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Shun sweatshop operations
The Philippines'' major garments exporters adhere to
core labor standards and international labor relations principles and shun
sweatshop operations.
This is the contention of Donald Dee, president of the Confederation of
Garment Exporters of the Philippines (Congep), in reaction to the special
report that the Inquirer ran last week on the inhumane working conditions
at Anvil Ensembles, a garments factory in the eastern town of Taytay,
Rizal province.
Dee, also president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines,
said Anvil was not a member of Congep. Nevertheless, he said, the Inquirer
report could taint the image of the entire garments industry that was
contributing about three billion dollars in revenue every year, and cause
the displacement of an estimated 400,000 workers.
"If there are cases like [Anvil's], the media should remember that our
major customers [abroad] could pick up the story, and this could make them
drop their orders. That is why I am reacting this way..." an annoyed Dee
said in an interview.
He added: "Can you imagine the economic impact and [possible] dislocation
you have caused, just because of this one small export company whose
revenue is insignificant compared with what the whole industry
[contributes]?"
Dee also said that key players in the local garments export industry were
in fact the first members of the Responsible Apparel Production (RAP)
program, an international memorandum of cooperation promoting decent work
practices and humane working conditions.
He said the Inquirer should have considered the moves of the private
sector and the Department of Trade and Industry before running the special
report, to avoid creating a negative impression of the local garments
industry.
The Inquirer report detailed the Anvil workers' complaints on overtime,
underpayment and unsanitary working conditions, as well as the alleged
offer to them of the insomnia-inducing drug Duromine to keep them awake
during peak-season 48- to 72-hour work shifts.
The Department of Labor and Employment, through regional director Maximo
Lim, on Friday accused Anvil of violating labor laws and standards and
ordered it to pay 137 workers a total of 5.8 million pesos in back wages
and unpaid benefits within 10 days.
The order was in response to a complaint filed several months earlier by
the workers, who said they had not been given benefits and were underpaid
for the past three years.
But Anvil union president Lorna de la Cruz Saturday said the workers were
keener on getting assurance that they would not lose their jobs.
"If there is no order closing down the factory, that is good," she said.
"All we want is for the factory to treat us better, to give us what is due
us. That is all."
Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson said Anvil management's non-compliance
with the order could result in the closure of the factory.
Anvil statement
For the first time since the report saw print, Anvil, a
subcontractor of such First World companies as JC Penney and Sears &
Roebuck, issued a formal statement on the matter.
"We deem that the proper way to resolve all the issues is through tangible
and long-term measures that are beneficial to both management and
employees of Anvil..." spokesperson Horatio Dante Mauricio said in a
statement.
Mauricio said Anvil management and board members were "deeply concerned"
by the report based on interviews with the workers and with former
supervisor Rouel Quitoriano.
"We would like to let the public know that Anvil Ensembles Inc. is
currently conducting a thorough investigation on possibilities that diet
pills were used during heavy production operation last year, as alleged by
Quitoriano," he said, adding:
"Our company is currently coordinating with the concerned government
agencies in ensuring a healthy and safe workplace for our employees."
The statement was faxed to the Inquirer Saturday afternoon, the same day
that the Kilusang Mayo Uno challenged Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas
to personally ensure that Anvil would comply with the DOLE order.
The militant labor alliance also urged the DOLE to file criminal charges
against Anvil management.
"The company's gross violation of workers' rights won't be easily
dismissed with the settlement of various labor issues and economic demands
at Anvil," KMU secretary general Joel Maglunsod said.
"Criminal charges must be filed against Anvil owners and management," he
said. "The Labor Code authorizes the punishment of employers violating
labor standards. The DOLE's loose monitoring of labor standards resulted
in the extensive abuse of workers' rights and welfare."
Anvil union leader De la Cruz said: "Of course, we are happy about the
DOLE's decision. But really, we just want to be assured that we are not
going to lose our jobs."
She said it would be great if they received their back wages and still
continued to work at the factory.
De la Cruz pointed out that close to 200 other workers were not included
in the DOLE list of those to be paid.
"There are at least 320 of us here. What about [the others]? Why were they
not included?" she said, adding that the DOLE might not have checked those
working in the annex.
De la Cruz also said that most of the workers still did not know about the
DOLE order, but that many of them were fearful that the factory might be
closed down.
Good image
The Congep's Dee said the local garments industry was
very keen on keeping a good image in order to maintain its mostly American
clients.
He said these clients paid particular attention to social issues, such as
treatment of labor, in their business decisions.
"We don't want the local industry to suffer the same fate as Saipan," Dee
said. "Our competitive edge over other exporting countries has always been
our adherence to social responsibility. We treat labor as our partners and
not as a commodity."
According to Dee, the garments industry in Saipan suffered a major blow
with the publication of an exposé on sweatshops there. He said the leading
garments maker, which was cited in the exposé, lost over 30 percent in
market share.
Dee said the DTI had sent a team to Anvil to investigate working
conditions there. "We in Congep will support the move to cancel Anvil's
export quotas if evidence shows it is guilty of the charges because we
ourselves want to [get] that kind of people out of the industry," he said.
He also said that being a signatory to the RAP program initiated by the
American Apparel Manufacturing Association, major garments exporters were
sticking to the RAP principles -- 8-hour workdays, proper salaries, social
protection and decent work environment.
The Congep represents 70 percent of the country's garments exporters and
includes as members the Top 100 industry players.
The other local signatories to the RAP program are the Garment Business
Association of the Philippines and the Philippines Apparel Embroidery
Association and Exporters Inc.
With a report from Luige del Puerto |
