Transcript Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and the ILO

PHILIPPINES:
Impact of Power Privatization to
the National Power Corporation
Employees
ABNER P. ELERIA
President
NAPOCOR Employees Consolidated Union (NECU)
NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION
Quezon Ave., cor. Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines
Restructured Power Industry
GENERATION
•NPC
• NPC IPPs
(PSALM)
•Private IPPs
TRANSMISSION
DISTRIBUTION (wires) & supply
• TRANSCO
(formerly NPC)
• Private utilities
(e.g. MERALCO, VECO)
•Electric coops
SUPPLY
* aggregator
CONSUMER
• residential
• commercial
dispatch
sell
WESM
Power trading
(PEMC)
• industrial
buy
Buy
min. 1MW
Massive job losses due to retrenchment,
reorganization, termination

Retrenchment, reorganization
1994: NPC has 17,000 employees
1997: NPC has 13,500 employees

Termination (as provided by 2001 EPIRA law)
2003: All NPC employees (8,530) terminated:
> 3,800 employees rehired (with NPC)
> 3,400 employees rehired (with TransCo)
>
30 employees rehired (with PSALM)
> 1,300 employees not rehired
> 2,468 employees as of Dec. 2011 (NPC)
Note: Proposed Re-organization for CY 2012 will incur
additional termination/retrenchment of employees.
Rehired NPC workers
with lower working conditions & pay

NPC workers who were rehired after termination
were forced to accept employment contracts at:
– position grade levels lower than what they previously
enjoyed
– 25-30% reduction of salaries & benefits

Increase in contractualization, Job Order and service
agreements at NPC
High Court:
NPC employees were illegally terminated

Sept.2006: Supreme Court ruled that NPC Board
Resolutions terminating NPC employees in Feb 2003
were ‘void and without legal effect’ because they
lacked votes for adoption

Sept. 2008: Supreme Court (SC) ruled with finality:
– Immediate reinstatement of NPC employees
– Payment of P34.7B++ in backwages, wage adjustments to
NPC employees
– Still awaiting enforcement
– August 17, 2009: Recognition by ADB that backwages and
other financial claims of NPC workers as recognized by SC
form part of legitimate costs of restructuring of Philippine
Power Sector
Outstanding claims of NPC workers
(to date)

Outstanding claims:
1. ‘DAMA’ (Supreme Court) case:
2. COLA:
3. WAIVE (step increment):
TOTAL :
P 34.7B++
P 8.4B++
P 594M++
P 43.694B++
TO DATE THE TOTAL AMOUNT INCLUDING INTEREST :
P 54 B ++
 Court cases still awaiting action

Damages due to illegal termination:
 Based on remaining years of service: Average = 5 yrs / employee
=
=
P 50,000 (average salary / mo)
x
12 mo / yr
x
5 yrs / employee
x 8,530 employees
P 26B (conservative estimate)  Claims chargeable to ADB
Non-recognition of NPC unions

No full recognition by NPC management
– Non-remittance of union dues since 2005 to date

Non-recognition of unions by PSALM

Lack of transparency & no consultation with
unions:
– NPC reorganization plans
– Sale of NPC plants
– etc
No workers’ protection in sale of NPC plants

PSALM does not recognize bargaining power of
unions, weakening the unions

PSALM does not obligate buyers to retain existing
workforce, hence more job losses

PSALM does not include Manual of Employees
Benefits (MEB) as part of bidding documents, citing
huge costs
– But labor costs is only 3-5% of total costs

PSALM does not consult with unions before sale of
any plant in violation of EPIRA

No overtime beyond 8 hrs in privatized plants a
violation of Philippine Labor Laws
New OMA (Feb 09)

Feb 2009: NPC & PSALM signed Operations &
Maintenance Agreement (OMA)

April 09: NPC unions filed case in court against OMA
provision in violation of EPIRA
– Still awaiting decision
NOTE:
To date, NPC Management continue to implement
the OMA despite the agreement is terminated. No
renewal of Agreement between PSALM and NPC.