The union was able to clinch wage increase, signing bonus, back pay, and adjustments in their work hours.
CAGAYAN DE ORO — It took 52 days for the workers of an abaca pulp mill in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte, to end their strike, clinching wage increase and other benefits.
Junard Ramos, president of Newtech Pulp Workers Union-Federation of Democratic Labor Organization (NPWU-FDLO), told Bulatlat that the management of Newtech Pulp Incorporated (NPI), a subsidiary of US-based multinational corporation Magnera, granted a P1,360 monthly increase for rank-and-file workers, or around a P51.97 daily wage hike, although this is lower compared to their final demand of a P1,800 monthly pay rise under their collective bargaining agreement, or around a P68.79 daily increase.
With the wage adjustment, new members of the union will have around a P551.97 daily salary, which is a bit higher compared to the P500 daily minimum wage set by the DOLE’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Northern Mindanao.
This remains lower, however, compared to the P1,287 daily living wage for a family of five in the region, as shown in the data from research group Ibon Foundation
Read: Insufficient wage increase in Mindanao an ‘abomination’
For supervisors and staff, who also took part in the strike, they will also receive a salary hike of P1,460 per month, which is lower compared to their demand of a P2,000 monthly increase.
Workers’ final demands for wage hike were denied despite personally bargaining with Magnera representatives from the US who traveled to the Philippines. The NPWU president earlier claimed that the company could not comply with their demands due to the change in production target.
Nevertheless, NPI rank-and-file employees welcomed the decision of the management to grant their request on their work schedule, which they had been raising since 2014. Ramos said they will now have two days off after six working days.
“Our work routine requires us to stay late. At least our bodies can recover a little bit,” Ramos told Bulatlat in the vernacular, adding that this was the primary reason why they agreed to settle the negotiations.
Other benefits, such as a signing bonus and back pay, will also be given to them, he said.
Workers of NPI launched the work stoppage on March 6, 2026, after a deadlock in their negotiations, initially opposing the company’s offer because those were lower compared to their monthly increases in previous years.
Sixty-six rank-and-file workers and 29 members of Newtech Pulp Supervisory and Staff Union joined the strike.
Read: Lanao del Norte abaca plant workers fight for just wages
According to Ramos, their last meeting with the company, together with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment, was held on Sunday, April 26.
The union leader attributed the presence of Magnera representatives to the organizations and the media that amplified their demands. “Without you, we will have a hard time because our communication hardly reaches them,” Ramos told Bulatat in the vernacular.
Note: $1 is equivalent to P61.47 as of April 30, 2026, foreign exchange rate.
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