MORE than 100 garment workers of a company in the Mactan Export Processing Zone (Mepz) 1 in Lapu-Lapu City are earning only half their usual pay after their company cut the workweek due to declining global orders.
In a letter dated Feb. 5, the garment subcontractor’s management said the reduced work schedule began on Jan. 20 and will remain in effect until March 31, 2026. The temporary measure impacts 105 employees, reducing their mandatory workweek from six days to just three.
City Public Employment Service Office (Peso) officer-in-charge Kim Francisco told SunStar Cebu that the company reached out through Peso to seek assistance from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) for the affected workers.
“Nagkahinay ilang customer orders. Mao na they need to adjust their working days tungod sa kagamay sa order or lack of orders so magpagamay sila sa ilang working days, instead of six days per week muabot na gyud ni siya sa three days per week,” Francisco said.
(Their customer orders have slowed down. That’s why they need to adjust their working days due to the lack of orders. Instead of six days a week, the workweek has been reduced to just three days.)
Francisco explained that with fewer orders coming in from apparel firms in the export zones, the company scaled down operations to stay afloat. Management applied the flexible schedule to sustain business operations while ensuring employees would still retain at least three days of paid work per week.
The management did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the cutbacks or whether alternative measures were considered to prevent the loss of wages.
For the workers on the factory floor, the sudden drop in income has been devastating.
Francisco acknowledged the severe impact the reduction is having on the laborers’ livelihoods.
“Ang implications ani niya is of course gamay og sweldo. So it’s not enough kay supposedly the entire six days in a week naa gyud unta sila’y income pero na-half ilang income. So it’s not enough for their family and daily living,” Francisco said.
(The implication of this, of course, is lower pay. They were supposed to earn income for the entire six days each week, but their income has been cut in half. It’s not enough to support their family and daily living.)
To help bridge the gap, Francisco said the standard assistance provided by the CSWDO includes five kilograms of rice and other basic necessities. He expressed hope that global order demands will stabilize, preventing an extension of the reduced schedule, past March.
The implementation of a flexible work scheme in the Mepz is not an isolated case, as similar measures have been adopted by companies in export-oriented industries during periods of declining global demand.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, several firms inside Mepz and other economic zones in Central Visayas implemented reduced workweeks, temporary shutdowns, or flexible work arrangements due to canceled or delayed export orders. At that time, thousands of workers in the garments and electronics sectors were either placed on skeletal workforce arrangements or temporarily laid off. / DPC