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The government has discovered 18 sweatshops that
operate in violation of labor laws among the list of accredited garments
exporters monitored over the past few months.
Serafin Juliano, Garments and Textile Board executive director, was quick
to add, however, that the number is small; there are 429 listed exporters
in the country.
Juliano also said labor officials do not classify these firms as
sweatshops but merely temporarily “socially noncompliant” because they are
made to correct their violations once discovered.
Donald Dee, chairman of the Confederation of Garments Exporters in the
Philippines, told The Times that these firms were immediately placed in
the “intensive care unit” for three to six months.
If a firm shows no signs of complying, Dee said the factory is closed and
the government and the private sector look for alternative firms for the
workers that would be displaced.
“We cannot just close the erring companies, because we don’t want people
to lose their jobs. This is why we help them to comply,” Dee said.
As initial punishment, companies found violating labor laws are barred
from exporting “critical” items like pants and shirts.
Juliano said reports on erring companies that manufacture export brands
often lead to cancellation of orders.
This, he said, is why the government and the private sector have doubled
their cooperation to prevent a repeat of a similar violation of Anvil
Ensembles, a garments factory in Taytay, Rizal, which was reported to be
exploiting its workers.
To save the multibillion-dollar garment industry from possible collapse,
the Department of Labor has ordered the formation of a multisectoral
alliance against sweatshops. |
