THE Department of Labor and Employment in Central Luzon (DOLE-3) has activated its Technical Working Group–Job Displacement Concerns (TWG–JDC) to address concerns related to the Hanjin crisis, Regional Director Zenaida-Angara Campita announced Monday, January 14.
Campita said the TWG–JDC will monitor and provide interventions to workers affected by the financial difficulties of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines (HHIC-Phils).
Hanjin, based in Subic, Zambales, has filed for corporate rehabilitation before the Olongapo City court.
“We activated this TWG-JDC the moment we received news regarding the series of massive retrenchments and reduction of work days due to the present financial reverses suffered by the biggest Korean-based shipbuilder in the country,” Campita said.
In her report to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III over the weekend, Campita said HHIC-Phils had a total of 21 subcontractors with 11,526 employees based on the work accident/illness report submitted by the shipbuilder in October 2018.
Campita noted that for the same period in review, the company had 31,621 Filipino workers in 2016. The number was significantly reduced to 23,881 in 2017.
Bello was informed that notices of retrenchments and reduction of work days, through flexible work arrangements, were filed last year before the labor office by HHIC-Phils’ 18 contractors and subcontractors.
Of the total subcontractors, Subic Shipbuilder Corporation and Hacor-Phil Corporation had both filed their respective voluntary retrenchment programs due to lack of orders and financial difficulties.
At least more than 4,000 professional and skilled workers combined have lost their jobs from both subcontractors in December 2018.
The remaining 16 subcontractors, on the other hand, had also filed reduction of work days under the flexible work arrangements program affecting some 3,770 workers combined.
As of January 8, 2019, all 21 subcontractors have a total of 3,800 manpower complement, including 50 Korean nationals.
The technical working group asked Hanjin management’s permission to profile all displaced workers and would-be displaced workers. (PR)