Plant closure following fire renders 2,000 workers idle

CLARK FREEPORT – At least 2,000 employees here will have no work for six months starting this month after their garments company, whose factory was hit by fire on May 31, declared a temporary shutdown, a Clark Development Corp. (CDC) official said.

Franco Madlangbayan, CDC vice president, said the distressed firm, Smart Shirts Philippines Inc. (SSPI), has informed the CDC of its decision. The factory manufactures Tommy Hilfiger shirts.

Madlangbayan said going on a temporary shutdown is a standard provision in the Labor Code.

“Else, it would have to start paying separation fees to its workers,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Madlangbayan said some workers are seeking short-term jobs to support their families until SSPI resumes operations.

An official of the SSPI declined to issue a statement, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ludy Hamor, head of the SSPI workers’ union, said as the company suspended production, all of them are not getting their salaries, benefits or any help.

Hamor said many have applied for other jobs in the meantime.

The union, she said, has requested the SSPI management to release their 13th month pay early and convert their leave credits to cash, following the shutdown.

The cause of the fire has yet to be announced. Madlangbayan said the blaze started around 10 p.m. on May 31 and was put out at 2 p.m. the next day.

He said SSPI, which started operations in Clark in 2003, told CDC that it would use the period to assess the company’s equipment, check the integrity of the structure and conduct planning.

“So far, it did not say that it is pulling out. I think that’s not in the plan,” Madlangbayan said.

Neither is it scouting for a new building, he said.

Damage to the 16,000-square-meter building was placed at P25 million. Madlangbayan said this was covered by a P100-million insurance. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon