100 caddies hold rally vs. golf club A GROUP of caddies held a picket at the gate of Cebu Country Club in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City to oppose the new rule of the management that required them to apply for a one-year accreditation from the club. Francisco Racho Jr. of the Cebu Country Country Employees Association, who was among the estimated 100 caddies that gathered at the gate, said his group set up the picket after the management accused them of “illegal lockout” for refusing to get accreditations. Racho said the accreditation is only valid from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2014. Beyond that, they can be banned from working as caddies at the club next year. Racho said he has been working as a caddie in the club for 37 years and that the accreditation system implemented by the management is unfair. Racho said they are also protesting the club’s non-recognition of their services, ranging from 20 to 48 years. The protesting caddies were supported by the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP). A press statement emailed to Sun.Star Cebu by ALU education director Art Barrit said that for the past three years, a total of 254 caddies were registered and recognized by the management as the official caddies of the golf club. But just recently, 143 caddies were no longer allowed to work by the management presumably because they formed an association affiliated with ALU-TUCP, the press statement said. Barrit said there were three conciliatory hearings conducted by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board but both parties did not reach any agreement. A notice of strike was filed by the union and all the requisites were followed until the group initiated the protest yesterday. Lawyer Julius Neri Sr., Cebu Country Club legal officer, however, said that there is no “employer-employee relation” between the caddies and the management. This is because the caddies are hired by club members who want to play golf. “As a matter of fact, we were charged twice (in court) and in both instances we won. Because there is already a Supreme Court ruling in the Manila Golf and Country Club case that caddies are not employees because the club does not have control as their services are engaged by the players,” said Neri. Neri said that caddies are just like lawyers who are retained by some companies or individuals, but there is no employer-employee relationship. The caddies are also retained by players on a particular day. Several caddies who served the players confirmed to Sun.Star Cebu that it is the players and not Cebu Country Club who are paying them. Chona Colina Mendoza, human resources/administrative manager of the club, said the minority of the caddies held the picket when an international golf tournament was opened. But Mendoza said about 200 caddies were able to serve the golf players in the tournament. FROM SUNSTAR CEBU...
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:53:29 +0000
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