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According to Jyrki Raina, gen sec of the union IndustriALL: “Workers attempted to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with NXP, the company responded by firing all 24 members of the union’s leadership under the pretext that their failure to work on a number of public holidays mounted to an illegal strike.”
NXP is also accused of delaying talks with the IndustriALL Global Union’s local affiliate, MWAP.
NXP is said to have told the Ministry of Labour that it wants to try and pay off the illegally sacked workers, effectively removing the trade union leadership from the plant. MWAP has rejected this offer.
NXP says: “NXP can confirm that we recently dismissed a group of union leaders who encouraged union employees to strike illegally on multiple occasions while negotiations about the collective bargaining agreement were ongoing The decision was not made lightly; we thoroughly weighed our options and felt that this was the only viable resolution to ensure our operations in the Philippines remain uninterrupted for the benefit of our customers and employees. We respect the legal right of the union to strike as long as such action follows the required and agreed protocol. NXP has not violated its agreement with the union or the laws that govern it, however, we cannot tolerate illegal action and employee absenteeism on the part of the union and its leadership. We would like to take this opportunity to ensure our customers, suppliers and partners that the factory continues to operate under normal conditions. We have always enjoyed a strong and mutually beneficial partnership with our local employees and hope to reach a fair agreement soon.”
Raina adds: “NXP must end the delaying tactics, stop the intimidation and bring back the workers now. NXP’s cynical strategy to draw out proceedings and break the resolve of 24 loyal workers and trade union leaders, some of whom have been with the company for 20 years, is an overtly aggressive case of union busting, contravening all international standards on labour legislation.”
NXP’s share price at $66.30 stands very near to its all-time high of $67.09 and values the company at over $16 billion.
