Report by Patricia Depra

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) Region 6 ordered the reinstatement of previously laid off Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) employees. This decision was preceded by various protests and a petition filed by the water district employees.

In the CSC resolution dated August 20, the sacked employees shall be “entitled to full pay from the time of their separation until actual reinstatement.”

Last year, BACIWA signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Villar-owned PrimeWater, which would control over the everyday operations of the water district in the next 25 years. The takeover took effect on November 16.

This was immediately opposed by the BACIWA Employees Union-NAFLU as there are foreseeable increases in the charges for the services, prioritization of profit, and forced or illegal termination of employees.

Consequently, the BACIWA board passed a resolution on December 31 which sacked 60 employees on the basis that the positions were redundant.

Since then, the BACIWA Employees Union-NAFLU staged numerous protests and filed a petition at CSC-6 as they asserted that the termination was illegal.

BACIWA Employees Union-NAFLU claims this as a victory and should set an example for all the water districts nationwide to continue their fight against privatization of basic commodities.

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