Union Election results questioned

Few weeks after the Certification Elections (CE) between the Lepanto Employees Union-National Federation of Local Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno (LEU-NAFLU-KMU) and Lepanto Rank and File Employees Union-National Mines and Allied Workers Union-International Federation of Chemicals, Energy and Mines General Workers Union (LRFEU-NAMAWU-ICEM) where the former won by 868 over 428 votes, the latter through its coordinator Roger I. Balancio filed an election protest against the winning union.

In its copy of protest submitted to the Regional Office of the Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOLE-CAR) and was received by the office of Mediation Arbiter Atty. Sixto Rodriguez on November 21,2007, the LRFEU questioned the conduct of the said election.

The LRFEU alleged the LEU of CE related violations. In the said protest, the LEU violated the Agreement as to end the official campaigning period. LRFEU said that one of its supporters saw a member of the board of directors of the LEU campaigning even after the agreed campaign period was over. The protest also noted the delayed conduct of the Consent Election because it actually started at 8:00 to 8:20 am instead of 7:00. They also said there are manifestations of disorderly conduct of elections at certain precincts. They alleged the LEU officials and supporters of “whispered campaigning” inside the polling precincts. In one instance, the protest said, an LEU official was questioned by one of the LRFEU watchers what he is inserting in his folded ballot before dropping it in the ballot box.

KMU-Cordillera regional spokesperson James Tulipa said that the said protest is baseless as there were no earlier protest and contest per precinct during the actual election and on the casting of ballots. Tulipa also criticized the said statement of the LRFEU saying that the said election was a consent election while it is actually a CE as agreed by the two unions in a hearing at the office of DOLE on November 8. “They still like to insist that it is a consent election because if it is, if there will be no approved Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) then they can file another petition for CE. They are really bent to have the election be declared null and void so to demand another election until they will take hold of the union membership. They filed the said petition hoping to disturbed the CBA negotiations with the management of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMCo) that was already scheduled by the company itself as it conceded with the results of the CE on December 8 of this year.”

LEU president Manuel Binhaon Jr. said that the CE results showed the trust and support of the majority of workers of LCMCo and it should be respected. Binhaon expressed hopes that the management will push through with the 24th CBA negotiations for the benefits and welfare of its workers.