(First of two parts)
This Christmas season, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo paints a rosy picture for workers especially in so-called “industrial enclaves” such as the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in Pampanga and the Subic Bay Free Port Economic Zone (SBFEZ). But the realities workers have to contend with in these industrial enclaves are low wages, harsh working conditions and curtailment of their right to unionize and bargain for better working conditions.
BY FRED VILLAREAL
Gitnang Luson News Service
Posted by Bulatlat
OLONGAPO CITY (126 kms. north of Manila) – This Christmas season, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo paints a rosy picture for workers especially in so-called “industrial enclaves” such as the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in Pampanga and the Subic Bay Free Port Economic Zone (SBFEZ). But the realities workers have to contend with in these industrial enclaves are low wages, harsh working conditions and curtailment of their right to unionize and bargain for better working conditions.
TAKING A BREAK: Workers of the Subic Bay Free Port Economic Zone buy some snacks during a recess from the gruelling and almost thankless work in the factory (Photo File By Bulatlat / bulatlat.com)
Joaquin Arcega, 42, married with three children and Johnny Batislaong, 46, married with four kids, work as cutters at the Citigloves Garment factory inside CSEZ producing cold weather leather gloves for export. The company is owned by a local businessman and employs some 50 workers.
Arcega has worked for Citigloves for 10 years. He earns P250 ($5.06 an exchange rate of $1=P49.365) a day if he completes a quota of 30 pairs of gloves. Batislaong gets P243 ($4.92) a day for the same quota. If they don’t meet the quota, they are paid only P8 ($0.16) a pair. They are entitled to a P45 ($0.91) emergency cost of living allowance (ECOLA) per day, but not on days they are unable to work. The number of days of absence is also deducted from their 13th month pay.
Eight months work
“We work for only eight months a year at the most,” Arcega told GLNS in an interview. Production starts in February, peaks from May to July and tapers off from August to October. From November to January of the next year, including the Christmas season, there’s no more work and the company expects them to find work elsewhere.
Whenever they could, they try to complete three quotas to increase their daily earnings. From 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. they work for a double quota and work two hours more for a third. The company requires them to punch out their time cards at 4 p.m. even if the workers are still at work hours later to evade overtime pay. They are asked to complete just one quota a day as the season tapers off.
“The management is friendly as the season starts then toss us like garbage as soon as production requirements are met,” Batislaong said.
They are allowed a 15-minute break in the morning and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. But management closes the women’s comfort rooms at a quarter before the 4 p.m. official closing time to ensure that they work their butts out to the last tick of the working shift.
Deductions
“The management is prompt in deducting from our pay the member’s share in the fees for Social Security Service (SSS), Pag-ibig, among others. But we don’t know if the company remitted these or if they paid the employer’s share. Anybody who dared to inquire was bullied,” Batislaong said.
Workers suspect that the SSS fees collected from them are not remitted on time and are being pooled by the management and loaned to workers. The management collects a 20-percent interest for loans.
Arcega found out that he was deducted an excess of P1,000 ($20.257) for the contributions at least once. The management was forced to admit mistakes in computation when he demanded an explanation. He has yet to receive a refund despite the management’s word to do so.
Bastislaong’s production summary from March 11-25, 2006 showed that he was able to cut 972 pairs of gloves or roughly 33 quotas (at 30 per quota), or an average 2.5 quotas a day. He hopes to average two quotas a day, even during the low production period.
