The Journey Continues…

I was walking at the mall one Monday morning when I bumped into a former co-worker, I worked in that company for almost 8 years having a enviable position & just enough salary. Someone told me that I was so stupid to leave my job to work as a volunteer, but I did.

We exchanged the usual hi’s & hellos, then she told me the current situation that my former company is facing. Although there was no retrenchment (of regular worker), they have to cut the working hours of the workers. From 6 days a week, it was cut down to 4 days, worst 3 days. From a strong 6,000 workers, about 1,000 non-regular workers have to go & find other jobs. The company produces electrical wiring harness for export in Japan & US, unless the US Congress approves the bail out program that President Obama is asking, I see no good future for them.

Come to think of it, they are luckier than the others, because they are organized, otherwise the situation could have been worst.

According to the government, about 35,000 workers in CALABARZON have been affected by the slowing down of the US economy, about 15,000 were retrenched due to closure or streamlining of the operation. The biggest black eye was when Intel Philippines announced the ceasing of the operation of its Cavite plant.

Are they telling the truth? I guess most of them are affected by the worsening American economy, since the Philippine industry based on import-dependent, export-oriented policy. If the market is healthy, then our workers will live to eat for another day.

But we shouldn’t forget the other component, the cheap labor that our government is bargaining to the investors. Metro Manila’s minimum wage is about 360 Pesos a day, that’s less than an hours work for an American worker not it is close to Koreans or Japanese. But were not the only country that sells cheap labor, Intel closed the Cavite plant not because of the recession, they have to move to Vietnam, I can imagine how much they have to pay for each Vietnamese worker.

So what do we see in our future? Are there any bright future for us? Or are we just gonna leave this country just to find a greener pasture?