Long road to the Jobapalooza
Laid off workers hope to find jobs

While all roads led to the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia for the biggest and most ambitious mega “job and livelihood fair” to date, not all jobseekers were as enthusiastic.

Mela (not her real name) once a proud regular worker of a semiconductor company in Biñan, Laguna is a recent recruit of the army of the unemployed. Despite enduring the long queue, she had mixed feelings about the job fair.

“Of course, I want to get a job to meet my family’s needs,” said Mela. However, the other part of her still wants to go back to her old job—not only for financial reasons.

Mela, 35 years old, was laid off three days after she got elected as one of the union leaders in the semiconductor company she works for. Fourteen other union leaders and seven members got the axe as well.

As expected, the Laguna Technopark-based company blamed the global financial crisis for her misfortune. Mela and the rest of her co-workers believed so, too at first, until their suspicions were confirmed. The semiconductor company hired contractual workers almost immediately after they fired Mela and other union officers, confirming their suspicions that the crisis was only being used as an excuse.

“This is clearly a case of union busting,” asserted Atty. Allan Montaño, president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW). “Companies that use the global financial crisis as an excuse to retrench workers and bust unions should be criminally liable twice over,” he added.

The FFW has filed a notice of strike (NOS) in behalf of the union, with the Regional office of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board of the Department of Labor and Employment in Calamba, Laguna.

“The FFW condemns the discriminatory action of the management,” Montaño added.

Meanwhile, Mela trusts that the case they filed will prosper, even as she hopes her five-year experience as material handler will come in handy during the “Jobapalooza” at the SMX Convention Center.

“I hope I get hired, but honestly I want to get my old job back,” Mela said. Mela would have had her real name published but immediately asked that her identity be concealed.

“Baka hindi ako ma-hire kung malaman na unionist ako (I might not get hired if they [employers] find out about my union activities,” said a worried Mela. She monitored the “employment scoreboard” installed at the “Jobapalooza” site, hoping she would be part of the positive side of statistics now.

By way of an outrageous gift, the semiconductor company which employs a thousand workers retrenched another batch of employees a week before Labor Day.

The FFW has called on government to institute an “unemployment insurance scheme” that will help workers get through the daily rigors of life while looking for a job.

FFW Vice President and social security expert Atty. Sonny Matula said that “it is precisely the crisis that makes the unemployment insurance scheme needed more than ever.” He argued that among others, the SSS and the GSIS has enough funds to contribute to the unemployment insurance scheme.

“Using these funds might need legislation,” Matula added. “At any rate government with the help of unions can look for other sources of funds for the scheme, which developed countries like the USA instituted at the height of economic turmoil: the Great Depression of the 1930s.”

Meanwhile, “the resources and the energy of government and social partners should be focused on providing employment opportunities that match workers’ skills with what industry requires,” Montaño added.

“Sa harap ng matinding krisis pang-ekonomiya na nararanasan ng bansa sa ngayon, sinusuportahan ng Federation of Free Workers (FFW) ang mga makabuluhang paglilingkod ng DOLE para sa mga bagong manggagawa at mga manggagawang natanggal sa trabaho na nakatuon sa pagsasanay at pagbibigay sa kanila ng trabaho sa mga industriyang nangangailangan ng kanilang kakayahan,” said Montaño.