Compromise dim? USA blames Labor official

By Ronilo L. Pamonag

The administration of the University of San Agustin, one of the biggest schools in the region, is silent on the possibility of entering into a compromise with its striking employees union.

At the same time, it pinned the blame on Adorico Dadivas, regional director of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.

Mum's the word

The three-page statement issued Wednesday afternoon does not mention or talk about compromise.

The Union, even before they went on strike Monday over the alleged union busting by the University, has been willing to enter into a compromise with the management.

"That has been our stand eversince," said Theodore Neil Lasola, president of the close to 300-strong Union. Lasola is among those 22 officers terminated earlier this month for organizing what the Court of Appeals said is an illegal strike last September 2003.

He,however, expressed pessimism that University president Fr. Manuel Vergara would sit down with them.

The News Today called the office of lawyer Sabino Padilla III, counsel for the school management, but was told that he has not yet arrived.

Earlier, church and government officials have tried to negotiate a compromise between the Union and the administration, to no avail.

Doing a Pontius Pilate?

The administration said that the blame can be traced back to Dadivas eventhough the termination order was signed by Vergara.

The statement recalled what happened during the first strike.

"Instead of immediately contacting the officers of the union to advise them of such an order and to ask them to receive and respect such order, NCMB Director Dadivas played along with the illegal and discredited practice of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) of staging and prolonging a strike by means of a resolution that only the president of the union may accept an assumption of jurisdiction order or AOJ and then asking the union president to evade service of the AOK until he was ready to accept it. Had NCMB Director Dadivas complied with the law...there would have been no illegal strike and the officials of the union would not now find themselves," the administration explained, "In other words, in trying to favor, assist and abet these union officials, NCMB Director Dadivas actually caused them to lose their employment."

the news today called Dadivas at his office for comment. An NCMB staff said that Dadivas is in Roxas city in Capiz.

Leaders deceiving members

Although tight-lipped on the possibility of an amicable settlement, the school administration is accusing the Union officers of deceiving its members.

"The deception by the present Union leadership to its members is clear. The terminated Union officers know that the USAEU-FFW was and is not being busted. The truth isthat the Union leadership declared a strike only because they were terminated," the school's statement said, as it pointed out that the managementt is still negotiating with the Union for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).