The DMCI group is “on the verge” of filing for work stoppage at its nickel mining sites in Palawan and Zambales given the protracted suspension of mining operations, which has forced the group to cut its workforce by 62 percent.
From 550, DMCI Mining has reduced its manpower complement to 207, excluding thousands of seasonal workers hired during production ramp up.
Subsidiary Berong Nickel Corp. (BNC) received a suspension order from the Department of Natural Resources (DENR) in June this year due to the alleged discoloration of Barangay Berong’s river system and tributaries.
The following month, Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. was served a suspension order due to “social issues.”
“Our hands are tied. We have no choice but to let go of most of our workers,” DMCI Mining president Cesar Simbulan Jr. said in a statement on Thursday.
“We are trying to retain as many people as possible by assigning them to our environmental rehabilitation sites. But mine rehabilitation is not as labor intensive as nickel production so we simply cannot absorb all of them,” Simbulan added.
In a separate interivew, Simbulan said DMCI Mining was contemplating to file at the Department of Labor and Employment for work stoppage.
During work stoppages, employers are mandated to pay workers their wages as if they actually reported for work.
Work stoppage is typically a labor-saving device that companies that are undergoing challenging conditions could invoke.
In the case of DMCI Mining, Simbulan said DMCI Mining would have to face anxious labor unions.
So far, Simbulan said DMCI Mining had not resorted to work stoppage on hopes that the suspension order would be lifted soon, adding that both mining units had already addressed the issues raised by regulators.
Simbulan added that it was “a bit unfair” that while the suspension order had been meted out only by the regional director, once the company had complied with the requirements, the lifting of the suspension order still had to be approved by the Cabinet Secretary (DENR chief Gina Lopez).