More than 50 employees of the Department of Labor and Employment Bacolod District Office held a picket during their lunchbreak yesterday to urge Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to sign the Collective Negotiation Agreement with their union.

The picket was held simultaneously with the protest actions of other DOLE employees in Iloilo, Cebu and National Capital Region.

Edilberto Diogenes, spokesman of DOLE Region 6 Employees Union-Bacolod City, said they want Sto. Tomas to act on their call because the benefits from the CNA are due to them.

He said, however, they can only hold protest actions at noon time so as not to disrupt the operations of their offices.

To dramatize their protest, the DOLE Bacolod District Office employees wore black armbands and lighted candles in front of the building where their office is located.

We lighted candles with the hope that Secretary Sto. Tomas will be enlightened and will listen to us, Diogenes said.

They also carried placards that read: "DOLE employees union calls for the release of CNA incentive bonus," "Stop union busting, respect our CNA," and "DOLE Employees, guardian of labor rights, but deprived of their human rights."

Diogenes, who also pushed for a P3,000 across-the-board salary increase, said that it is sad to know that DOLE employees like them, who implement labor laws, are being deprived of their benefits.

He claimed that Sto. Tomas may be dilly-dallying in signing their CNA because she is endorsing a management-supported group to become the DOLE's official employees union.

Representatives from the BACIWA Employees Union and the Bacolod City Government Employees Union also showed up at the picket to show support to the protesting DOLE employees.*NLG

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