‘Laid-off’ workers turn to side jobs to survive

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LAGUNA, Philippines – From 6 am to 6 pm, six days a week, Dante Cantos, 55, has worked at San Miguel Integrated Logistics Services Inc. (SMILSI) as a forklift operator for about a year and a half. Before working at SMILSI, he worked for another company that closed down. 

He was among the hundreds of workers who were recently put on “floating status” by SMILSI.

DANTE CANTOS. His job as a forklift operator at SMILSI involved physically demanding tasks of loading and unloading products from large trucks. Photo by Lance Ariel Bustos/Rappler

Julius Sarsuela, 39, had also been with the company for nearly three years as a reach truck operator, often working the same hours and days as Cantos. He was required to work off-shifts, particularly during inventory periods when operators like him were needed.

Like Cantos, Sarsuela was among the workers affected by the move.

Both of them are among the SMILSI workers who have joined the picket line in front of San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) Sta. Rosa Industrial Complex in Santa Rosa, Laguna after some workers said they were dismissed, or “tinanggal,” without prior notice. 

The dispute came just a few months after workers under the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa San Miguel Logistics-Independent (USMILSI-IND) earned collective bargaining rights.

About 800 SMILSI workers were prevented from reporting to their posts starting July 6, after the company placed them under floating status without certainty over their wages, benefits, or arrangements for returning to work. The company defended the move, after it lost a bidding process for its warehouse, transport, and bundling operations, as previously reported by Bulatlat. 

SMILSI is a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation, created to “provide effective and efficient logistics and warehousing solutions to the San Miguel group of companies.”

We reached out to SMC’s Media Affairs and Communications teams via text and through multiple email channels, including its legal, customer care, shareholder services and assistance, and whistleblower offices, on August 5, 10, and 12. We have not received any official statement as of writing. We will update this story once the company responds.

Workers set up a temporary shelter in front of the industrial complex, where multiple organizations and individuals have shown their support in person for the affected laborers. While further discussions between strike leaders and company management are being awaited, some workers are trying to find ways to earn a living.

Support

To survive during the strike, Cantos helps his wife with her small business selling personal collection items, such as soaps and bathroom supplies. 

Sarsuela, a father of three with one child in high school and two in elementary school, rents a tricycle for P200 a day and works as a tricycle driver. He said he takes home about P300 to P400 a day after paying the daily rental fee.

JULIUS SARSUELA. His role as a reach truck operator involved lowering items from high racks for pickers to collect. Photo by Lance Ariel Bustos/Rappler

Their earnings, however, fall short of covering water, electricity, and internet expenses. “We only earn a few pesos at a time, just enough to get by — and honestly, even that isn’t enough,” Cantos said in Filipino. 

He continued, “It’s not just food that you have to think about every day…You also have to think about paying for electricity, water, and internet.” 

Cantos has one child who recently graduated from college and is preparing for the board exams. With no income, Cantos now struggles to cover the expenses associated with his child’s preparation for the board exams.

“We all know how expensive the board exams are, that’s a major expense. The problem will be covering day-to-day expenses,” Cantos said in Filipino. He continued, “Since I don’t have a job, the problem is, where are we going to get the money now?”

Cantos admitted to feeling stressed and pained as well by the lack of work. “Sometimes when you don’t have work, you get stressed thinking…Your head hurts.” He added, “My wife even told me, ‘Find any kind of work so you won’t get stressed.’”

For his part, Sarsuela said his wife recently applied for a job at another company as they anticipated the job loss. But her salary alone is insufficient to sustain a family of five — from food to rent. 

“She had just started working too when we were laid off…because she knew I would lose my job,” he said in Filipino. He continued, “What my wife earns isn’t really enough. Just for my three children alone, we already spend so much, and then there’s food and the house.”

He maintains his support for the strike by visiting the temporary shelter, as he also hopes to return to his job at SMILSI. “I go [to the shelter] just to support what we are fighting for, for us to return to our jobs — so that I can support my family’s needs,” Sarsuela said in Filipino.

Latest developments

Strike leaders and SMILSI management are scheduled to meet again on Friday, August 14. Some workers are hoping the discussions will lead to a resolution. They will remain in place until at least August 15, as they await the outcome of the talks. 

Legislators from the Makabayan bloc, meanwhile, filed a resolution on July 28 to direct the House’s committee on labor and employment to conduct an investigation into the “dismissal of SMILSI workers,” citing “alleged unfair labor practice, union busting, violation of workers’ right to security of tenure, and the impending mass layoff of 800 regular workers” at SMILSI. – Rappler.com