Laid off workers decry dismissal sans reason

CEBU, Philippines - Over 60 workers protested in front of the office of the Cebu General Services yesterday after they were allegedly laid off from their jobs without being given valid reasons.

Dennis Derige, chairman of the Partido ng Mangagawa with whom the workers are affiliated, said that the laid-off employees were not even paid the right amount after being retrenched, others were not paid at all.

Derige said that 32 employees were agency workers and have been with the company for more than five years but were laid off last April 13.

Another 30 workers from the same company were absorbed by Sauna World, were also laid off and not paid the whole amount for their length of service.

Both the agency workers and those who work in Sauna World have the same operations but only differ in the wages they receive.

Derige said the workers were fired because while the workers were still in the company, they passed a petition to the Department of Labor asking for changes with the company regulations which according to them are improper.

Derige said that the workers complained that if they commit a mistake, they immediately get penalized and suspended without due process which he said is against the Labor Code.

He said the company knew about the petition and laid off the workers. But on the other hand the company insists they had to fire people because of the global financial crisis.

A day after they lost their jobs, the workers trooped to DOLE and complained about the matter.

He said that the company told DOLE regional director Elias Cayanong that the workers were not fired but merely reassigned. But up to now they have not heard of any new assignments for the retrenched workers.

Derige said that since the company did not face them in their protest and in their previous pleas for answers, they will be going back to DOLE and will also be filing their formal complaint in the National Labor Regulation Commission on Monday. — AJ de la Torre/BRP (THE FREEMAN)