A labor NGO told the management of a Chinese restaurant chain to prioritize people over profits, as the latter refuses to seriously bargain with workers in ongoing negotiations and appears to divest its ownership of its business without informing the workers.

In CBA negotiations that started on January 22, Katipunan Food Services Inc (KFSI), which manages the well-known Kowloon House restaurant located along West Avenue in Quezon City, cited financial difficulties and stopped at its P10 wage hike counter-offer to the workers’ P35 demand.

Then suddenly, on March 14, the “Kowloon House” signage in front of the restaurant was replaced with a signage that reads “Tri-Angle Bar and Billiards.” In a memorandum, KFSI claimed that it no longer owns the property and demanded that the workers end all union activities in the area.

“The actions of the Kowloon management are deeply disturbing for workers’ rights. Kowloon workers now face not only a meager wage hike, but insecurity about their jobs, if not unemployment,” said Kamz Deligente, executive director of labor NGO Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR).

“The Kowloon management should put people over profits and be transparent to its workers as regards its ownership of the restaurant and its capacity to improve workers’ wages and benefits. By suddenly claiming to divest of its business, the Kowloon management is being non-transparent to the workers and their union. This further puts into question its claim of facing financial difficulties,” Deligente added.

The workers, led by the Genuine Labor Organization of Workers in Hotel, Restaurant, and Allied Industries – Kilusang Mayo Uno – Kowloon House West Chapter (GLOWHRAIN-KMU-KHWC), claimed that the company had a gross income of P25 million in two years for selling siopao, siomai, and wanton, three of its products.

The workers also claimed that the management failed to honor the P12 wage increase provision in the 2020 and 2021 CBA, which is equivalent to P5.5 million. They also said that the current CBA negotiations should have started in August last year, but the management dragged its feet until the workers took action.

“We believe that the public has shown increasing awareness of labor issues and prefer companies that respect labor rights. Whatever issues it may be facing, the Kowloon management should uphold workers’ rights to maintain its good standing with the public,” said Deligente.

CTUHR called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to ensure that the issues facing the workers of Kowloon are sorted out in the soonest possible time and in favor of workers’ rights.

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