MEPZ mass layoff spurs demand for improved TUPAD

 

From Cebu Toyo Corporation website

According to the group Partido Manggagawa (PM), some 230 workers of Cebu Toyo Corporation have been put on indefinite forced leave as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran. PM is calling for an improved public employment program to assist the laid off workers in transitioning to new and better jobs.

 

“Unfortunately, we fear that the indefinite forced leave is a step towards eventual retrenchment for the workers. Further, the mass layoff promises to be just the first wave of war-related terminations. Thus, the government needs to set up a job assistance program in dialogue with labor organizations,” stated Dennis Derige, spokesperson of the Cebu chapter of PM and also vice chair of the Regional 7 industrial tripartite peace council.

 

Cebu Toyo produces optical lenses for electronic products and is located in the Mactan Economic Zone 2 at Basak, Lapu-Lapu City. The indefinite forced leave was a response to supply chain disruptions due to the war in the Middle East, according to the management of Cebu Toyo.

 

PM is assisting the workers and is coordinating with the local office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for a dialogue with the affected workers. “This is a test case of the emergency powers granted to President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. With great power comes great responsibility. We demand an urgent response from the President’s alter ego in the DOLE,” Derige asserted.

 

PM has criticized the existing emergency employment program called TUPAD for being too limited and entangled in patronage politics. The group is calling for a new public employment program that is delinked from politicians and instead based on a national registry of legitimate beneficiaries. Moreover, it is calling for 100 days of paid work not the usual 10 days. Finally, PM wants to prioritize climate jobs instead of the street sweeping that TUPAD currently implements.

 

Derige also called on the regional wage board to fast track the P100 wage petition filed by unions. Derige argued that “The unprecedented emergency powers granted to President Marcos, Jr. is already enough evidence of a supervening event that necessitates an immediate decision by the wage board.”

 

With Labor Day just more than a month away, PM is calling for an expanded ayuda program and an independent foreign policy aside from a P200 legislated wage hike and improved public employment program. “The Philippines should add its voice to the call of the Pope and other global actors for an end to the war and a new rules-based international order based on respect for sovereignty and development,” Derige insisted.

Press Release

April 14, 2026

 

“Logo lang ang nagbago sa SONA ni BBM”--labor group

  

The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that only the logo has changed as President Bong Bong Marcos is set to deliver his second State of the Nation today. “Walang bago sa Pilipinas. Logo lang ang nagbago. All the social problems—poverty, inequality, low wages, high prices, unemployment and insecure jobs—remain unresolved and without any clear solutions under this administration,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and Marikina city councilor.

 

Hundreds of PM members will join other workers organizations under the Nagkaisa labor coalition in assembling around 9:00 am today at Philcoa. By 11:00 am, the group will merge with more labor groups and other civil society organizations along Commonwealth Avenue and in front of the Commission on Human Rights. They will march to Tandang Sora where the People’s SONA will have a program from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

 

In Cebu City, PM along with groups SENTRO and Akbayan will assemble in Plaza Independencia at 8:00 am today. Then they will march onto the Cebu City Freedom Park and finally merge with other organizations for the main program in Metro Colon. In Iloilo, PM is joining other workers organizations for the counter-SONA rally today under the coalition United Labor.

 

Magtubo cited the loss of more than 4,000 jobs as two big garment factories are shutting down in the Mactan Export Processing Zone as an example of the failures of the Marcos Jr. administration, along with the price of rice that remains double the promised P20 per kilo. He insisted that “Dahil walang trabahong regular and walang murang bigas, bigo ang Pilipinas sa pamumuno ni BBM.”

July 24, 2023

Ahead of SONA, labor group slams factory closures at Mactan Export Processing Zone

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the retrenchment of some 4,100 workers at Mactan Apparel Inc. and its satellite companies. “These are factory closures, not just mass layoffs. Even though the economy is growing, workers are suffering. More than 4,000 breadwinners have lost their jobs and their families will now have to deal with all the difficulties of joblessness,” declared Dennis Derige, spokesperson of the Cebu chapter of PM.

 

He added that “With President Bong Bong Marcos Jr. due to give his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, we demand of him: Trabaho at bigas sa Bagong Pilipinas! Kung walang trabahong regular and walang murang bigas, bigo ang Pilipinas sa iyong pamumuno.”

 

PM stated that the call for job security, wage hike and cheap prices are among their calls for the counter-SONA protest on Monday. A petition for a P100 minimum wage hike has been filed in Cebu and Bohol. The wage boards have set hearings on the P100 petition on July 26 in Metro Cebu and August 10 in Bohol.

 

Different labor groups are mobilizing hundreds of workers, students and urban poor for the counter-SONA. PM, along with groups SENTRO and Akbayan, will assemble in Plaza Independencia at 8:00 am on July 24. Then they will march onto the Cebu City Freedom Park and finally merge with other organizations for the main program in Metro Colon.

 

Mactan Apparel Inc. and its sister companies, MAI Printing and FIT printing are closing down. The three factories make sportswear exclusively for the global brand Adidas and is part of the Sports City conglomerate, which is the biggest employer in the Mactan Export Processing Zone. The retrenchment at Mactan Apparel is the third wave of mass layoffs at Sports City. Some 4,000 workers were laid off across the different Sports City garment factories in September 2022 and another 4,000 in September 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

 

“We call on global brand Adidas to explain why their supplier factories are closing down. Adidas should step up, be transparent and clarify to workers who made their sportswear why they are losing their jobs. Do not make the usual alibi for not doing anything that your supplier is complying with the minimum standards set by law. If Adidas is indeed a good corporate citizen, then it must exercise responsibility for the loss of livelihood of 4,000 workers,” insisted Derige.

 

PM also argued that the series of mass layoffs and factory closures at MEPZ exposed the vulnerability of a development model founded on foreign investment and export production. “We need a paradigm shift away from export orientation. Economic and social development should be founded on a planned industrial policy that prioritizes domestic production even as it takes advantage of export markets,” Derige explained.

Press Release

July 20, 2023

Ayuda for workers facing layoffs—labor group

 

In the face of an outbreak of mass layoffs, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the government for ayuda for the affected workers. “By ayuda, we do not just mean immediate assistance to the thousands of workers who will become jobless in the coming months but institutionalized social protection for the entire labor force. Sa harap ng epidemya ng tanggalan, ayudang sapat para sa lahat ang sagot,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and Marikina city councilor.

 

This was the group’s reaction to the estimate by the garments industry association Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP) that some 9,450 to 10,800 workers may be laid off. CONWEP even forecasted a worst scenario of 27,000 retrenched workers or 10% of the total labor force in the apparel and wearable goods sector.

 

Just two weeks ago, the Sports City group of companies fired some 4,000 workers or one-fourth of its total workforce allegedly due to reduced orders from its clients. Sports City supplies to global garment brands Adidas, Under Armour, Saucony, New Balance and Lululemon.

 

“Aside from the mass layoffs at Sports City, workers also lost their jobs due to the temporary closure of Coca-Cola plants in Iloilo, Bohol, Davao, Cavite, Zamboanga, and Camarines Sur. Employees of Shopee were also fired revealing that retrenchments are along all sectors from manufacturing to services,” Magtubo elaborated.

 

He added that “The worsening economic crisis demands that the government set in place social protection systems that mitigate the impact on jobs, income, health and well-being of people. Social protection is one response to this challenge.”

 

PM is an affiliate of the labor coalition Nagkaisa which at the height of the pandemic demanded public employment, preferably in climate jobs, for unemployed workers over a period of 100 days to nine months at minimum wages or P10,000, whichever is higher. The coalition also called for wage subsidies equivalent to 75% of the prevailing minimum wage to save jobs of workers in micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs).

 

“If huge companies like Sports City and Coca-Cola are reeling from economic shocks, what more MSMEs, which comprise 90% of the total number of enterprises. By providing wage subsidies to workers in MSMEs, the government incentives them against shedding their employees. This also protects the purchasing power of workers which enables the economy to float instead of sink due to the crisis,” explained Magtubo.

 

In response to the demand for employment guarantees and wage subsidies by Nagkaisa, the DOLE undertook a study of a social protection floor which has remained unimplemented. “The DOLE should act now and not wait for another Sports City, another Coca-Cola or another Shopee,” Magtubo insisted.

October 14, 2022

Workers have lost P82 in value of wages due to inflation

Photo from ING

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) declared that the real value of wages of workers in Metro Manila have been reduced by P82 due to worsening inflation. Yesterday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that headline inflation has risen to 6.9% for September 2022. “We call on Congress to raise wages by P100 across-the-broad so that workers can recover their lost purchasing power,” asserted Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

 

Based on the computations of the labor coalition Nagkaisa, the P570 minimum wage in Metro Manila is only worth P488 due to increases in prices of food, electricity and other basic commodities. The PSA noted that inflation for electricity and gas were among the highest.

 

In 2018, PM had already estimated that the daily cost of living is around P1,300. “Obviously we need to update this figure as inflation has ratcheted up in the past four years. Whatever the exact number, we need urgent action from the government and Congress. Thus, our call for a P100 wage hike within the first 100 days of the new government,” Miranda insisted.

 

She added that ““The focus now is on worsening inflation that has eroded workers' nominal wages. But we have not even tackled growing inequality due to the stagnation of real wages while productivity is booming. From 2001 to 2016, labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet the real wages did not grow at all. Workers have been denied their fair share in the fruits of production.”

 

Aside from the specific wage hike demand, PM also asked for a comprehensive government response on the worsening economic crisis and other covariate shocks—man-made disasters that affect whole communities—that has led to mass layoffs. Some 4,000 garment workers were retrenched at Sports City in the Mactan Cebu export zone and a few thousand workers also lost their jobs due to the temporary closure of Coca-Cola plants in Iloilo, Bohol, Davao, Cavite, Zamboanga, and Camarines Sur. 

 

“The government must set in place social protection systems that mitigate the impact on jobs, income, health and well-being of people. Mass layoffs and strong typhoons are all covariate shocks and the new normal in our lives. Social protection is one response to this challenge,” Miranda explained.

 

PM is pushing for public employment, preferably in climate jobs, for unemployed workers over a period of 100 days to nine months at minimum wages or P10,000, whichever is higher. The group is also calling for wage subsidies equivalent to 75% of the prevailing minimum wage to save jobs of workers in micro, medium and small enterprises. 

October 6, 2022

Labor groups alarmed at MEPZ mass layoff

 

Labor groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) expressed their concern at the retrenchment of some 4,000 workers across five factories of the Sports City group of companies.

 

“This is alarming for workers in Cebu and elsewhere. For the biggest MEPZ employer to retrench 1/4 of of its workers may be a portent of worse things to come. What is the response of the government? Don't tell us ‘unity’,” exclaimed Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.

 

Workers of garment firms Mactan Apparels, Inc.; Metro Wear, Inc.; Globalwear Manufacturing, Inc.; Feeder Apparel Corporation; and Vertex One Apparel Phils. Inc.—all owned by Sports City—were affected in the largest termination yet this year. Sports City is the biggest employer in the Mactan Economic Zone and supplies to global garment brands.

 

Both PM and SENTRO said that they will further investigate the claims of Sports City about the “sudden dropping and reduction of orders from our clients.” “We cannot take these claims at face value. In fact, factories traditionally increase their production in the ber months to meet the huge spike in demand during the holiday season. We will seek help from our allies abroad to check the veracity of these claims of diminished orders,” Derige insisted.

Sports City supplies apparel to global brands Adidas, Under Armour, Saucony, New Balance and Lululemon. 

 

He said that workers were caught off guard by the mass layoff. He explained that “There was no social dialogue between the employer and the employees. A better option is that negotiations transpire between employer and employee representatives so that workers have voice and participation in the basis and terms of the termination.”

 

Last year, unions were formed at Mactan Apparel, Metro Wear and Globalwear but were defeated in the certification election. PM had slammed the companies for delaying the elections for almost half a year even as an anti-union campaign was conducted using social media.

 

In the face of the mass layoff at the MEPZ and other companies, PM and SENTRO also called on the government to heed the demand for employment guarantees. The proposal of the labor coalition Nagkaisa calls for public employment, preferably in climate jobs, for unemployed workers over a period of 100 days to nine months at minimum wages or P10,000, whichever is higher. In response to this demand, the Department of Labor and Employment undertook a study of a social protection floor which has remained unimplemented.

 

“It is high time that the employment guarantee and other social protection mechanisms are enacted,” Derige ended

September 30, 2022

DOLE asked to act on aviation sector mass layoffs

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for a pro-active response to the continued hemorrhage of jobs as Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) announced that 300 workers will be laid off in April. PM is asking the government to implement a massive public employment program to provide decent jobs to the newly unemployed. The DOLE announced recently that half of the 400,000 workers reported as retrenched last year were fired in the last quarter of 2020.

 

“The layoffs at the aviation sector, such as in LTP, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia are a wakeup call to the government that the economic crisis is still worsening and that urgent action is needed to assist millions of unemployed. Workers are suffering from the double whammy of high unemployment and high prices,” stated Rene Magtubo PM national chair.

 

PM is reiterating the Nagkaisa labor coalition’s proposed Unemployment Support and Work Assistance Guarantee (USWAG). USWAG calls for a state-led creation of jobs, including green jobs, ranging from 100 days to 9 months, and to provide a P10,000 income guarantee to the unemployed, including OFWs, to enhance aggregate demands that the economy badly needs for recovery. The USWAG proposal was officially submitted by Nagkaisa to DOLE last year. A wealth tax on the richest Filipinos is likewise being proposed to fund the costs of economic recovery.

 

PM is also demanding a P100 across-the-board salary increase together with a new round of ayuda in the form of a universal basic income guarantee amounting to P10,000 for the working poor in the informal economy.

 

Magtubo insisted that “The DOLE cannot just be a passive collector of statistics of dismissed workers. It should also be regulating the series of mass firings since it may involve contractualization and union busting. Employers are weaponizing covid-19 to bust unions, shift to endo and deny workers their benefits and rights.”

 

PM pointed to the 300 workers laid-off in the garment factory First Glory in the Mactan Economic Zone and the 200 employees rendered jobless by the shutdown of the Arcya Glass Corp. in Calamba, Laguna. Among the fired First Glory workers were union officers and members. Some 76 First Glory union officers and members plan to file cases for union busting and illegal dismissal.

 

Meanwhile the union at Arcya Glass already has a pending case for union busting and illegal closure. The union alleges that the shutdown of the glass factory a few months ago was motivated by the company’s desire to avoid negotiating their collective bargaining agreement. Further, the union is calling on the DOLE to investigate since the factory is operating on a skeletal workforce despite filing for permanent shutdown. The workers maintain a picketline outside the factory in protest at the alleged illegal closure.

February 13, 2021

PAL layoffs meant to bust unions

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa slammed the massive layoff of 2,300 employees in Philippine Airlines (PAL) as meant to weaken if not bust the two remaining unions at the national flag carrier.

 

“Every economic crisis has been exploited by PAL management to reduce its regular employees and increase its outsourced and endo workforce. The 1997 Asian crisis led to the 1998 mass layoffs, the 2008 Great Recession led to the 2011 outsourcing and now the covid-19 pandemic is the alibi for another round of retrenchments. While PAL’s regular employees are cut to the bare minimum, outsourced endo workers have ballooned,” said Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

PM stated that the PAL layoffs are a wake up call to the government that the economic crisis is still worsening and that urgent action is needed to assist millions of unemployed workers. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced recently that half of the 400,000 workers reported as retrenched last year were fired in the last quarter of 2020.

 

“The DOLE cannot just be a passive collector of statistics of dismissed workers. It should be pro-active. In the first place, it should be regulating the series of mass firings since it may involve contractualization and union busting. Employers are weaponizing covid-19 to bust unions, shift to endo and deny workers their benefits and rights,” Magtubo asserted.

 

PM pointed to the 300 workers laid-off in the garment factory First Glory in the Mactan Economic Zone and the 200 employees rendered jobless by shutdown of the Arcya Glass Corp. in Calamba, Laguna. Among the fired First Glory workers were union officers and members. Some 76 First Glory union officers and members plan to file cases for union busting and illegal dismissal.

 

Meanwhile the union at Arcya Glass already has a pending case for union busting and illegal closure. The union alleges that the shutdown of the glass factory a few months ago was motivated by the company’s desire to avoid negotiating their collective bargaining agreement. Further, the union is calling on the DOLE to investigate since the factory is operating on a skeletal workforce despite filing for permanent shutdown. The workers maintain a picketline outside the factory in protest at the alleged illegal closure.

 

PM is supporting the labor coalition Nagkaisa’s call for an emergency jobs creation program called unemployment support and work assistance guarantee or USWAG. The group is also demanding a P100 across-the-board salary increase together with a new round of ayuda amounting to P10,000 for the informal sector and the unemployed. 

February 3, 2021

MEPZ strike averted, workers to file case instead

 

A strike at the Mactan Economic Zone has been averted after several weeks of mediation led by Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ahong Chan. Though the strike notice has been withdrawn, 76 workers of the garment factory First Glory Philippines will pursue their demands by filing a case for illegal dismissal and union busting. Last December, the First Glory labor union filed a notice of strike and later members voted yes to going on strike.

 

“The union is now preparing to file a case at the National Labor Relations Commission and with the assistance of Partido Manggagawa (PM), we are confident of winning our complaint for illegal dismissal and union busting,” explained Cristito Pangan, president of the First Glory labor union.

 

The labor dispute at First Glory started with the firing last November 27 of 300 workers, including the union president and other union officers. At the time of the mass layoff, the union had a pending petition for certification election. A rally of terminated First Glory workers last November 30 was broken up by police and led to the arrest of five labor organizers. The so-called MEPZ 5 were later released as their cases for “disobedience to person in authority” were dismissed.

 

“Aside from filing a case, the union is also preparing for the certification election scheduled on February 15. The union has been key in fighting for the jobs of the 76 workers who refused to accept the retrenchment. The victory of the union in the election will also be important in improving the wages and working conditions of the remaining 700 workers of First Glory,” Pangan insisted.

 

The union is arguing that there the mass layoff is illegal as its main customer, the US brand J.Crew, has already exited from bankruptcy in September. “The labor dispute at First Glory is symptomatic of the epidemic of labor rights violations during the time of covid. Employers are weaponizing the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and violate labor standards,” Pangan declared.

 

The firings at First Glory comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other garment firms in the Mactan ecozone. Earlier the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 200 workers, FCO International laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa dismissed 67 workers including the union officers. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has announced that half of the 428,071 workers reported as laid off last year were fired in the last quarter of 2020. Meanwhile the DOLE has put in abeyance four petitions for certification elections at three Sports City factories due to an appeal by management. PM has slammed this as an existing rule prohibits delays in elections due to management appeals.

February 1, 2021

Labor Yearender: Workers are in the frontlines of a fight against the pandemic of rights violations

 

Without a doubt, covid-19 has gravely affected everyone, rich and poor, employer and worker. Still, workers and the poor are the ones who have been disproportionately impacted. The double-digit economic recessions in the second and third quarters of this year has been felt as grinding poverty and daily hunger by 7 million Filipino families as revealed in the SWS survey in September.

 

The Philippine economy is in worse shape compared to its neighbors is due to the harsh and long lockdown. It is the authoritarian response of the Duterte administration that is to blame for the economic recession and the adverse effect on the working class. The administration was late in forming a response and once it did, it treated the pandemic—similar to how it treated the drug addiction—as a peace and order concern instead of a public health matter. The severe lockdown shuttered the economy, and left workers and the poor without jobs and livelihood for months on end. The aid provided by the government reached only 3 million households out of 16 million Filipinos who were temporarily jobless during the lockdown. Today 4.5 million are unemployed and 2.2 million more are out of work but are not officially jobless only because they stopped looking for employment.

 

To make matters worse, employers used the pandemic as an opportunity to deny workers their benefits and their rights. Workers were put on floating status for more than the six months allowed by law. Establishments reopened but replaced regular workers with new hires on endo status. Some employers shutdown their firms without paying workers separation and other benefits. Capitalist Grinches are exploiting the pandemic to bust unions as shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union in Laguna and the First Glory labor union in the Mactan ecozone.

 

While the pandemic of rights violations spread, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) exercised social distancing from workers. The DOLE released a series of orders and advisories that denigrated labor standards and rights. Labor Advisory 17 allowed employers to cut wages and benefits as long as workers will agree. But workers were left with no choice but to bite the bullet of wage cuts as the DOLE suspended the filing of complaints under DO 213. Labor groups called on the DOLE to dialogue but were repeatedly denied. Meanwhile the government banned protests and arrested those who tried using the pandemic as an alibi. In one incident, the picketline of Sejung Apparel  workers in the First Cavite Industrial Estate was dispersed by police and guards in the middle of Black Friday night for allegedly violating quarantine rules. With workers strikes and street protests effectively banned, Congress railroaded the Anti-Terror Law.

                                    

But workers are fighting back and are in the frontlines of the struggle to reclaim their rights. The Arcya Glass workers spent their holidays in the picketlines to protest the continued operation of the factory despite allegedly being permanently closed. The First Glory labor union has voted to go on strike to demand the reinstatement of 300 fired workers. Labor groups in the Philippines together with international union federations have formed the Caucus of Global Unions Pilipinas to call for the repeal of the Anti-Terror Law on pain of the country losing its trade privileges with Europe. Workers in four big factories in the Mactan ecozone have organized into unions as a result of recent grievances over lack of aid during the pandemic and long-running issues over wages and benefits. Certifications elections are due to be held next year in the four firms. We predict that 2021 will see a resurgence of workers’ actions to defend democratic freedoms and labor rights.

December 29, 2020

Workers to spend Christmas at Laguna picketline

 

 

Workers of a glass factory in Laguna are spending their holidays on the picketlines as their labor dispute continues unresolved. Some 200 employees, about a dozen of whom are women, were terminated as Arcya Glass Corporation in Calamba, Laguna filed for permanent closure in November 16. However, the Arcya Glass Employees Union is accusing the company of union busting as the factory continues to operate with a reduced workforce.

 

“We believe that Arcya Glass is feigning closure as a way to bust the union and replace regular workers with contractual employees who will work for less wages and benefits. Despite the alleged closure, a skeletal force is working and trucks from Pedraja Trucking are ferrying bottles from the factory for delivery to Arcya’s customers,” stated Joseph Legada, president of the Arcya Glass Employees Union.

 

“The mass layoffs in Laguna and elsewhere are symptomatic of the pandemic of job loss that is happening without effective intervention by the government. This ties in with news reports that 4.5 million are unemployed this year and 2.2 million are also out of work but are not officially jobless only because they stopped looking for work. The restricted definition of unemployment limits it only to the jobless who are actively looking for work in the last six months,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

He added that “Moreover, we are seeing that capitalists are exploiting the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and shift to contract work. This is shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union and the First Glory labor union in the Mactan ecozone.”

 

Last November 27 the garment firm First Glory Apparel in the Mactan ecozone fired 300 workers, including all the union officers. The union has a pending petition for certification election. A rally of terminated First Glory workers last November 30 was broken up by police and led to the arrest of five union officers and labor organizers. The so-called MEPZ 5 were later released as their cases for “disobedience to person in authority” were dismissed.

 

Arcya Glass put workers on one-month forced leave in March 15 as the covid lockdown started. The company then filed for temporary closure until October 15. Finally the company declared permanent closure on November 16. The Arcya Glass Employees Union has a pending case for unpaid benefits at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and a complaint for illegal closure and union busting at the National Labor Relations Commission.

 

Magtubo insisted that “We demand that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello convene a dialogue with labor groups on the continued hemorrhage of jobs inside and outside of the ecozones. We also ask Secretary Bello to remind police that existing DOLE-PEZA-PNP rules on labor disputes prohibit security personnel from harassing workers’ concerted actions.”

 

Photos of the Arcya workers protest can be accessed at

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10158723479239323

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10158678405269323.

December 24, 2020

Labor dispute at Arcya Glass

Symptomatic of the epidemic of labor rights violations during the time of covid-19 is the ongoing labor dispute at Arcya Glass Corp. in Laguna. Employers are exploiting the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and shift to contract work as shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union, and others like the First Glory labor union in the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ).

 

Arcya Glass is a factory in an industrial estate in Calamba, Laguna. Some 200 employees, about a dozen of whom are women, were terminated after the firm filed for permanent closure in November 16. However workers are accusing the company of union busting as the factory continues to operate with a reduced workforce. Likewise the Arcya Glass Employees Union, the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the workers, believes that the company is feigning closure as a way to replace regular workers with contractual employees who will work for less wages and benefits.

 

Arcya Glass union has set-up a picketline at the factory gates to protest the illegal closure and union busting. The workers are demanding the reopening of the factory, the reinstatement of the fired workers and the opening of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

 

Arcya Glass Corp. is a maker of bottles for local manufacturers like Nutriasia, CDO, Tita Ely, Emperador, Webenton Distillery, Commonwealth Foods, Global Foods, La Cometa, 90 Pacific, Malabon Soap and Guaran Foods.

Workers protest factory closure in Laguna

 

Workers of a glass factory in Laguna protested in front of the company gates last Wednesday. Some 200 employees, about a dozen of whom are women, were terminated as Arcya Glass Corporation in Calamba, Laguna filed for permanent closure in November 16. However, the Arcya Glass Employees Union is accusing the company of union busting as the factory continues to operate with a reduced workforce.

 

“We believe that Arcya Glass is feigning closure as a way to bust the union and replace regular workers with contractual employees who will work for less wages and benefits. In fact last Wednesday, three trucks from Pedraja Trucking came out of the factory and we think they carried bottles for delivery to Arcya’s customers,” stated Joseph Legada, president of the Arcya Glass Employees Union.

 

“The mass layoffs in Laguna and Cebu are symptomatic of the pandemic of job loss that is happening without effective intervention by the government. This ties in with news reports that 4.5 million are unemployed this year and 2.2 million are also out of work but are not officially jobless only because they stopped looking for work. The restricted definition of unemployment limits it only to the jobless who are actively looking for work in the last six months,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

He added that “Moreover, we are seeing that capitalists are exploiting the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and shift to contract work. This is shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union and the First Glory labor union in the Mactan ecozone.”

 

Last Friday the garment firm First Glory Apparel in Cebu fired 300 workers, including the union president. The union has a pending petition for certification election. A rally of terminated First Glory workers last November 30 was broken up by police and led to the arrest of five union officers and labor organizers. The so-called MEPZ 5 were later released as their cases for “disobedience to person in authority” were dismissed.

 

Arcya Glass put workers on one-month forced leave in March 15 as the covid lockdown started. The company then filed for temporary closure until October 15. Finally the company declared permanent closure in November 16. The Arcya Glass Employees Union has a pending case for unpaid benefits at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and a complaint for illegal closure and union busting at the National Labor Relations Commission.

 

Magtubo insisted that “We demand that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello convene a dialogue with labor groups on the continued hemorrhage of jobs inside and outside of the ecozones. We also ask Secretary Bello to remind police that existing DOLE-PEZA-PNP rules on labor disputes prohibit security personnel from harassing workers’ concerted actions.”

 

Photos of the Arcya workers protest can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10158678405269323.

December 4, 2020

Partido Manggagawa Demands the Release of Five Unionists Arrested in Cebu

As workers commemorated Bonifacio Day in a nationally coordinated action, Partido Manggagawa (Labor Party) demanded the release of unionists Dennis Derige, Myra Opada, Joksan Branzuela, Jonel Labrador, and Cristito Pangan.

 

Opada is the union president at Philippine Light Leather, Pangan is the union president at First Glory Apparel while Derige, Branzuela and Labrador are union organizers.

 

The Mactan Economic Zone has been a site of struggle between local labor and foreign capital.  Last Friday, Nov. 27th, some 300 workers of the First Glory Apparel were fired -- the latest in the surge of mass layoffs at garment firms in the zone in the past three months.  The Sports City group of companies laid off 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 200 workers, FCO laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa retrenched 67 workers.

 

To mark Bonifacio Day, members of the Mactan Ecozone Workers Alliance, Partido Manggagawa, and Sentro assembled at Gate 3 and marched to Gate 2 where they held a program highlighting the Zone capitalists' attack on the right of workers to unionize, bargain collectively, seek redress of grievance and assemble peacefully. However, police broke up the rally and arrested the five unionists.

 

Rene Magtubo of PM called for an end to the repression of labor rights and the harassment of human rights defenders.  "Activism is not terrorism," said Magtubo.  "This is precisely the theme of today's national and global commemoration of Bonifacio Day."

 

The arrest of the PM Cebu labor organizers underscores the escalating attacks on workers' rights in the country, said Magtubo.  "It adds to the unsolved killings of unionists, busting of unions, and red-tagging of union activists." 

 

Last year, PM-Cavite labor organizer Dennis Sequena was brutally murdered while facilitating a labor seminar.  No one has been arrested, much less charged with his murder.

 

The impunity with which workers are fired in economic zones like Mactan, in the middle of a pandemic, graphically illustrates the inability of the government to ensure job security for native labor, and its puppetry toward foreign capital.  As employment shrinks steadily and dramatically in the country, the brunt of the double blow of a recession and a pandemic is felt most grievously by the Philippine working class.

Arrest of Cebu labor organizers slammed

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) denounced the arrest of several of its leaders and organizers in Cebu during the Bonifacio Day action of workers in the gate of the Mactan Economic Zone.

 

“We call for the release of PM leaders Dennis Derige, Myra Opada, Joksan Branzuela, Jonel Labrador and Cristito Pangan. Activism is not terrorism. Repression of labor rights and harassment of human rights defenders must stop. This is precisely the theme of today’s national and global commemoration of Bonifacio Day,” declard Rene Magtubo.

 

Members of Mactan Ecozone Workers Alliance, Partido Manggagawa and Sentro assembled at the Gate 3 of the Mactan Economic Zone at 8:00 am then marched towards Gate 2 where they held a program that highlighted the attacks on workers’ rights to unionize, bargain collectively, seek redress of grievances, and peaceful assembly.

 

Retrenched workers of factories in the Mactan ecozone joined the Bonifacio Day commemoration in Cebu against repression of labor rights. Last Friday, some 300 workers of First Glory Apparel were fired. This comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other garment firms in the Mactan ecozone in the last three months—the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 2000 workers and FCO laid off 100 workers.

 

Magtubo insisted that “The arrest of PM Cebu labor organizers puts a spotlight on the escalating attacks on workers’ rights in the country and adds to the unsolved killings of unionists, busting of unions and red-tagging of union activists. Last PM-Cavite labor organizer Dennis Sequena was brutally murdered last year while facilitating a labor seminar.” 

November 30, 2020

Cebu garment firm layoffs 300, workers hold protest today

A garment exporting firm in the Mactan Economic Zone yesterday laid off 300 employees in a move that surprised those affected. This morning hundreds of its workers protested at the factory gate of First Glory Apparel then marched around the ecozone complex to air their demand for reinstatement.

 

“First Glory management is a Grinch for firing workers weeks before Christmas. Ito ba ng pamaskong handog nila sa mga manggagawang tapat na nagsilbi sa kompanya?,” declared Cristito Pangan, one of the workers retrenched. The workers are refusing to accept the termination offer and demanding their reinstatement.

 

Pangan added that “First Glory is just using covid and the bankruptcy of its main client as alibi to replace regular workers with contract employees. Production has not decreased and in fact workers are asked to report for duty even on holidays and Sunday. This belies management’s claims. Likewise, we know that the main customer of First Glory has already exited bankruptcy this September and is operating normally in the US. That is also why we are making clothes for this global brand.”

 

The firings at First Glory comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other garment firms in the Mactan ecozone. Earlier the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 2000 workers and FCO laid off 100 workers.

 

“The hemorrhage of jobs at the Mactan ecozone continues despite rosy reports from the government that the economy is recovering. Workers are facing the double whammy of job losses and high prices without letup even with Christmas just on the horizon and the covid vaccine nearing distribution stage,” declared Dennis Derige spokesperson of Partido Manggagawa-Cebu.

 

Derige announced that the coming Bonifacio Day action of workers will highlight the plight of workers in the Mactan ecozone along with the threat of the anti-terror law and other repressive measures in the time of covid. The November 30 action of workers in Cebu is nationally coordinated with other labor organizations and is also supported by global union federations.

 

“Without labor rights and civil liberties, workers will suffer under the despotism of capitalists intent on maximizing profits by squeezing their employees. Higher wages, better benefits, shorter hours and workplace safety are inseparable from the fight for democracy in society. This is the cry of workers today in the Mactan ecozone and in November 30 in Cebu and elsewhere,” Derige explained.

Photos of protest: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10158665246399323

Video here: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10158665217639323

November 28, 2020

Mother of all layoffs at Cebu ecozone slammed as 4,000 fired

 

Labor groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the MEPZ Workers Alliance slammed the surprise mass layoff of an estimated 4,000 workers in the Sports City group of companies in the Mactan Economic Zone. The firing started yesterday but are continuing today. The groups also heard that there was tension in the factory gates this morning over the terminations happening.

 

“Some 4,000 breadwinners had the surprise of their covid lives when they were unceremoniously terminated without any clear criteria. This is the single largest layoff in the Mactan Ecozone since the 2009 economic crisis,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

 

The two groups are calling on the affected workers to fight for their jobs and oppose the impromptu termination. PM is providing legal assistance to laid off workers and already held an online consultation a few days ago. Meanwhile the MEPZ Workers Alliance is asking workers to raise their grievances and concerns at their Facebook page.

 

PM is also assisting workers in the ecozones of Cavite and Laguna who were terminated, loss their jobs due to temporary closures and have not been paid their wages. A glass factory in Calamba, Laguna shutdown indefinitely in the middle of the lockdown and threw some 200 workers out of work. In the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite, a garments factory have not paid their workers their last salary and have put them on forced leave. Suspiciously, the company is already selling pieces of machines. Earlier, the Sejung garment factory also located in FCIE shutdown also without paying workers their salaries and benefits.

 

Magtubo stated that “We call for a timeout on retrenchments in the ecozones. We demand immediate action from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the local government units.”

 

“Majority of those blindsided by the termination are women with families to feed but little prospect of finding new jobs in this pandemic economy. As per our monitoring, several hundred workers are being fired in each of the following factories: Vertex One, Mactan Apparel, Globalwear Manufacturing and Feeder Apparel,” explained Cherry Abadilla, spokesperson for the MEPZ Workers Alliance.

 

She added that the mass layoff at Sports City follows earlier terminations at Yuenthai and Kor Landa where 200 and 67 workers were affected. “There is a common modus operandi in all of these layoffs. They were surprise firings without prior notice. This is inhumane and disruptive of workers’ lives,” Abadilla insisted.

 

Scores of Yuenthai workers are refusing the separation offer of the company. In Kor Landa, the union filed a notice of strike which has triggered the preventive mediation proceedings of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. Abadilla herself was terminated last July 10 along with Kor Landa workers, a French-owned manufacturer of jewelry.

September 5, 2020

Group calls for a timeout on mass layoffs at the ecozones of Cebu and Calabarzon

Some 200 workers of a garments factory at the Mactan Economic Zone went to work on Saturday only to be told that they are already jobless. A big majority of the fired workers were women and breadwinners. The labor organizations Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the MEPZ Workers Alliance slammed the impromptu mass layoff at Yuenthai Philippines Inc. as inhumane amidst the difficulties of life during the pandemic.

PM is also assisting workers in the ecozones of Cavite and Laguna who were terminated, loss their jobs due to temporary closures and have not been paid their wages. A glass factory in Calamba, Laguna shutdown indefinitely in the middle of the lockdown and threw some 200 workers out of work. In the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite, a garments factory have not paid their workers their last salary and have put them on forced leave. Suspiciously, the company is already selling pieces of machines. Earlier, the Sejung garment factory also located in FCIE shutdown also without paying workers their salaries and benefits.

“We call for a timeout on retrenchments in the ecozones. We demand immediate action from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the local government units. Nasaan ang ayuda?,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Likewise Cherry Abadilla, spokesperson for the MEPZ Workers Alliance, insisted that “We cannot accept that workers are the first to sacrifice in a time of covid and recession when we are the last to benefit during the period of economic boom. Nasaan ang bayanihan?”

Abadilla herself was terminated last July 10 along with other 67 workers of Kor Landa Corp., a French-owned manufacturer of jewelry at the Mactan Ecozone. She is president of the Kor Landa workers union and they have filed a notice of strike since they allege that the mass layoff in their company is just a subterfuge for union busting. The DOLE has called the union and management to a preventive mediation to prevent a full-blown strike.

PM and the MEPZ Workers Alliance are supporting the Yuenthai workers in their fight. Many of the jobless workers are refusing to accept the company offer. “Workers needs jobs so they can earn their daily bread. Accepting the company’s offer of separation will just tide workers over for a few weeks. When it is consumed, how can workers and their families survive when there is no ayuda from government and no hiring from other factories?,” argued Abadilla.

The two group are calling on workers in the Mactan Ecozone to unite and fight for their jobs. “We have no one to depend on but ourselves, our unity and our struggle. Mag-bayanihan po tayo at lumaban para sa ating trabaho!,”Abadilla appealed.

September 1, 2020