No compromise on jobs for Iraq reconstruction.

(From BusinessWorld (Philippines))

The government is not inclined to compromise pending labor disputes involving American contractors in exchange for jobs in the reconstruction of Iraq, the Labor department said.

In an interview, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the class suit charged against Bechtel Corp. and Halliburton-KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root) before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) will not be traded off for some 100,000 jobs in Iraq. "We don't compromise on these things. I am sure this can be appealed to the higher courts if the people feel it," she said.

She noted that the labor arbiter has rendered a …