THE JOHN Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) Sanggunian is drafting a constitution for an association to be formed for the stall owners of the JGSOM Student Enterprise Center (JSEC).
According to JGSOM Representative Rige Encarnacion, the JGSOM Sanggunian aims to ratify the drafted constitution by March. The association will then be an autonomous body composed of incoming JSEC stall owners.
The association will serve as an alternative to the proposed JSEC workers’ association endorsed in Buklod Resolution no. 14 from the 35th Buklod Atenista Midyear Conference. Despite the passage of the resolution, Encarnacion stated that while Sanggunian Buklod Representative Bianca Velasco consulted the Sanggunian school representatives, she failed to consult the University administration regarding the feasibility of the workers’ association.
Sanggunian Commissioner for Student Entrepreneurship Carlos Campo explained that the Sanggunian opted to create an association for JSEC stall owners because it does not have the authority to form a JSEC workers’ association. According to him, the Sanggunian cannot organize a JSEC workers’ association because it is highly influenced by the JGSOM administration. Campo reached out to The GUIDON to add that as the indirect management body of JSEC workers, the JGSOM administration cannot influence the creation of a workers’ union. Campo cited Article 248, Section D of the Labor Code of the Philippines for reference.
Article 248*, Section D states that it is unlawful for an employer “To initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization…”
Campo also said that if a JSEC workers’ association were to be formed, it would have to be a separate entity and not under the JSEC owners’ association.
Rationale for formation
A reason why the association was endorsed was to increase job security for JSEC workers, according to Encarnacion.
Campo said that the association will not be able to prohibit incoming stall owners from hiring workers outside of the current set of JSEC employees. Instead, the association may provide incoming owners with performance evaluations of veteran JSEC workers.
According to Campo, the JGSOM Sanggunian showed current stall owners the association’s draft constitution during a meeting in September. During this meeting, stall owners told him there was a need for the association to improve information dissemination on regulations, and facilitate consultations between stall owners and JGSOM administrators.
Encarnacion added that stall owners may also represent their employees in the association by forwarding their concerns.
She added that after the establishment of the JSEC stall owners’ association next school year, JSEC stall owners will read the constitution each year and vote on whether to keep the association.
According to Campo, revisions can be made to the constitution when it is ratified every year, but these will be subject to approval by JGSOM administrators and the Sanggunian.
He said that the JSEC stall owners’ association will require membership from all stalls and compliance with the association’s rules, but it will not require active participation from stall owners.
Channeling concerns
Campo stated that the association will not be a policy-making body. Instead, it will be a more formal avenue for stall owners to forward their business’ problems to JGSOM administrators. He noted that the association can mediate concerns between JSEC stall owners and their workers.
According to Encarnacion, the constitution being drafted states that the association will put up a dropbox in JSEC where workers may anonymously submit their concerns. A JGSOM Sanggunian representative who does not own a JSEC stall will review these concerns and e-mail them to stall owners. If JSEC stall owners are involved in a certain concern, they must acknowledge it and inform the Sanggunian when and how they handled the issue.
Campo said that as of now, the association will only have two required plenaries. The first will be for the election of officers at the start of the school year, while the second will be for the closing of the association at the end of the school year. These plenaries may also serve as a way for stall owners to meet and collectively resolve problems.
According to him, additional plenaries may be organized when needed.
Encarnacion said that the association may also utilize employee performance evaluation tools developed by Luis Enriquez (BS ES ‘18) for a project for his DS 135.19 Creating Shared Value class.
According to Enriquez, the project aimed to assist potential employers of JSEC workers in identifying “suitable” employees “by providing them more information about workers’ skills, experience, and habits.”
Enriquez worked with a team of students and practitioners to create resume forms for JSEC workers, which included the results of a peer evaluation facilitated by the team.
Campo said that these tools would help workers develop resumes. He emphasized that the JGSOM Sanggunian wants JSEC workers to be able to develop solid resumes if they wish to find jobs elsewhere once their contracts with JSEC employers expire.
“Our end goal for the JSEC employees is not really [staying in] JSEC. We want them to have a better life outside Ateneo. To have a better job, to grow,” Campo said.
Aid towards regularization?
JSEC Coordinator Alyson Yap suggested that the association could help in standardizing salaries for employees through a uniform salary for all JSEC workers.
He also said that while employee regularization is not possible under JSEC’s current design, the JSEC owners’ association has potential to serve as an employer of JSEC workers if it is re-established yearly. Yap noted this would entail that incumbent stall owners decide on the pool of employees for incoming stall owners, since all workers who are not legally terminated would be retained under this structure.
Healthy Co. employee Jason Caser said that the JSEC owners’ association could help in pushing for the retention of current employees in JSEC.
“I-push po nila na [empleyado] pa rin yung mga dati para hindi naman kawawang empleyado na sila, matatagal na [sa JSEC] tapos biglang isang taon mawawala,” Caser said.
(They should push to employ the old employees still so that they do not have to experience working for JSEC for a long time, then one year, suddenly, they are gone.)
Fu Fighters employee Melodie Sartore stated that if future stall owners were to employ new workers, they should properly inform the old ones.
“Sana, kung [mapalitan] man [ang mga nagtatrabaho dito], i-inform na kaagad nila na, ‘Ay hindi kaming [mage-employ] dito sa inyo, gusto namin [kunin ng mga empleyado] sa labas, [sa] kilala namin’,” Sartore said.
(I hope, if they do change the workers, they inform us right away that, ‘We cannot employ from you, we want to get employees elsewhere, from those that we know.’)
Sharing in problem-solving
Blendabowls owner Athenna Bigornia said that an association of JSEC stall owners would help improve communication between stall owners.
She also noted that it would be useful in solving common problems faced by all stalls. According to her, there has been a problem with increasing the number of possible customers that pass by JSEC for this year, and an association could help solve that problem collectively.
Additionally, Genghis Gang owner Hanna Miranda said that the association would allow for a space for stall owners to share experiences and advice, and to work together “as owners, not as competitors.”
“I think this association would help the owners to understand [how to do] business better, how to deal with employees, and if there are any problems, we could help each other out,” Miranda said.
ERRATUM: An earlier version of the article stated that the Sanggunian does not have the authority to form an association of JSEC workers since they are employed by individual stall owners. It also erroneously stated that if a JSEC owners’ association stabilizes, then a JSEC workers’ association may be formed under it. The article has been edited accordingly. We apologize for the oversight.
*Editor’s Note: The GUIDON’s research revealed that Campo cited the 2014 version of the Labor Code of the Philippines, wherein the law referred to is labeled as Article 248. The Code relabeled the law to Article 259 in its 2016 version. No changes were made to the content of the article and its sections.
