Refusing to pay the price of a crisis not of their own making
The situation and struggle
of Filipino workers
The global economic crisis has
brought the Philippine economy
to the brink of recession. At the
onset of the global crisis, the
government of Gloria Arroyo initially
took the stance that the local economy
will be insulated. But despite being in
denial and whistling in the dark, the
signs are clear of an economy teetering
in recession.
– Historic declines in manufacturing
and trade
– The seasonally adjusted
Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry sector
contracted by 1.0 percent in the first
quarter after expanding by 0.9 in the last
quarter
– Industry registered its lowest
growth for the last twenty years as it
sank by 6.6 percent from 0.1 percent
gain in the last quarter.
– Services sector posted no growth
for the first quarter of 2009 compared
to 0.2 percent recorded the previous
quarter
– Investments in Fixed Capital
Formation in the first quarter of 2009
plunged to negative 5.7 percent from a
– Investments in Durable Equipment
plunged to negative 17.9 percent from a
growth of 9.6 percent a year ago.
– Total Exports dived deeper to
negative 18.2 percent from negative 7.7
percent last year
– Total Imports valued at P530.9
billion pesos at current prices exceeded
Total Exports valued at P528.6 billion
pesos, resulting in a trade deficit of P2.3
billion pesos.
The global economic crisis and the
slowdown in the local economy had
a grave impact on the lives and
livelihood of workers in the
Philippines. Job losses, mainly in
the export sector of the economy,
are worsening the unemployment
and underemployment rate.
– 40,000 workers laid off since
October last year according to the
conservative data of the Labor
Department
– At least 120,000 workers affected
by layoffs, job-rotation, wage cuts as per
Labor Department data
– Big multinational firms based in the
Philippines have shutdown—Intel,
Triumph (German-owned
undergarments), Celestica (Canadianowned
electronics). Others have shed
hundreds of jobs, like Texas
Instruments.
– More than 20% adult
unemployment since 2005, according to
the Social Weather Station June 2009
survey.
Capitalists are passing the burden
of the crisis on the backs of the
workers. Bosses are using the
global crisis as an excuse to
demolish workers rights and
undercut labor standards.
Several high profile cases
highlight the trend.
– Up to 400 retrenched workers
of Maitland-Smith Cebu, Inc. have filed
cases of illegal retrenchment. Some
1,700 workers produce high-end
home furniture and accessories in the
Mactan Export Processing Zone. Its
mother company is Maitland-Smith,
headquartered in High Point, North
Carolina.
– Over 200 laid off workers of Lear
Automotive have filed cases. Located in
the Mactan Export Processing Zone.
American company that exports
electronics parts for cars. The remaining
11,000 workers suffer from reduced
workdays.
– 15 retrenched workers have filed
cases against Taiyo Yuden Philippines
Inc. It is a Japanese subsidiary that
produces spare parts for cellular
phones. Located in the Mactan Export
Processing Zone. The remaining 8,000
workers are on reduced
workdays.
– Labor dispute erupted in
Lami Foods over planned
reduction of workweek from six
days to four days and the
resulting pay cuts. The factory
processes meat products such as
hotdogs, hams and canned goods for the
Visayas and Mindanao market.
Reduction in workweek a result not of
global crisis but of new and improved
machinery.
The working class in the
Philippines is refusing to pay the
price of a crisis that is not of their
own making. Labor unrest is
brewing as capitalists attack jobs,
wages and working conditions.
Although the revival in workers
struggle is uneven, the return to
militant struggle is taking shape.
At the forefront of the new
struggles are the workers of Metro
Cebu, the second biggest
metropolis after the capital Metro
Manila.
– The first workers strike against
mass layoffs erupted in a furniture
export firm in Mandaue, an industrial
town in Metro Cebu. Hundreds of
workers of Giardini del Sole went on
strike for two days and paralyzed
operations of the company by physically
preventing the passage of personnel and
goods. Even though illegal, the
government vacillated in enforcing the
law because of worker militancy and
public support.
– The first ever rally was held
inside the notorious Mactan Export
Processing Zone in Metro Cebu in its
decades long existence. Around 70
workers of Sauna World Inc., a Finnishowned
firm producing sauna and spa
heaters for export, marched from their
factory to the gates of the export zone.
– The first union was finally
established at the Mactan Export
Processing Zone. The zone was so
repressive that even the moderate progovernment
labor center was
complaining against its no-union policy.
The workers of Altamode, which makes
clothes under world-famous brands like
Adidas, Reebok and Abercrombie &
Fitch, successfully formed a union and
are preparing to fight a certification
election to gain status as the sole and
exclusive bargaining agent.
– The first picketline setup on the
gates of the Mactan Export Processing
Zone by the workers of a Paul Yu, one of
the biggest factories in the zone. The
workers went on a one week work
stoppage in protest at the suspension
of seven leaders of their workers
association. The workers fight continues
despite management’s suspension of
more than 300 workers who have
participated in the protests.
The workers movement is
working on overcoming the
weaknesses of the recent
struggles in order to further
raise its level.
– First, instead of a series of
workers struggles in individual
factories which could be easily
isolated, an export zone-wide action
in which workers in several strategic
plants or a majority of the companies
will participate.
– Second, spread the labor upsurge
by reviving workers struggles in the
capital Metro Manila and in the nearby
Calabarzon which is the new industrial
area where most of the export zones
are located and where many of the
factories formerly in the capital have
relocated.
– Third, increasing the role played
by international solidarity beyond that
achieved in the Paul Yu struggle whose
online appeal generated letters of
protest by almost two thousand unionists
from more than 50 countries and whose
supporters abroad worked to put
pressure on its major customers
to implement its supplier codes on
conduct on the factory.
Workers’ Digest
71-S Mindanao Ave., Pag-asa, Quezon City
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e-mail: partido_ng_manggagawa yahoo.com
website: www.laborpartyphilippines.org
Partido ng Manggagawa (PM)