Cebu Daily News / News

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Sulpicio officials urged: Disregard CBA Cebu Daily News Posted date: July 31, 2008 THE labor union of Sulpicio Lines Inc. employees is asking management to disregard their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on the insurance of the crew members. The Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) sent a letter yesterday to SLI chief operating officer Victoriano Go, containing their appeal to disregard the CBA. The labor union sent the petition after wives of crewmembers complained of only receiving P40,000 in insurance as compared to the P200,000 death claims received by families of passengers. SLI lawyer Geraldine Jorda earlier clarified that P40,000 was specified in the life insurance of crewmembers of the sunken vessel, while the families would also receive a separate sum from the company based on the rank and length of service of the deceased crewmember. The SLI management said that some of them would get more than P200,000. But the ALU-TUCP said each family of the crew members would receive at least P104,428. The labor union got the amount from its calculation of the benefits of each crew -- P40,000 in life insurance, P22,428 in death benefit, P20,000 in SSS funeral benefit, P10,000 in ECC funeral benefit and P12,000 to P14,000 in death aid from ALU-TUCP. The estimate was included in the letter sent to SLI. Joy Lim of ALU-TUCP, said not all of the crew will receive the P200,000 or the more than P200,000. She said that most of the crew served for only at most three years. If the company will give benefits based on the length of service and position, most of the families will get less than P200,000. Also yesterday, 40 laid off SLI workers went to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office to avail of the promised government aid. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the DSWD to help the laid off SLI workers because of the grounding of SLI's ships. The DSWD interviewed the workers, who included Bobby Epe, a messman of the MV Filipina Princess, and Rodrigo Ambos, an assistant chief porter of SLI. Jayvee Carillo, DSWD-7 information officer, said that they will entertain first the 151 laid off workers on the list that SLI had gave them. The assistance will come in form of financial, food, medical, or scholarship depending on their immediate needs. /Correspondent Carine M. Asutilla