120,000 cement workers fear losing their jobs

The cement industry stands to lose P20 billion while some 120,000 workers may lose their jobs if the industry collapses as a result of dumping, the Philippine Cement Workers Council (PCWC) said yesterday.

 “We are calling on President Arroyo to immediately order the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Tariff Commission (TC) to cease and desist from pursuing their plan to lift the tariff barrier on cement without having a clear vision on the benefits of such a move,” Felix Dayta, PCWC national secretariat, said during yesterday’s press briefing.

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila announced earlier that he is removing the tariff on imported cement for six months and will study if the zero percent tariff will be made permanent.

The move was done after cement firms raised their prices by 14 percent this year. Favila has asked the firms to justify the price hike.

Dayta said the move of DTI is “ill advised and disastrous because it will place our cement industry at the mercy of importers who are only after profit and do not have any stake at all in the national economic growth.”

“(The) already minimal five-percent tariff would make the domestic cement industry vulnerable to dumping and smuggling,” Dayta explained further.

Dayta said the zero tariff will have a domino effect. Not only will they lose their source of livelihood, the government will also lose in terms of revenues.

Earlier, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) said the cement industry stands to lose more than P20 billion if dumping comes in once the government removes the tariff on imported cement.

“If dumping comes in, the industry will lose billions not to mention the 120,000 jobs,” Ernesto Ordoñez, CEMAP president said.

According to Ordoñez, cement makers would like to sit down with Favila to explain why they needed to increase their price by 14 percent this year.

Ordoñez said there may be a miscommunication between the DTI and cement makers with regards to prices and tariffs. He said the only way this can be corrected is through a dialogue.