PLDT employees call off strike

PLDT employees call off strike

MANILA (AFP): Employees of telecommunications giant Philippine
Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) have called off a six-day
strike after reaching a compromise with the management, a company
official said yesterday.

Antonio Samson, PLDT vice president for corporate services
said the strike action had paralyzed almost 65 percent of PLDT's
operations.

It began last week when management refused to renegotiate
terms of the company's collective bargaining agreement with the
union until the labor department had determined the official
representatives of the negotiating panel.

"We've reached a compromise formula for an interim negotiating
panel," Samson told AFP, adding that the barricades have been
cleared and "everybody has returned to work." The management also
shelved plans to hire new people following the return to work of
its employees, he added.