Union of biggest bus firm in PH files strike notice

BACOLOD CITY –– The labor union of the largest bus company in the country on Wednesday filed a notice of strike, claiming that the dispute among the owners has affected the release of workers’ pay and benefits.

The Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union-Trade Union of Congress of the Philippines (PACIWU-TUCP) lodged the notice against Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.

More than 6,000 workers of the Yanson Group of Companies in the Visayas were members of PACIWU-TUCP, said its national president, Hernani Braza.

He claimed that the squabble among members of the Yanson family over control of the company had affected the workforce.

Franny Santarin, PACIWU Vallacar Transit Inc. chapter president, cited the delayed release of retirement pay, separation pay, benefits, and union dues of union members since the family feud began.

Four Yanson siblings – Roy, Emily, Celina, and Ricky, in a special board meeting on July 7, ousted their brother Leo Rey Yanson as president of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies.

Leo Rey, however, has refused to step down, saying his ouster was illegal.

The actions of his four siblings, he said, did not comply with the requirements of the Corporation Code and/or the By-Laws of VTI.

Braza said the union staged a peaceful protest on July 14 at the VTI bus terminal in Barangay Bata, Bacolod City to call on the Yansons to settle their dispute.

He said they were filing a notice of strike after being caught in the middle of the family dispute.

They would have to wait for a 23-day cooling-off period before they could stage a strike, he said.

No amicable settlement was reached in the feud among members of the Yanson family over control of the largest bus firm in the country.

This prompted the court to conduct a full-blown hearing on the petition to stop Roy and his fellow corporate officers from taking control of their companies. /lzb