3-page deal ends strike at Laguna soda bottling plant

SAN PEDRO, Laguna—The three-day workers’ strike at the bottling plant of Coca-cola in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, ended peacefully with an amicable settlement between the workers’ union and the company.

The workers ended the strike around 7 p.m. on  Wednesday and removed the barricades that blocked four gates of the bottling plant in Barangay Pulong Sta. Cruz since Monday.

Joyce Rosales, deputy secretary general of the labor union alliance Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno (Pamantik-KMU), said the strike ended after a meeting between representatives of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) and the officers of the Unyon ng mga Manggagawang Driver, Forklift Operator, at Picker-CCBPI –Independent (UMDFP-CCBPI-IND).

Rosales said the two sides signed a three-page agreement that ended the strike.

Under the agreement, 430 union members would be hired as regular employees and be entitled to full benefits.

The union had complained of unfair labor practices and contractualization.

Yesterday morning, at least 300 union members, mostly truck drivers and forklift operators, held a victory march around Sta. Rosa City.

The Sta. Rosa bottling plant makes up the bulk of Coke’s operations in the Philippines. The company, just in March, had made known its plan to shut down its concentrate plant in Canlubang, also in Laguna, but said this would not affect the Sta. Rosa operations.

Coke has 23 production plants, serving at least 800,000 customers.