Union members get Labor office capital assistance

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Some 298 members of two union groups from two manufacturing companies at the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) in Mariveles, Bataan received their capital assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole)-Central Luzon office recently.

Labor communications officer Jerry Borja said that Dole Regional Director Raymundo Agravante reported to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz that the Dole-Bataan Field Office led by Angelita Fernando facilitated the release of P400,000 under the Workers Income Augmentation Program (WIN-AP) to the Confederation of Free Workers (CFW)-Dunlop Slazenger Philippines Incorporated (DSPI) Workers Chapter and the Association of Free Labor Union (AFLU)-Bahrain Fiberglass (BFG) Workers Union.

Of the total WIN-AP grant, P200,000 will be used for the rice trading project of the CFW-DSPI Workers Chapter and this will benefit 198 union members.

The remaining P200,000 will be used as additional capital for the Commissary Store of the AFLU-BFG Workers Union, which will benefit 100 union members.

Borja said both projects, as disclosed by Lito Agbing, Bataan senior labor and employment officer, will not only benefit union members financially through dividend shares, but also provide an easy access payment in the form of salary deductions.

Aside from the members, both projects are also seen to benefit more than 700 non-union members from other nearby locators in the Freeport zone, as they too serve as market potentials since the projects will be serving basic commodities which are pegged at very affordable prices.

Agravante urged both union groups to make their projects grow into profitable businesses.

“The Dole’s WIN-AP is an opportunity for all of you to have an additional income above what you are already earning from your hard day’s work. All of you must work as a basketball team, knowing when to pass and when to dribble the ball, with the goal of making a shot to win. Nasa inyo na po yan kung gusto niyong lumago ang inyong negosyo,” said Agravante.

“We at the Dole are here as your partners. We will help you make your projects become more profitable and sustainable,” added Agravante.

The WIN-AP is the Dole’s answer in providing additional income opportunities for minimum wage earners not only for workers from Central Luzon but also the entire country. (Jovi T. De Leon)