of 50,000 metric tons of mineral-ore per vessel go to the above stated foreign lands. The high grade nickel ore will go to Japan, the second grade to Australia and the low grade or any rate goes to China. Every foreign vessel will be served by three (3) LCT that can be full from one week of their operation before the foreign ship will start to maneuver for her departure to the foreign land.

In particular, Lacosta Shipping & Lighterage composed of four (4) Light Cargo Transit (LCT) vessels, the Lacosta Primero, Segundo, Tercero and the newly built Quenta owned by Mr. Salvador Zamora II. Each of the vessels can carry a capacity of 1,000 metric tons of nickel ore. The company is managed by Atty. Joseph S. Lacaste with an almost a decade of serving the company.

The company employed a total workforce of 50 more or less employees who manned the three vessels. These employees are serving the company in an average of more than ten (10) years in length of service suffering from violation of labor standards e.g. below minimum wage, force to work with no overtime pay, lack of safety devices and failure to observed holiday pay, no Sunday holiday, hospitalization and other benefits.

In the 2nd quarter of 2006, employees of this company organize themselves to form a union that can help them to achieve their demand and for protection of their rights. Right after this quarter, they registered their union to the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment in Caraga Region.

By winning the Certification Election through concerted efforts and a hard won struggle last 17th day of January 2007, they gained a certificate of recognition granted to them by the Labor Arbiter certifying Lacosta Shipping & Lighterage Labor Union - National Federation of Labor Union - Kilusang Mayo Uno as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of the rating employees of the said company. This was issued by the regional office at DOLE-Caraga Region on the first week of February. With a few weeks later, they submitted their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) proposal to the management in order to negotiate their proposed demand with the management representative.

But instead of meeting the union’s representatives in the negotiating table, the management did not recognized them, refusing them to bargain collectively and denied their rights by forcing them to be absorb in an agency and in a contractual basis.

Atty Joseph S. Lacaste presented to them the UNLAD Ship Manning and Management Corporation, a manning agency which he chooses for them as their new employer. He intimidated them by showing a comparative study between their present salaries which is lower than compared to the UNLAD’s offered salary if they will agree to join this agency.

Disadvantages of this newly introduce status of employment are their unfavorable security of tenure and less benefits compared to the unionize workers.

On March 1, 2007, all employees of the three vessels received a memorandum circular issued by the management stating that their services was terminated effectively upon receiving the said memorandum with a certain condition that they can continue working the company if they will accept the UNLAD Ship Manning Agency as their new employer. The company now is implementing the neoliberal economic policy of globalization to promote the contractualization of labor.

One of the vessels (Lacosta Tercero) arrived in Cebu Shipyard last March 20, 2007 to schedule a dry dock in Santiago Shipyard. Boarding on the vessel are 10 union members including Mr. Gregorio Lerin, the union president who suffered from harassment done by the management. Until now, they are suffering from lack of water and food supplies because the ship captain disembarks the vessel, resulting to the delayed of the regular budget and supply allocation that the company allocated for them.

On March 26, Atty. Joseph S. Lacaste, the Manila based manager accompanied by his two legal counsels, together with the head of the UNLAD Ship Manning and Management Corporation president Mr. Dante Jeminez, who was prominently known as founder of the Volunteers Against Crimes and Corruption (VACC) boarded the vessel. They kept on explaining and convincing the union members about the new status of employment that the management has implemented.

This resulted to two (2) of their members agreed the said condition and immediately received a cash amount of P5,000 per year length of service as their separation pay and simultaneously signed the five (5) month employment contract facilitated by the UNLAD Ship manning agency, while the rest refused to the said condition. The two employees were Vicente Cañete, 58 years old, a retirable employee who received P66, 000 of his 10 years in service including his one month salary, and Gervacio Nuera, who received P36, 000 from his 5 years in service including his one month salary.

The management is now forcing and calming them that these present situation will be back to normal if they will agree to sign the new contract with the manning agency hired by the management.

Days later, four (4) employees received a memorandum with a penalty of fifteen (15) days suspension accusing them of their fault in loading procedure, insubordination, disobedience, and abandonment of works violating company rules & regulation which allegedly they committed more or less than a year before and without proper investigation.

While at the same time, Mr. Gregorio Lerin, the union president received a memorandum from the office of Manila that he will be transferred to the other vessel in Surigao that will cause him to abandon his loyal members.

Suddenly, on March 28, through radio communication, all of them received a final notice, informing them that the Lacosta Shipping management has concluded with UNLAD Ship Manning agency to handle all the ship manning services over the three vessels namely LCT Lacosta I, LCT Lacosta Segundo and LCT Lacosta Tercero. They are obliged to report to the UNLAD Ship Manning & Management Corp for processing their employment papers and qualified document certificate (QDC).

This blatant act of the management is to derail their CBA negotiation and also an attempt of union busting and refusing to recognize the rights of the employees.

In order to resolve this problem, the union’s federation is now planning to file a case in the National Conciliation and Mediation Board of the Department of Labor & Employment in Caraga Region. While waiting for the results, the union is planning to organize their concerted action and other efforts in resolving this issue.