VIGAN CITY: Victorious employees of the defunct Times Transportation Company begin their 400km march from Vigan City to Manila yesterday to press the National Labour Relations Commission (NLRC) - National Capital Region to implement the Supreme Court ruling favouring them.
Members, leaders and kin of the Times Employees Union (TEU), an affiliate of the National Federation of Labor Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno marched along the main streets of Vigan City before taking the National Highway going to Manila.
They will be joined by other TEU members and their families along the way and the Abra contingent meets the “marchers” at the Narvacan-Bangued Road Junction.
The Union takes this action, said Honorio Arcaina, president of the TEU, “to protest the slow implementation of the SC decision favouring them and press for the denial of the petition for inhibition filed by Mencorp Transport System Company, Inc. (operator of Dominion Bus) against Labour Arbiter Patricio Libo-on. Libo-on is handling the case and has junked the third party claim filed by a certain Melissa Lim, who supposedly bought Mencorp from Virginia Mendoza, the former owner and majority shareholder of the defunct Times Transportation Company, Inc.
“We also demand for the release of the writ of execution for their P97m ($2.15m) claim for their back wages and other financial matters related in the case,” the union official said as he stresses that the victory of TEU “is a landmark case for labour unions, especially in the transport sector because despite the closure of Times, death and shift/transfer of employment and livelihood of the members throughout the 15 year struggle, the union and its members continued to be active in pursuing the case and fight for justice for the workers and their families.”
Arcaina however said the NLRC’s “failure to immediately implement the decision ruled with finality by no less than the (SC) is an illustration of the Commission’s mockery of social justice for workers.”
The TEU won its case against Times and Mencorp after more than 10 years when on December 16, 2009, the SC ruled with finality the affirmation of the judgment issued by Labour Arbiter Renaldo O. Hernandez on January 31, 2002. The ruling stated that Times management “effected, participated in... prohibited act of unfair labour practice” and that the sale of the latter to Mencorp “was simulated and/or effected in bad faith.”
The Philippine star
