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After almost 12
years of litigation, some 412 former workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction
(HHIC) may finally be paid their back wages amounting P66-million.
The
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in Tagbilaran City has set on June
25 the mandatory pre-conference for the issuance of a writ of execution on the
Supreme Court order granting the payment of the workers' claims.
Labor
arbiter Fructuoso Villarin IV said the hearing can no longer be postponed as it
is mandated by the high tribunal.
He
said that of the 412 former Hanjin laborers that were covered with the SC order,
some 200 have already submitted their affidavits for quitclaim and release and
agreed to settle directly with the management of the South Korean contractor.
There
are also 110 laborers who retracted their quitclaims following the high tribunal's
ruling. These former Hanjin workers cited that they were deceived and forced to
receive the amount of P40,000 after having been threatened that Hanjin might go
bankrupt.
Meanwhile,
out of the 412 workers due for payment, some 190 them have not agreed to sign
the quitclaim and out-of-court settlement offered by Hanjin.
| | | After
the June 25 conference, together with counsels of Hanjin and the illegally dismissed
workers, the details of the writ of execution will be known, Villarin said.
It
may be recalled that in 2006 the High Court ordered the South Korean contractor
to pay the back wages plus attorney's fees to the workers that were laid off sometime
in 1996 after the Malinao irrigation dam project (Bohol Irrigation Project Stage
1) was completed.
Despite
the finality of the Court decision in 2006, until now the workers have not yet
been paid. | Some
of the workers decided to avail of amicable settlements which is allowed under
labor laws provided that said settlements were entered into by the workers "freely
and voluntarily".
This
was disputed by lawyers of the workers saying the out-of-court settlements were
illegal since a Supreme Court order for payment was already issued.
Hanjin
lawyer Antonio Arabejo countered in a statement sent to the Chronicle that Hanjin
is not in any way defying the order of the Supreme Court. "As a matter of
fact, Hanjin has started paying the claims of some of the complainants despite
the fact that no writ of execution has yet been issued by the NLRC."
"All
those who received payments under the amicable settlement were fully aware of
the status of their case at the time they were paid," he added.
Hanjin's
counsel pointed out that the workers' lawyers "would naturally growl in protest
as the amicable settlement would substantially diminish his expected attorney's
fees…"
The labor lawyers will be receiving 30-percent out of the
total amount to be paid by Hanjin. | 
