The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) expresses alarm over the mass layoffs at a palm oil giant owned by the wealthy Consunji family in Negros Occidental. We demand greater government oversight of the mass layoffs and other labor rights violations in the company.

The National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) reports that 93 workers of palm oil firm Hacienda Asia Plantations Inc. (HAPI Inc.) were laid off in one day on October 24. This is the latest in the waves of layoffs that saw 22, 43 and 60 workers losing their jobs since the start of the year.

The NFSW reports that the workers experienced illegal dismissal, as many have been working in the company for two to three years and were simply removed from work without any due process or clear basis. While some have received two weeks worth of pay, many were asked to sign resignation letters without dates, were told they could not report to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) after signing, and have not received any separation compensation.

The NFSW also reports that contributions for the Social Security System, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG and taxes for the Bureau of Internal Revenue were deducted from workers’ wages, but no receipt of payment were given to the workers, many of whom were not even given account numbers for their contributions.

Other labor rights violations include: non-payment of 13^th month pay, service leave and other benefits and penalizing short absences with an AWOL status or demotion from regular to casual status and then termination from work. Some workers claim that they were forced to sell their land to HAPI after being promised regular employment.

Plantation and other agricultural workers in the country face the worst labor rights violations, and the workers of HAPI Inc are no exception. Mass layoffs are indications of companies’ lack of respect for workers’ rights and the case of HAPI Inc shows that when it rains as regards labor rights violations, it really pours.

We demand that the DOLE look into the mass layoffs and other labor rights violations in HAPI Inc. Ensuring a decent separation package is the least that the government can do for the impoverished palm oil workers. The company owners must be held accountable if the workers’ accusations are proven true.

Amidst the turbulence in the global economy and the persisting cost of living crisis, the Ferdinand Marcos Jr government must ensure social protection for the many workers who are being retrenched from work. It must also undertake a serious study about bolstering the country’s agriculture and industrial sectors to generate decent jobs for Filipinos.