Reported Filing of Notice of Strike by PLDT Union

PLDT Inc. (PSE: TEL) has been made aware of news reports describing the filing today of a Notice of Strike (NoS) by PLDT’s supervisory union, the Gabay ng Unyon sa Telekomunikasyon ng mga Superbisor (GUTS).

PLDT has not received a copy of any such Notice today, and reserves comment if or until after it is summoned by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB). In any event, the factual or legal basis for such a filing is not clear. There does not appear to be any “industrial or labor dispute” between the Company and GUTS; the existence of such a dispute is an essential legal requirement to file an NoS.

References in news reports to alleged contractualization in PLDT involve a subject that is sub-judice. To recall, the Court of Appeals reversed and set aside DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello’s orders directing PLDT to regularize some 7,000 workers, and issued a permanent injunction against such regularization orders. This matter is still pending in reconsideration proceedings before the Court of Appeals, and attempts by any party to contravene the Court of Appeals injunction or its Decision may lead to a contempt charge.

Also, any claims of alleged terminations by PLDT of “12,000” workers is absolutely baseless, untrue and malicious. PLDT has not undertaken any such mass termination. At the end of June 2018, PLDT contractors affected by Secretary Bello’s regularization orders complied with the Secretary’s cease-and-desist orders against them, and ceased deploying workers to PLDT. Following the Court of Appeals Decision enjoining the Secretary’s orders, however, the contractors have since undertaken remediation efforts to normalize their deployments and services.