BACOLOD City – “Illegal.” This was how Councilor Archie Baribar described the recent retrenchment of 60 Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) employees.
In its Dec. 23, 2020 Resolution No. 172, the Baciwa board of directors declared the employees and their respective posts as “redundant” following a reorganization that stemmed from Baciwa’s joint venture agreement with PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp.
Such declaration abolished positions deemed no longer needed.
But according to Baribar, the dismissal was illegal, saying “Baciwa is not yet dissolved and their employee-employer relationship is still there.”
“(The entry of) PrimeWater, which took over the operations of Baciwa, is only a joint venture agreement. It is not the new owner of Baciwa,” said the councilor who chairs the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s committee on energy and public utilities.
While there were offers to employees to retire or voluntarily resign with incentives, Baribar said only the posts of those who accepted the offer can be declared vacant; those who did not could stay on their posts.
“(The retrenchment was) a blatant violation of security of tenure of Baciwa employees,” Baribar stressed.
The joint venture did not give Baciwa’s ownership to PrimeWater or full control because it was only a 25-year agreement and after this, the operation of the water district will return to Baciwa because they are the owner, he explained.
Meanwhile, the Baciwa Employees Union (BEU) called the action of the board illegal, inappropriate and immoral.
The BEU said the 60 employees believe the terms of their employment were protected by civil service rules and regulations.
It added that while said employees “acknowledge that the Board is the policy-making body, it is our conviction that it does not possess the authority to dictate our terms of employment, which are subject to and protected by the Civil Service (law).”
For his part, Baciwa board chairman Lorendo Dilag said employees who were declared redundant along with their positions will receive appropriate separation benefits as government workers under existing laws.
Dilag, together with directors Lawrence Villanueva, Mona Dia Jardin, and Rebecca Filasol, and acting general manager Michael Soliva explained the stand of the board and the management after the employees were refused entry to the Baciwa compound on Monday.
Director Mona Dia Jardin, board secretary, said after the joint venture took effect on Nov. 13, when PrimeWater took over the operations and management of the water district, Baciwa only had to retain employees tasked to monitor the private firm’s compliance with the agreement.
She said Baciwa reduced its personnel from about 500 to only 23 for monitoring purposes. Other employees were absorbed by PrimeWater while others opted for early retirement.
The 60 employees, whose functions fell under operations and management, had been given the option to either re-apply with PrimeWater or avail themselves of the early retirement incentive program, but they refused to choose between the two, as they preferred to remain as Baciwa employees.
Dilag said the board has a legal basis in declaring the employees and their positions redundant.
“The action of the Board of Directors is legal. It is supported by the opinions of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC). It was made after giving the employees several notices for their explanation, but sad to say, no explanation was ever submitted,” he added.
Jardin said the 60 employees will receive their separation pay and terminal leave claims.
According to Resolution 172, “These employees, if entitled thereto, shall be paid the appropriate separation pay and retirement, and other benefits under existing laws provided that the application for clearance has been filed by said employees.” (With PNA/PN)
