Over 5,000 lose jobs as pandemic bludgeons businesses in Subic Freeport

Displaced workers in Subic Bay Freeport are being briefed on the help desk put up by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to help them find new jobs or acquire new skills for reemployment. PHOTO FROM SBMA

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT— More than 5,000 workers in this free port have been displaced by the economic slump caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement on Wednesday (April 7) , Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chair Wilma Eisma,  said company retrenchment and business closures in 2020 resulted in massive job losses inside the economic zone.

Esima said the top three industries hit hard by the economic crunch were manufacturing with 3,910 displaced workers, followed by construction with 833 and shipbuilding or maritime-related projects with 717.

Among the displaced workers, 1,839 are from Zambales while 899 are from Bataan.

“We have to do all that we can to restore lost economic opportunities because workers are among those who are very vulnerable under the prolonged effects of this pandemic,” Eisma said.

In 2019, the free port had about 135,000 workers.

She added: “We need to build not just physical strength and immunity, but also the community’s financial capacity to withstand this health crisis.”

Under this situation, SBMA has launched an information and support system to help displaced workers find new jobs or develop new skills to gain re-employment.

The SBMA help desk, which is manned by employees of the SBMA Labor Department’s Manpower Services Division, is at the former Landbank office near the Freeport’s Rizal Gate.

“This is a very important tool in providing new means of livelihood for displaced workers, especially those from the neighboring communities of Olongapo City, Zambales and Bataan,” said Eisma.

TSB