The Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) has called on the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to assist the sugarcane planters displaced by the closure of Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc.’s (CADPI) sugar mill.
FFF Chairman Leonardo Q. Montemayor said sugarcane planters in Nasugbu, Batangas, were left scrambling for a milling plant following the closure of the mill.
Montemayor said FFF has hundreds of members in Batangas who were affected by the shutdown of CADPI’s sugar mill (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/01/16/cadpi-milling-ops-closure-has-sugar-planters-worried/).
“These are small [sugarcane] planters, and quite a huge number of those are certificates of land ownership award [CLOA] holders. These are CARP [Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program] beneficiaries,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
“The foremost problem of the sugarcane planters is where they will bring their harvest. The nearest [mill] to CADPI is the one in Balayan being operated by URC [Universal Robina Corp.].”
Montemayor said the closure of CADPI’s sugar mill may discourage sugarcane planters in the area to plant sugarcane in the next crop year. This, he said, may have an adverse impact on Luzon’s overall sugar production.
“If they will have a hard time delivering their sugarcanes then next season they might reduce production as well as hire fewer seasonal farm workers.”
In crop year 2021-2022, CADPI operated for 13 weeks producing 41,682 metric tons (MT) of raw sugar, based on SRA data. CADPI’s raw sugar output in the previous crop year was 31.31 percent lower than the 60,679 MT it produced in crop year 2020-2021.
CADPI was the second largest raw sugar producer in Luzon, accounting for 31 percent of the total 133,403 MT produced last crop year. CADPI milled 477,487 MT of sugarcanes in the previous crop year.
Publicly available online SRA documents showed that the Don Pedro Mill District had 4,835 sugarcane farmers in crop year 2017-2018, bulk of which or about 4,194 were tilling below 5 hectares of land.
Members of the two labor unions of CADPI are now preparing to go on strike as they accused the company of union busting, unfair labor practices, and gross violation of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has launched last-ditch efforts to stop the looming work stoppage in one of the largest raw sugar producers in Luzon.
In a phone interview with the BusinessMirror last Monday, the National Congress of the Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NCUSIP) President Roland de la Cruz said majority of the members of the Batangas Labor Union (BLU), which covers the rank and file employees of CADPI, and the Professional Technical Workers Union (PTWU), voted in favor of the strike.
Of the 280 BLU members, only 30 voted against the strike. As for the 60 PTWU members who voted, only 11 are against the work stoppage.
A strike vote is necessary for a labor union to conduct an authorized labor strike.
“Seven days after the submission of the vote strike report, we can already hold a strike,” De la Cruz said.
‘Sudden termination’
The labor leader noted that his group filed a notice of strike in response to the “sudden announcement” of the CADPI management to terminate the employment of 125 workers of its milling department last December 15.
The termination took effect on January 15.
The CADPI management cited “inadequate sugar supply” in its decision to permanently shutter the company’s sugar milling operations.
De la Cruz said the move by the CADPI management “constituted unfair labor practices, illegal lockout, and gross violation of CBA” since it was abruptly disclosed to the affected workers and is also “a form of union busting.”
“From the rank and file, 10 union members were affected while for supervisory [union], 5 were affected.”
DOLE intervention
In an attempt to avert the looming strike, DOLE will conduct another conciliation and mediation meeting this week for the management and union members of CADPI.
“DOLE, through the NCMB [National Conciliation and Mediation Board] has been conducting conciliation conferences with the union leaders. The dispute stemmed from the permanent closure of the milling department of the company which affected 125 workers,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma told the BusinessMirror via SMS.
During the upcoming meeting, De La Cruz said the unions are hoping that the management of CADPI will decide to continue its milling operations especially amid sugar shortage.
However, he noted that over half of the affected workers have already accepted their termination package and quit claim.
DOLE-Region 4-A Director Ma. Karina B. Trayvilla said the agency is preparing livelihood aid for the displaced CADPI workers.
“We have proposed for livelihood and emergency employment assistance for the affected employees, field workers including small planters. We are waiting for the approval of the Central Office,” Trayvilla said in a Viber message.