NorthRail suspends engineers, architects

GUIGUINTO, Bulacan – Starting Sunday, Labor Day, about 70 crew members, engineers and architects of the North Luzon Railways Corp. (NorthRail) lost their jobs after working for the still unfinished railway project since 2008.

Many of these workers were the technicians who designed and laid out the foundations for the railway that would connect Caloocan City to the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, said Jessie John Ibañez, president of the United Employees of NorthRail (UEN).

What made it worse for the workers was that many of them joined NorthRail after surviving the 2008 world recession that cost many overseas Filipino workers their lucrative jobs, Ibañez said.

Quoting the workers, he said: “We chose to work here. We turned our backs on high-paying jobs abroad because we were convinced that working for NorthRail meant we could use our gifts in service to our countrymen … But here we are, about to lose our jobs.”

NorthRail president Conrad Tolentino circulated on April 14 a formal notice of temporary suspension from work.

The notice said that “the contractual obligations between NorthRail and [Chinese contractor] Sinomach for Phase 1 Section I have been suspended effective March 28, 2011, and consequently, there is a suspension of operations in undertaking the NorthRail project.”

NorthRail is rehabilitating the 80.2-kilometer north line of the old Philippine National Railway (PNR) using a $503.01-million loan from China. The actual project cost has ballooned to $621 million.

The contract’s suspension had been attributed to a government review of the project owing to its slow progress, according to an April 28 statement by Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus.

The delays have led to a six-month work suspension for 70 NorthRail workers beginning May 1, although workers here believe the suspension would eventually lead to their termination if the contract’s suspension extends beyond October this year.

NorthRail has 168 workers. Forty of the 70 workers whose work was suspended handle high-level technical work for the project management office of the NorthRail railways operations group.

Ibañez said even after being notified about their suspensions, the technicians still worked during Holy Week to complete sections of the project.

“This is a lovely Labor Day gift for us. That’s the day we lose our jobs. We urge President [Benigno] Aquino III to decide finally and proceed with the NorthRail project so management will no longer have any reason to remove us,” said Marifa Mercado, one of the workers facing suspension.

Vet Vitug, senior manager for corporate and public affairs of the NorthRail, said the firm welcomed the contract review but the company believed the railway project would be cleared soon so NorthRail could fulfill its contract by 2012.

“We can still cope and meet the 2012 target completion and operation of the NorthRail that is why we are hoping the construction will speed up [as soon as] the ongoing review [is completed],” he said.  Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon