1,662 workers to lose jobs as Triumph shuts plants

As proof that the worst has yet to come in the labor front, multinational lingerie maker Triumph International will cease operations in the country that would result in the layoff of 1,662 local employees.

In a press statement, Triumph said its decision to close its local factories was part of its global restructuring program.

“As part of this program, the firm’s Triumph International (Philippines) Inc. and Star Performance Inc. factories in Taguig City will close. “1,605 employees at the two factories and 57 employees at the company’s head office in Makati City will lose their jobs as a result of this change effective 28th of August,” the statement read.

The announcement was made on June 27 at a company meeting with the companies’ unions, employee representatives and officials of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Isabelita de la Cruz, president of the Bagong Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawa sa Triumph International, said the company decided on the closure during a meeting on June 27 and that the workers would lose their jobs on July 9.

De la Cruz said the move of Triumph International was unjust and illegal because it violates the Philippine laws and the collective bargaining agreement between the workers’ union and Triumph International.

The company, meanwhile, confirmed its commitment to fulfill all its obligations to employees including full wage payment for the period leading up to 28th August and severance payments.

The company will also assist employees with support programs and finding new employment with the assistance of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), according to the Triumph International statement.

“(Triumph’s) management regrets the decision of the union leadership of Triumph International (Phils) Inc. and part of the union faction of Star Performance Inc. to leave Saturday’s meeting and disengaging from active dialogue with the company,” it added.It said severance payment arrangements for employees who will be leaving the company will greatly exceed the requirements of Philippines employment law.

The company deeply regrets that any job losses are necessary, it said.

Triumph said it has come to its decision after careful and comprehensive consideration of all alternatives and is making every possible effort to ensure that all affected employees are being treated fairly and with respect for their contributions to the company.

“Triumph’s sales and marketing operations in the Philippines are not affected by this announcement and will continue normally. Triumph will continue to employ 128 people in these operations,” it added.

The workers have earlier expressed concern that the company was trying to find a way to get rid of them, first by re-exporting raw materials for underwear from the Philippines to other countries, thus depleting the materials at the local plants. Less raw materials means less production, which in turn means less working hours and possibly lesser number of workers, the union said.

They also said that Triumph was considering moving its plant to another area, effectively becoming a runaway shop, which could mean massive layoff of its workers.

Triumph International earlier notified its workers that the global financial crisis had severely affected the company.

“The workers denounce the management’s position that closure must be done to save the company from the effects of the global economic crisis and maintain its profitability,” the union said.

“For the workers who feed and raise money to the German multinational company, it is a brazen attack on their rights and welfare and dignity. Year after year, Triumph International profited million and millions of dollars from the fruits of labor of more than 40,000 Triumph workers worldwide.”

Dela Cruz said Triumph International had threatened to file cases against the workers and deny them benefits if they resisted the company’s decision to close.

“Superprofit and cost-cutting are the reasons why Triumph International declared closure in the Philippines and massive layoff of Triumph workers around the globe,” Dela Cruz said.

She said workers should not suffer the brunt of the global financial crisis “because they are the ones making money for the company. In fact, they only get a very small share from the company’s income, despite the fact that high-quality and high-class lingerie were molded and created by the hardworking and creative workers of Triumph International.”

She denounced as well the Arroyo regime for allegedly guarding the interest of the company instead of the workers. Dela Cruz said the Department of Labor and Employment “connived with Triumph International management, supported the closure and convinced the workers to accept the offer of the management.”

The workers will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. today to plan their next course of action.

A party-list lawmaker from the Visayas, meanwhile, lambasted the Arroyo government for failing to generate more jobs in the region despite the much publicized stimulus program.

An Waray Rep. Florencio Noel said that Region VIII or Eastern Visayas were obviously left out in the job-generation program of President Arroyo under the stimulus program after getting fewer job orders in the first four months of the year.

“I thought areas badly in need of fresh job infusion – since they have no reliable sources of jobs to speak off — would get the bulk of the jobs that would be generated from infrastructure spending,” Noel said.

Noel stressed that while Region 7 has the bulk of joblessness and poverty, Region 3 which includes Pampanga, the hometown of Mrs. Arroyo, got the bulk of the job orders.

Citing records from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Noel said of the 27,516 new jobs created in April through government’s stimulus program aimed at bankrolling new infrastructure projects, Region VII, Region IV-A, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the National Capital Region (NCR) got zero new employment.

Noel said Region III gobbled up most of the new employment created in April, with 7,895 new jobs for the provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga (the home province of President Arroyo ), Bulacan, Bataan , Nueva Ecija and Zambales.

He said that the Arroyo government this year resorted to stimulus spending, amounting P330 billion, to pump prime the economy amid falling revenues and mounting job losses due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

Noel noted Region VIII has a poverty incidence of 15.1 percent from 13.3 percent in 2003 and an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent while its underemployment rate is the one of the highest at 26.5 percent according to the National Statistics Office.

CAR has 27 percent poverty incidence while Region VII has 17.8 percent.

Region VIII comprises the impoverished islands of Leyte, Samar and Biliran while Region VII clusters the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and Cebu .

CAR is made up of the mountain provinces of Ifugao, Benguet, Abra and Mountain Province while Region IV-A covers Rizal, Quezon, Laguna and Batangas.

“Obviously, compared to Region III where the hometown of the President is located, these regions need all the help that it could get from government,” he stressed.

After Region III, the second biggest recipient of new “stimulus” jobs during the same month is Region VI, which includes Iloilo and Negros Occidental, with 4,279, Negros Occidental is the home province of Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, the brothe-in-law of President Arroyo.

Comparatively, Region VIII and CAR received 201 and 179 new jobs in March while Region III has 7,895 new jobs. NCR has 292 new jobs and Region VII has 340 during the same month.

For the first four months of the year, Region III received the highest number of new jobs generated by stimulus-funded infrastructure projects with a total of 47,503, followed by the 22,855 new jobs for Region IX comprising Isabela City and Zamboanga City.

“Let’s consider the irony, provinces which would not qualify as poverty stricken like Pampanga and Bulacan took the bulk of the new stimulus jobs while Leyte and Samar , which have been the traditional poster boys of grinding poverty, got zero in April,” Noel stressed.

The An Waray lawmaker likewise said even in the months of January and February, Region III was consistently the top job-drawer with 14,466 and 14,825, respectively or more than twice the new jobs received by Region VIII and Region VII in the same period. –Gerry Baldo, Daily Tribune