66,293 workers lost jobs in 2000

A total of 66,293 workers lost their jobs last year due to retrenchment and factory closures, Rep. Ernesto Herrera (Lakas, Bohol) said yesterday.

Quoting a report from the Bureau of Labor and Environment Statistics, Herrera said 37,106 or 56 percent of the workers who lost their jobs were from Metro Manila-based establishments.

He said the affected companies cited economic difficulties as the reason for laying off workers or closing shop.

He said the 2000 figure is slightly lower than the 71,847 employees who were rendered jobless in 1999.

In the wake of the report, Herrera, a People Power Coalition senatorial candidate, urged Congress to act on his bill seeking unemployment insurance coverage for jobless workers.

"Congress must now give meaning to the constitutional mandate for the state to provide workers full protection, including protection from economic adversities," he said.

The companies that retrenched workers included Read-Rite Phils., 3,456; Integrated Micro Electronics, 2,598; SolidBanking Corp., 1,924; Philippine Airlines, 1,597; Coca-Coca Bottlers, 1,219; Pilipino Telephone Corp., 1,045; Far East Bank, 823; Ace Style Apparel, 747; and Freyssinet, 561. — Jess Diaz