‘More Mepz workers to lose jobs’

MORE workers in the Mactan Export Processing Zone are expected to lose their jobs this year as the global financial crisis continues to affect some of the locators there.

Lear Corp., which has already retrenched 850 workers since last year, is expected to lay off more of the remaining 2000 workers after the firm’s office in the US filed for bankruptcy.

Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chief Dennis Derige claimed that Lear Corp. had already informed the labor department in Central Visayas of its plans to scale down or even shutdown its operations.

Derige said that since last month the company was only using one of its four plants and talks about the workers’ separation pay were ongoing.

Derige said that the first and second batch of retrenched workers had already received their separation pay of 15 days per year of service.

Aside from Lear, more than 200 workers of Paul Yu Philippines Corp., a Taiwanese-owned lampshade company, are holding a picket outside the gates of MEPZ 2 after they were suspended for sympathizing with their suspended union leaders.

Willie Dandayano, president of Paul Yu Workers Association, said that they would only end their picket if the company would give them back their jobs. The company however offered them a separation pay of 15 days per year of service. But the workers wanted the separation pay to be 22 days per year of service.

Both parties will meet today at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) to solve their labor problem.

About 900 workers will also lose their jobs in August after Celestica, a Canadian-owned electronics company, informed the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas (Dole-7) of its plan to shutdown operations next month.

Dole-7 said that the firm would focus on their China and Thailand plants where labor costs are cheaper.

Dole-7 however assured the displaced workers of finding new jobs.

Director Elias Cayanong of Dole-7 said workers in furniture companies could work in construction companies.

And to those who wanted to work in the tourism industry, skills training are also available for them, he said.

Cayanong said that construction and tourism industry remain strong despite the prevailing recession.

He cited 20,000 jobs for construction workers in Guam which would be available later this year. /Correspondent Carine M. Asutilla, Cebu Daily News