Despite the deteriorating relations between Regent Food Corp. (RFC) and its workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday said it is still not ruling out a amicable settlement between the two parties.
In an interview, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) is trying to patch things up between the workers and management of Regent Foods Corporation (RFC).
“The management, I was informed, offered to pay for their [workers] separation pay, but they refused since they want to continue their employment. So this is still being negotiated at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board,” Bello said.
He said he hopes the issue would be resolved at the level of the NCMB so they will no longer have to go through a lengthy legal process.
NCMB executive director Maria Teresita D. Lacsamana-Cancio confirmed they have set another conference for RFC and its workers next week.
Personally, Bello said he will not intervene in the RFC case since it is already filed at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which is a quasi-judicial body.
The labor dispute drew more public attention after Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday after he admonished the RFC management for allowing the arrest of the workers. He then helped free some of the detained workers, who were involved in protests around RFC’s plant in Pasig City.
The RFC management said it was not responsible for the arrest.
Bello admitted he was the one who referred the matter to the Philippine National Police (PNP) after being approached by the RFC management asking him to help them resume their operation.
“I referred it to the PNP (Philippine National Police) since it is already a police matter and not a labor case…But I am not siding with anyone,” Bello said.
The said RFC workers and their supporters were detained for allegedly barring other RFC employees from entering the plant.
Defend Job Philippines, which is supporting the protesting workers, condemned the arrest and vowed to file counter charges against the police, who made the arrest.
For its part, the RFC management said it is now considering moving its operations outside of Pasig City, after its call to the Pasig City government to hear its side on the issue “fell on deaf ears.”