Juliet Labor-Javellana and Martin P. Marfil
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Unfair practice

President Macapagal-Arroyo wants to know how a garment factory in Taytay, Rizal, was able to obtain the necessary export requirements despite the substandard wages and working conditions of its workers.

Her spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said Thursday she had ordered a stop to the sweatshop practices of Anvil Ensembles, to which her attention was called by an Inquirer report last week detailing the workers’ complaints, including shifts of up to 72 hours with the occasional help of an insomnia-inducing drug.

But Partido ng Manggagawa Representative Renato Magtubo said the real issue was not so much sweatshop operations as labor contractualization.

“Laws must be passed to oppose the unreasonable use of contractual labor,” said the newly proclaimed party-list representative.

“Without these laws, any alliance against sweatshops such as the one formed by the Congep (Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines) and TUCP (Trade Union Congress of the Philippines) would be a mere talking shop.”

Bunye said the President had instructed Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to investigate the conditions at Anvil, which makes baby clothes for leading American companies, and “impose sanctions if warranted by law.”

“Look into that. You know I came from the GTEB, so we cannot allow this thing to continue,” Sto. Tomas quoted the President as telling her two days ago.

She noted that Ms Macapagal once headed the Garments and Textile Export Board, an office under the Department of Trade and Industry, which issues export quotas to garment manufacturers only after they were inspected and found to be “socially compliant.”

Sto. Tomas said she had asked the current head of the GTEB why Anvil was able to get its export quota despite its workers’ complaints. She quoted the GTEB official as saying that the factory owners had submitted “deceptive papers.”

She said Anvil had agreed to settle with its workers but was appealing for a reduction in the 5.8 million pesos in back wages and benefits ordered by the Department of Labor and Employment.

Sto. Tomas also said it had been made clear to Anvil owners that even the back wages of workers who were no longer with the factory should also be paid, provided they came forward.

She said Anvil would still be fined for violating labor laws. But Sto. Tomas added that she saw a happy ending in the case because the young woman president of the factory said she did not want it to close down.

Mere byproduct

Sto. Tomas herself said Wednesday that sweatshops were a “scourge” of industries, particularly garments.

But Magtubo, who is also president of the Fortune Tobacco labor union, said “this scourge is a mere byproduct of contractualization.”

“The settlement at Anvil will not spell the end of sweatshop labor,” he said. “As long as labor exporting firms outsource a portion of their production process to small firms, sweatshops will continue to proliferate.”

Magtubo said even large firms were not exempt because subcontracting resulted in cheaper and docile labor.

He suggested that local union officers be deputized as inspectors to monitor the implementation of labor standards in workplaces.

Another newly proclaimed congressman, Sanlakas Representative JV Bautista, said sweatshop operations should be regarded as a heinous crime.

Elmer Labog, chair of the militant labor alliance Kilusang Mayo Uno, said workers were dissatisfied with the performance of the Dole because of persistent labor problems such as low wages, unemployment and trade union repression.

“We hold her [Sto. Tomas] guilty for the worsening suppression of workers’ rights,” Labog said.

He said these included the harassment of workers and the imposition of complicated provisions to block the recognition of labor unions.

“It is therefore not surprising that only 3.8 million workers out of an 18-million labor force are organized in active unions,” he said.

Maximo Lim, Dole director for Southern Tagalog, said Anvil had complied with some of the safety requirements.

He said the factory owners had until July 13 to comply with the order to pay its workers 5.8 million pesos in back wages and benefits.

“They have manifested that they will pay the workers, but they want to deduct [some names from the list],” Lim said in a phone interview.

He said he had directed his men to find out what was “acceptable” to both parties.

But the KMU is not impressed.

“We hope that the Dole’s statements are not just grandstanding efforts in preparation for President Macapagal-Arroyo’s accomplishment report for the State of the Nation Address on July 28,” it said in a statement.

It added: “We challenge the Dole to act on cases similar to Anvil’s. The government must act immediately and punish labor-standard violators.”