Kawasaki Motors Philippines Corp. has filed a notice of lockout against 289 rank-and-file union workers for allegedly committing unfair labor practices by staging an illegal strike and boycotting company-sanctioned activities.

Filed on 4 August 2025 before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), the Notice of Lockout states that the workers violated the “No Strike/No Lockout” clause of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed by both the union and management. Kawasaki cited the union’s boycott of three company activities last year: the anniversary celebration on 24 July, the sportsfest on 15 June, and mandatory overtime work announced on 30 April 2025 to recover from production losses.

Atty. John Bonifacio, the company's external counsel, explained that boycotting company-sanctioned events and violating the “No Strike/No Lockout” clause constitute unfair labor practices that justify the filing of a notice of lockout.

He added that Kawasaki has been negotiating in good faith but the union workers went ahead with the strike despite being informed that their demands were financially unfeasible for the company.

“We have exhausted all legal means possible to convince union workers to accept our offer and return to work, because they are disrupting operations, but to no avail,” Bonifacio said.

The union had demanded an 11.5 percent increase in salary plus a P50 daily wage hike. However, the company maintains it can only afford a 5 percent increase due to losses incurred during the pandemic.

Bonifacio noted that the lockout could take effect as early as 26 August 2025, once the company fulfills all requirements for a valid lockout as stated in the Labor Code.