Thousands of workers, most of them women, trooped to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) in Calabarzon to denounce the sudden closure of clothing company Carina Apparel Inc.

At least 3,600 workers lost their jobs after being informally told of the company’s “total closure” and stoppage of operations.

Owners of Carina Apparel reportedly told leaders of Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (Pamantik), a local affiliate of the militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), that operations will cease because of “financial loss”.

Carina management said it will cease operations and dissolve the corporation by March 27.

But the workers said that as early as February 21, workers were advised to cease their functions.

On February 25, Carina Apparel, Inc. Labor Union (Cailu) filed a case against the management for illegal closure and a notice of strike. Cailu also belied the management’s statements that blamed the “lack of cooperation” of Cailu and its members with management plans to increase the production. It also said this resulted to serious business losses.

The management also accused workers of absenteeism.

“After more than a decade of hard work that the workers spent in the factory, this is all we’ll ever get. (Now) the capitalists accuse the workers (of absenteeism). But in reality, it’s their greed for money and power that led to the company’s closure and us losing our jobs,” said Gina Cedron, a Carina worker and coordinator for Garments and Textile Labor Alliance (Gatela) and also chairperson of Gabriela-Southern Tagalog.

“(The management’s accusations are) not true. We invest our blood and sweat in every cloth we sew. Many of us get sick just to reach the daily quota,” added Elmer Mercado, vice president of Cailu.

Workers explained that there never was a problem on absenteeism. They said that cases of absences only depended on the actual need for production force. The management coped with this by hiring more than 500 contractual workers to reach the daily quota.

“Whatever financial losses they were claiming of is definitely a big lie. We produce at least 33,600 pieces of lingerie everyday which amounts to millions of dollars of profit for the capitalists, while we only receive insignificant compensation,” Cedron said.

Union busting?

Management and the workers’ union have been in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) since 2004. But for this year, negotiations have been stalled since February 15.

Cailu accused the management of forcing the workers to leave one day before the CBA negotiation because the company claimed to have no more stock of materials. Allegedly, the management promised to pay 70 percent of workers’ wages for the entire duration of their leave. This did not happen.

The union’s CBA proposal to the management includes an additional P60 daily wage, post-employment benefits for retirement, retrenchment or closure of the company.

Pamantik said that this is not the first time the company forced their workers to leave. In 2012, Carina workers were put on forced leave from January to May 2012, putting on-hold the ongoing CBA negotiations.

Wenecito Urgel, Pamatik-KMU secretary-general, said that Carina’s closure is illegal and accused the management of union busting. “Capitalists traditionally use ‘financial losses’ as a scapegoat from bargaining with their workers. This exactly became the scenario between PhilSteel Corp. and PWU-Olalia-KMU in 2012,” Urgel said.

Furthermore, Urgel said that Carina is one of the few remaining large garment factories in the Philippines. Most garments factories chose to move their operations from the Philippines to other Asian countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India for lower labor costs. “Cheaper production costs mean bigger profit for the capitalists,” he said.

Carina Apparel Inc., manufactures high-end lingerie for luxurious brands like Marks & Spencer, Calvin Klein, Gap, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, Uniqlo, and Toray among others.

“A Victoria’s Secret lingerie, for example, costs $18-$50 apiece, while a Uniqlo lingerie overalls is being sold in the Philippines for P36,000 per set – these pricey products literally show a huge profit for the capitalist behind Carina,” Cedron explained. Workers’ computation shows that Carina earns more than P81,900,000 a day.

But workers who served the company since its establishment 14 years ago received a measly P397 a day. The workers highly believe that the illegal closure of the Carina Apparel Inc. has no other motive than to turn their back from negotiations, abolish their union, and earn higher profits.

“Now more than ever, is the necessity for a tight and militant solidarity and struggle for humane wage, jobs, and rights, and justice for the 3,600 workers in Carina,” Urgel said.