abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Story

13 Apr 2020

Philippines: Labour groups call for wage subsidies for 200,000 workers in economic zones affected by COVID-19 lockdowns; Incl. brands' responses

Labour groups in the Philippines, including Partido Manggagawa, are calling on employers to pay wage subsidies of P10,000 per month (approx. USD199) to some 200,000 workers affected by the closure of special economic zones as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns. The closure of the Mactan Economic Zone due to a community-wide lockdown ordered by the authorities on 27 March 2020 has affected 100,000 workers, while a further 100,000 workers have been affected by the shutdown of the Cavite Economic Zone on 19 March. 

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has launched a financial assistance program under which workers affected by COVID-19 lockdowns are eligible to receive a subsidy of P5,000. However, surveys of workers affected by the lockdown of the Cavite Economic Zone have revealed workers have not received the DOLE subsidy and are facing increasing difficulties due to the lack of support. 

Labour groups say foreign investors in the economic zones - who have benefited from increased economic growth, tax breaks and other privileges for years while worker wages have remained stagnant - should bear temporary financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Partido Manggagawa, with the exception of Electronics firm Fairchild Semiconductor (Philippines) Inc. - which has provided its employees with wages for 20 days while they are out of work - other employers in the Mactan Economic Zone are refusing to grant adequate assistance to workers. Among them is Sports City International, a garments conglomerate which supplies to global brands. adidas, New Balance, lululemon and Under Armour are publicly listed as buyers from facilities operated by Sports City International. 

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited adidas, New Balance, lululemon and Under Armour to respond to the situation facing workers in their supply chain in the Mactan Economic Zone. Responses from adidas, New Balance and lululemon are included below. Under Armour did not respond.

Company Responses

adidas View Response
New Balance View Response
Lululemon Athletica View Response
Under Armour

No Response

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.