DTCB Union Secretary General Jacob Mpasopi, said agreeing to the P1,000, as a once off payment was tantamount to accepting a bribe to be silenced. The union is demanding an eight percent increase in the cost of living allowance and an increase from P180 to P1,000 of their Transport and Gas Allowance. Management had earlier rejected these demands. The union leaders had revealed that there is a lot of disparity between the workers and management when it comes to remuneration and allowances. They charged that the workers, who are mostly diamond sorters and valuators, get a mere P180 as a transport and gas allowance, whilst management gets hefty amounts of money as car allowances.
"We have however agreed to give the Managing Director, who was on a long leave when we went on strike, time to talk to the union members and to also give him an indefinite period to try to resolve the impasse," Mpasopi said adding that the MD agreed to talk to the union members as long as they are back at work and not outside the premises where they have been camping since the strike.
