By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The workers union of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) has voted to go on strike over the weekend.

Ceneco Union of Rational Employees (CURE) conducted an election between their members on Saturday, January 29, wherein 291 have voted yes while 10 have voted for no.

CURE President Steffanie Montenar said they will submit the result of their referendum to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Montenar explained once the NCMB had replied back, there will be a seven-day cooling off period.

Such a move could cripple Ceneco’s services as among those joining in the strike is its essential work force such as linemen, collectors, meter readers, and tellers.

The strike stemmed from Ceneco’s alleged failure to implement the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) which was approved in September 2021.

Last week, Ceneco officer-in-charge General Manager Jose Tañongon explained among the reasons why it is unable to give the employees’ benefits was due to a condition set by the National Electrification Administration wherein its collection efficiency should be 95 percent.

Ceneco had only hit 92 percent collection efficiency in December of last year, although Tañongon is confident that they will be able to hit the required 95 percent this month.

He also appealed for cooperation among their employees. He is also joined by a local consumers group, who are also calling for CURE to postpone their strike as it could have dire impact on the city and the surrounding areas./DGB, WDJ