THE PHILIPPINES
(Asian Labour Update N. 32, Aprile-July 1996)
As in other export industries in the Philippines, workers in the toy industry often face the uncertainty of temporary lay-offs, non-payment or overdue of wages and threatened plant closure.
The Horei Toy Company
A recent example is Horei Philippines Inc, a Japanese-owned factory located in the Cavite Export Processing Zone. About 200 workers were involved in the production of stuffed toys and other gift items for export to Japan.
In April the workers sought help from the Workers' Assistance Centre after the company had failed to pay their wages for over one and a half months. In fact since the beginning of 1996 the workers had received their wages in irregular payments. Instead of receiving 2000 peso (US$80) for the month, they received 300 peso, and later 500 pesos, and so on. This had also happened in February of the previous year. Maternity leave payments had also been paid late and not in full. In addition, the company had failed to make payments to the employees' provident fund since September 1995, even though deductions have been made from their wages.
By the end of April the management told the workers that the factory would close in the first week of May. The workers are worried that unpaid wages and retrenchment compensation will not be paid. In response the Workers' Assistance Centre organised the workers into the Horei Chapter of the Solidarity for Christian Workers (SCW). This helped the workers to enter into negotiations and bargain collectively with management even though organising is banned in the Zone.
Working conditions at Horei had also been bad. During the peak production season the workers have worked from 8 am to 2 am the next day, and on two occasions they worked for 24 hours.
In 1995 the workers visited the medical clinic in the Zone only once and have not been back for check-ups since then. (Only the company can arrange free medical check-ups.) When some workers were found to be suffering from ailments they were sent home for two months by the company. After this they came back and had another check-up. Ten workers were found to still be suffering from ailments and were dismissed without compensation.
Workers from the resin department of the factory still suffer from lung problems. The masks they use are made from a cheap cloth and are not effective in stopping the fumes from affecting their breathing, and their skin and eyes.
In May the factory closed with the promise it would re-open in three months, although there will only be enough jobs for 50 ofthe 200 workers.
Academy Plastic Model Toy Company
Since 1995 workers at a Korean owned toy factory in the Cavite Export Processing Zone in the Philippines have been subject to forced overtime, unpaid work, and unfair dismissal. The company, Academy Plastic Model Toy Co., manufactures plastic toy guns such as P226, M-36, Beretta, Glock 23, Super Omega, and Smith & Wesson, toy cars like 'Mirage', and well-known toy robots such as Gun Dam and Steel Man.
Although the working day ends at 4:45 pm, the workers are forced to do four hours of overtime every day for six days a week. In addition the workers must go to the factory at 7:15 in the moming to clean the entire factory, the rest rooms, production area, machines, garden, and garbage cans - work for which they are not paid.
Over the past year regular workers have been replaced by contractual workers on two month contracts. Regular workers receive P157 (US $6.28) perday and contractual workers are paid just Pl16.00 (US $4.64). When their contracts expire after two months contract workers are replaced with new recruits. To justify the dismissal of regular workers the managers have charged them with negligence, time-wasting, tardiness, absenteeism, etc., thereby forcing them to "voluntarily" resign. Even then dismissed workers do not receive any compensation for early termination.
Despite this ongoing practice, dismissed workers cannot come up with the exact number of workers that have been forced to resign since 1995. According to Father Jose Dizon: "We have to understand that these workers, even though they're being maltreated by their companies, are afraid to disseminate information about their conditions of work, fearing that it will backfire on them. This is the extent of the union scare here in the Cavite EPZ."
Philippines Facts and Figures
Population (1994): 68.6 million
Economic growth real GDP (1995): 5.8% (July 1995)
Per capita GDP (1995): 11.8% (Sept.)
Minimum wage (1996): 165 pesos/day (approx. US $6.30)
Total % of unions in private sector (1995): 95%
 |
Home page |