A labor NGO called on the management of a factory that is producing pulp for specialty paper and is based in Lanao del Norte to negotiate in earnest with workers, as they demand higher wages in ongoing negotiations for a CBA that have led to a deadlock and a strike.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) expressed its solidarity with the supervisors, staff and workers of Newtech Pulp, Inc. (NPI), producer of pulp from wood, who launched a strike in the company’s factory in Balo-I town of Lanao del Norte on March 6 to protest the management’s modest offer and refusal to bargain despite workers’ reduced demand for a wage hike.

“We sympathize and are in solidarity with the NPI workers. CBA negotiations should be about improving the state of workers’ rights, especially amidst the non-stop increases in the prices of basic goods and payments for basic services,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

In their joint statement, the NewTech Pulp Supervisory and Staffs Union (NPSSU) and the NewTech Pulp Workers Union (NPWU), affiliates of the Federation of Democratic Labor Organizations (FDLO), disclosed that NPI wants to reduce the wage increases of both supervisors and staff, which was P2,550 in 2023-2024, and workers, which was P2,355 in the same time period

In response, the supervisors-staff lowered their demand, proposing P2,000 in contrast to the management’s proposed P1,350 per month, while the workers did the same, proposing P1,800, in contrast to the management’s proposed P1,150. The management still refused to bargain with the workers’ adjusted demands.

“This is the first workers’ strike in the company’s 35 years of existence, which shows that the workers and the management have both been able to show understanding for each other’s situation. The workers rightfully feel aggrieved now that their wage increase is slowing down at a time when the increase in the cost of living has been accelerating,” added Deligente.

NPI produces pulp for Magnera Corporation, a global leader in the production of specialty materials that based in Charlotte, North Carolina in the US. Magnera has more than 50 facilities and offices across four global regions and creates materials for beverage filtration, wipes, laminates, tapes, metallized paper and technical applications.

“We also appeal to the US-based mother company to look into the labor dispute in their facility in the Philippines. We hope that the company offers a sympathetic ear to the workers’ plight amidst their wages’ decreasing purchasing power, and that it approaches the situation from a perspective grounded in labor rights,” Deligente said.