PHILEX MINING Corp. said mining and processing operations at its Padcal mine in Benguet continued unhampered on Monday, a day after workers launched a strike amid a labor dispute.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), made in response to the bourse's inquiry, the company said fewer than 100 workers were recorded at picket lines on Sunday and Monday. Under exchange rules, listed companies are expected to disclose material developments to keep the market informed.

"So far, mining and processing operations have continued and remained unhampered," Philex said.

Preliminary reports indicated that production and output levels on Sunday were close to normal, the company said, although its daily production report had yet to be finalized.

Philex logged a 35% workforce absence rate on Sunday but noted it could not yet determine whether all employees who failed to report were participating in the strike.

To keep operations running, the company said it implemented extended shifts at its mine and mill, with managers, supervisors, and rank-and-file employees who reported for work helping to address staffing requirements.

The walkout was initiated on Sunday by the Philex National Mines and Allied Workers Union (NAMAWU) amid a dispute over collective bargaining negotiations, the process through which a union and management negotiate wages and other terms of employment.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, NAMAWU called for "fair and sufficient wages" to help workers meet household expenses, including food, healthcare, and education.

Philex said negotiations between management and the union had been ongoing before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) in the Cordillera Administrative Region, with guidance from the board's central office. The NCMB serves as the government's conciliation and mediation arm for labor disputes.

The company also denied issuing a memorandum directing employees not to take part in the strike. "No such memorandum was issued by company management," Philex said, adding that it respects workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively.

The company said it would continue discussions with NAMAWU, the NCMB, and the Department of Labor and Employment to resolve the dispute, making the outcome of those talks — along with the mine's finalized daily production report — the near-term developments to watch. It added that existing safety protocols, environmental safeguards, and mine management standards would remain in place at the Padcal mine, Philex's long-running copper-gold operation, during the strike.

Philex is a Philippine affiliate of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., which also has investments in Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

— Alexandria Grace C. Magno

Source: BusinessWorld