Six farmers in EB Magalona town filed illegal dismissal charges before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) against a Negros Occidental please board member.
The complainants, Rowena Pedrosa, Ederlinda Penuela, Ramon Heponia Helen Nalusay, Almira Hilado, Cresencia Jalique and Jenny Penuela filed the charges against Board Member David Albert Lacson, the lessee of Hda. Mercedes in Barangsy Pasil, EB Magalona, and Romeo Penuela, farm overseer.
The farmers claimed that sometime during the first week of April, they were informed by Penuela that effective immediately they were dismissed as farm workers.
The sugar farm was leased by the Maravilla family, its original owners, to Burt Lacson, father of David.
The farm has about 70 households.
They are asking why of all families in the hacienda, “they were being singled out.”
“Is it because we will not support him (Lacson) as mayor?”, they asked.
They added that when the father of official was still alive “we were not forced or ordered whom to vote during the elections.”
The complainants demanded that they be reinstated as farm workers with full back wages, wage differentials and 13th month differentials.
They told newsmen that the management has offered them to return to work at the sugar farm as long as they agree with some of their conditions.
However, they said they turned the offer because they said “the conditions were unacceptable.”
They did not however specify what are the conditions.
Romeo Pasustento, NLRC mediator has set a conciliatory conference between the parties tomorrow April 24 at the NLRC office in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City. (NDB)