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Sunday, September 19, 2004
Jobless Filipinos up by 1,000
ANOTHER 1,000 Filipinos are added to the looming number of jobless people in the country as another garment factory in Cavite closed shop recently.
According to Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) chairman Elmer Labog, Fashion House Garments, manufacturer of the branded clothing GAP, Old Navy and Allison, illegally closed down last September 15 which resulted to the displacement of more than 1,000 contractual workers.
Labog said the Korean owner of Fashion House garments, Sung Kyu Kang failed to pay the salaries, overtime pay and back wages of his employees since August 16 and had not informed the workers of his plan to shut down the factory's operations.
Besides the illegal closure, Labog said the owner also forced his workers to work for long hours and were even given Bonamine tablets to keep them awake and endure the drowsiness caused by long hours of work.
Labog also cited the report of the National Coalition for the Protection of Workers Rights (NCPWR) in Southern Tagalog that last August 21, Fashion House Garments which was located at the Golden Mile Business Park in Carmona, Cavite required their employees to work non-stop for 21 hours to finish the firm's target production quota for export.
Similar case was reported in Anvil based in Taytay, Rizal where workers were given medicine and candies by the management to remain awake.
Workers were also forced to take Bonamine tablets to prevent drowsiness.
"Workers in sweatshops are severely exploited. They are forced to work hard under strenuous conditions but still, they receive very measly wages way below the minimum wage standards," Labog said.
He blamed the government's decision to open the country to trade liberalization, which kills the local garment industry and allows the proliferation of sweatshops and the infringement of minimum wage levels and other labor standards to entice foreign investments. (Marie Neri)
(September 19, 2004 issue)
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