18/12/2012 (Business Mirror) - The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) on Monday chided owners of palm-oil plantations in the Caraga region who continue to refuse to hold talks with striking workers despite the havoc wrought by Typhoon “Pablo.”

Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general, said at least three palm-oil plantations in the region have continuously rejected appeals by striking workers to hold talks for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Workers of the Agumill, Agusan Plantation Inc. (API) and Filipinas Palm Oil Plantation Inc. (FPPI) have been on strike since Nov. 27 because of the deadlock in CBA negotiations.

According to KMU, despite the destruction wrought by typhoon “Pablo” on the workers’ homes, Chan Lok Lim, CEO of both Agumill and API, and Dennis Villareal, CEO of FPPI, have refused to sit down and talk with the workers.

“While Filipinos and even foreigners are trying hard to help the people of Mindanao who are still suffering from Pablo’s wrath, some capitalists in Caraga continue to think solely of their profits,” Soluta said.

According to Soluta, “this demonstrates nothing but the greed of big capitalists.”

He said that for years, these companies earned huge profits from the labor of their workers.

“Now that their workers badly need help, they refuse to even negotiate,” he said.

According to Soluta, the continuing workers’ strikes in Caraga show that capitalists and the Aquino administration do not pretend to even show some concern for workers.

Workers of Agumill and API called “insulting” the managements’ CBA offers, which include maintaining the wage increase that was agreed upon in the previous CBA and increasing wages by a mere P2.00 for 2012.

FPPI workers are still waiting for the management’s improved offers after the Department of Labor ordered it to do so.

“These capitalists are acting like it’s too much to show some compassion and consider their workers’ plight. Even if they too were badly affected by Pablo, they should at least resume negotiations with their workers,” Soluta said.