Employees of three big companies in the country will get P74.1 million in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) packages and separation benefits following dispute settlement with management, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) said Wednesday.

NCMB said that some 708 workers of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corporation (PASAR) will receive an estimated P65 million in CBA package which will be spread over two years, from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012 after union and management came up with a compromise agreement last June 23.

PASAR owns and operates the only copper smelter and refinery in the Philippines. It is located in LIDE, Isabel, Leyte, it was learned.

The successful resolution of the disputes involving Hi-Eisai Pharmaceutical Company and its workers chapter last June 22 also benefited some 71 workers with a total CBA package amounting to P6,384, 320.

Included in the agreement for the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Hi-Eisai Pharmaceutical Workers Chapter, which filed the notice of strike against the company, are provisions for P1,200 per month additional basic pay to each covered employee, merit reward based on performance of P800 per month, one-time financial assistance of P1,000 for each covered employee, funeral benefits, rice subsidy of P1,000 per quarter for each covered employee, signing bonus of P5,000 for each employee, medicine allowance, dental benefits and prescription glasses.

For workers of the Cathay Pacific Steel Corporation, the NCMB said that the union, Samahan ng Manggagawa ng Capasco-Taguig (SAMACAT) accepted management’s offer of P2.7 million as separation pay for 20 union members.

The labor dispute at Cathay Pacific Steel Corporation was likewise settled through conciliation last June 9.

According to NCMB, the cases involving the three companies are just three of the 135 strike notices it docketed since January, which declined 4 percent from the 140 new cases received during the same period in 2009.

The board also reported a declining trend in preventive mediation cases. Only 190 cases have been filed since January, 25 percent lower than those filed during the same period in 2009.

Workers involved in both types of cases, however, recorded significant increases from 2009 figures.

Workers in strike notices increased by 11 percent, while those covered by PM cases increased by 8 percent, it said.

As of June 29, NCMB data showed that the cumulative monetary benefits facilitated from conciliation-mediation cases have reached P363.8 million benefiting 4, 554 workers.