Led by the Nexperia Phils. Inc. Workers Union (NPIWU-NAFLU-KMU), Nexperia Philippines workers held a noise barrage and marched in front of their factory in Light Industry Science Park I, Cabuyao, Laguna on November 4 to condemn the management’s delaying tactics and lowball wage offers in the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The negotiations started in January, but despite the nearing yearend, the union and management have yet to reach a significant agreement due to the latter’s repeated refusal to grant the workers’ just demands. “The management’s actions show their lack of concern for their workers’ welfare,” the union said.

The union said management is denying the workers a fair wage increase and benefits amidst the rising prices of basic commodities in the country. In the October 17 negotiations, the management reduced the union’s proposed wage increase for the next three years from ₱900 to ₱450.

Meanwhile, the signing bonus that was initially set at ₱36,000 was reduced to ₱15,000-₱18,000. According to the NPIWU, the previous CBA increased wages by ₱550 and included a rice subsidy, meal subsidy, and gift check. Compared to this, the current offer is much lower. The company is using the meager wage increase mandated by the Department of Labor and Employment in Region IV-A as an excuse.

Furthermore, the company reduced the budget for wages and allocated it to other benefits to reduce the overall cost in the CBA. The union said, “the management is giving all sorts of unrealistic reasons to justify their lowball offers.” This includes the supposed decrease in production volume, despite the undiminished daily target output.

The union lamented that the negotiations have been going for too long and has yet to result to concrete benefits for the workers. “Wokers have long been contributing to Nexperia, but they still feel no share of the fruits of their hard labor over the past three years,” the union said.

The management is clearly using the negotiations to block and scrimp on the workers’ benefits. In response, the union has vowed to fight for the wage increase and signing bonus they are demanding.

“The workers are ready to fight for their rights. Let’s continue our collective action! The noise barrages will continue every breaktime in the canteen! Our protests will continue!” the NPIWU said.

Kilusang Mayo Uno secretary general and Makabayan Coalition senatorial candidate Jerome Adonis attended and joined the protest. The largest union in France and Netherlands, the General Confederation of Labor, and Federation of Dutch Trade Unions, as well as the global network GoodElectronics and IndustriALL, also expressed their support for the Nexperia workers.

Nexperia Philippines is a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based company Nexperia, which manufactures semiconductors in its factories in Europe, Asia, and the US.