Duty-Free workers eye legal action to save jobs

MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of Duty-Free Philippines Corp. employees facing retrenchment are not giving up the fight to save their jobs.

Duty Free employees union president Ernesto Mangalindan said they are looking to take legal action to stop the implementation of the restructuring plan.

“Gagawa kami ng paraan (We will find a way). We have already shown collective action in our petition opposing the restructuring. We will take more peaceful concerted actions, including legal action in court, if no concrete action to freeze or stop the attacks on our jobs is taken by the government in the next few days,” Mangalindan said.

Last week, about 500 Duty-Free employees received a notice of separation and were given 15 days to reapply for 345 jobs available in the new plantillla. Other employees have yet to receive their notices.

Employees believe that the restructuring plan “is an act of retaliation” following the union’s filing of an illegal smuggling and corruption case against Duterte-appointed officials of Duty-Free Philippines.

Tomorrow, Duty-Free employees will gather for a mass as part of the efforts to fight for their jobs, Mangalindan said.

The workers previously appealed to President Marcos and the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations to stop the restructuring plan.

The rightsizing was announced in November 2022 after Duty-Free Philippines suffered heavy losses in the past three years due to the pandemic.