Kilusang Mayo Uno condemns in the highest terms the abrupt removal of 3, 200 workers in Franklin Baker Inc. in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur on October 3, 2024. This is particularly alarming as management has not explained the reasons behind the layoffs.
In the midst of a severe economic crisis, Franklin Baker Inc.’s cover-up of the imminent mass layoff, and the reasons behind it, is downright atrocious. Franklin Baker is dragging workers and their families into worse conditions and uncertainty.
This ongoing trend of large-scale layoffs faced by workers is deeply concerning. Thousands of workers have already been affected by this threat, such as the 300 Nexperia workers, 4,000 garment workers in the Mactan export processing zone, 800 NAIA workers, and 100 ABS-CBN workers.
This highlights the Marcos regime’s failure to address the Filipino workers’ demand for job security. Until now, the Marcos regime continues to adhere to policies which freely allow capitalists to dismiss workers en masse without accountability. Moreover, the Marcos government has no job creation program and has no institutionalized support for displaced workers. Despite this, Marcos continues to deceive the public by changing the definition of employment to peddle the false narrative that his government has created more jobs.
Franklin Baker must promptly and genuinely address the grievances of their workers and clarify the true status of their employment. DOLE must immediately mediate over this matter, and provide the necessary legal and material assistance to the benefit of the workers.
We encourage all 3,200 laid off Franklin Baker workers to unite and fight for their jobs and to demand accountability from the company. The Filipino workers stand with you in the struggle for job security. We encourage workers and citizens in Davao and across the Philippines to join the fight of the Franklin Baker workers and all dismissed workers. Together, let us defend our job security and hold the Marcos regime accountable for disregarding the rights and interests of Filipino workers.