by Gigi Grande, ABS-CBN News
Seventy-five Filipino workers in Western Australia have lost their jobs at Austal, one of the biggest ship builders in the world.
Thirty Australians and two Croatians also got the chop.
Austal chief executive officer Bob Browning told ABS-CBN the global recession and the credit crunch are to blame. He says it caused “commercial customers to slow down” on the acquisition of new vessels. As a result, employees engaged in the early stages of vessel production, such as fabricators and welders, were left without assignments. “Majority of our Filipino workers are employed in this area,” Browning explained.
Employees knew something was amiss when managers holed themselves up in the conference room on October 22. The following day, dozens of employees were called to the manager’s office in succession.
Welder Edilberto Lumanog recalls how his supervisor gave him a hand shake, a letter, and said “Sorry, mate.” The supervisor explained it was top management’s decision to downsize.
Lumanog sat down and the room began to spin. “Parang wala ako sa sarili. Sa trabaho, masipag ka at matiyaga, pagkatapos dumating ito.” (I felt like I was not myself. In work, you’re industrious and persevering. Then this comes,) recalled Lumanog.
Tearful Men
Lumanog was devastated. A devoted father, it pained him to move to Australia eight months ago. He missed his children. But he accepted the job at Austal in the hope of providing his family a better life. “Masakit, eh. Pito ang anak ko sa Pilipinas. Hindi ka maniniwala pero apat sa kanila umiinom pa ng gatas.” (It pains me. I have 7 children in the Philippines. You wouldn’t believe this but four of them are still on milk,” he said as he tried to hold back tears. “One of my children is supposed to go to college. He said that he’s no longer going to school because I don’t have a job. I told him, I’ll look for work, any kind of work.”
For Johnnie Almento, the one thing more painful than losing his job was hearing his wife weep on the phone. “Tinawagan ko asawa ko. Umiyak siya, iyak ng iyak. Sabi ko huwag kang umiyak, wala naman tayong magagawa.” (I called up my wife. She cried. I told her, we can’t do anything), the father of five recalled.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship gave Filipino workers 28 days to find new employers, or return to the Philippines. Almento, an experienced welder, was optimistic and spent the next few days looking for a job. But after a week, he began to lose hope. He couldn’t sleep at night. He wanted to go home. “Tumawag yung panganay ko. Sabi niya, hanap ka muna, Pa, para matuloy kaming mag-aral. Yun ang masakit eh. Sabi ko, sige maghahanap ako. Mag-dasal din kayo.” (My eldest called, asked me to look for work so that they could go to school. That’s painful. I told them to pray).
Prayers answered
Days later, Almento believes prayers were answered as he found another job. Lumanog, too, found employment. But they cannot begin working and therefore won’t receive their salaries until new work permits are issued.
In the meantime, meager savings will go towards costly living expenses such as food, utilities and rent. Workers were given a severance package based on length of service, but Lumanog said this was only equivalent to one week’s pay.
But Fabricator Raniel Cadiles is packing his bags. After two weeks of job hunting, he has decided to throw in the towel. Australian employers turned him down because he lacked experience. Like many overseas Filipino workers, he’ll be back in the Philippines soon, but celebrating Christmas is farthest from his mind. ”Parang na-blanko ako. Ang laki-laki ng kumpanya tapos ganito ang nangyari. Isa o dalawang araw, wala akong imik sa kwarto, hindi ako lumabas, parang hindi ko matanggap.” (I feel blank. The company is so big then this happens. For one or two days, I kept quiet, didn’t go out of my room. I couldn’t accept it.)
Experienced, productive people
Only two years ago, Austal launched extensive recruitment efforts in the Philippines when advertising in Australia yielded few candidates. Australian unions and community groups criticized the move, but former Austal CEO John Rothwell stood by the decision. “There is an aluminum ship building industry in Cebu in the Philippines so the people we have sourced from there are experienced and able to come to Australia and be productive from day one,” Rothwell had told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2006.
The recruitment efforts doubled the number of Filipinos employed at Austal’s Henderson plant by 2008, comprising roughly 10 percent of the workforce.
After the recent retrenchment, the number of Filipinos employed at Austal is back to 2006 levels. “Until the worldwide economy begins to recover, we will need to closely monitor our workforce requirements,” Browning said.
No further job cuts are expected.
Ms. Gigi Grande is the News Bureau Chief of ABS-CBN in Australia.