"DOLE hit for inaction on violations of "Grinch" company in Cavite", 3 January 2020

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) hit the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for continued delay in enforcing the mandatory payment of the 13th month benefit for workers of a garments factory in Cavite...[O]fficials gave the management of Sejung Apparel Inc. another 10 days to pay the 13th month benefit and the last salary due of workers.

"Christmas and New Year has come and gone but the DOLE still refuses to use its enforcement powers against a 'Grinch' company," declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair. Workers of Sejung in the First Cavite Industrial Estate have been on picket-protest since December 12...

"Justice delayed is justice denied. What's keeping the DOLE regional office from issuing a compliance order? Even during the mediation hearings, Sejung maintained its illegal and hardline stance that it will grant the 13th month pay in March not December. Yet the DOLE dare not lift a finger even as Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello issued press releases reminding employers about the payment of the 13th month benefit," Magtubo averred...

..."The company's argument of lack of buyers is just an alibi. The truth is that production is being subcontracted by Sejung to other companies," Odchimar [Josephine Odchimar, president of the labor union at Sejung] asserted.

Workers believe management is maneuvering to bust the union. The union won the certification elections in August. The company temporarily closed down in October, a week after the union submitted a proposal for a collective bargaining agreement. After a month, the company reopened...