Hundreds of garment workers get last pay

More than 570 employees of defunct garment firms Sako Corp. and Mariana Fashion Inc. trooped to the gates of the Sako factory in San Antonio yesterday to claim their last payroll but they were made to wait until past 4pm before the company began issuing out their checks.

Some of the 270 employees of Sako Corp. began queuing up at the gate of the factory at about 1pm but guards posted at the gate told them that the management was not yet in. More than 300 employees of Mariana Fashion Inc. were also present to get their last pay.

Mariana Fashion, Inc. an affiliate of Sako Corp., shut down operations on Feb. 21, a week ahead of Sako.

When Sako Corp. announced two weeks ago that it is shutting down operations, the management—in the presence of representatives from the Department of Labor—promised that it would release its employees’ last payroll yesterday. In a meeting held on March 3, Mariana Fashion employees were also told to claim their last salary at the Sako Corp. office.

Hundreds of Chinese, Filipino, and local employees of Sako were seen waiting outside the factory’s premises yesterday afternoon. Some were anxious and almost into tears and said they have no idea when they would get paid.

The Sako management arrived minutes after 4pm, prompting hundreds of employees to rush the gates of the company. Labor office representatives also arrived and were given entry to the factory. The employees waited for another hour before the management actually began releasing the salaries. The management called in employees in twos, based on their ID number.

The release of the salaries was still ongoing as of 7pm last night.

A Sako employee who requested anonymity said that three of the company’s cargo containers containing machines and equipment have already been shipped to Cambodia.

The source said that some Filipinos and most of the Chinese employees of the two companies have already left the island and gone back to their countries. They asked their co-workers to claim their salaries through signed authorization letters.

He said, though, that some of them opted not to wait for their last payroll just so they could go home already.

As of this date, there are only three Chinese nationals who are still living at the company-provided barracks. Another former employee said that she and two others would soon leave the barracks after they get their pay. She said that even the staff house manager already left the place.

She said that former tenants in the barracks used to pay $90 per paycheck for a total of $180 per month for the rooms. Other Sako former employees preferred to live out.

Some of the former employees who remain on the island are now looking for work, she said, despite knowing that it would be difficult due to tough competition and the Labor Department’s preference for resident workers.

Some 70 of Mariana Fashion employees were supposed to transfer to Sako but this did not materialize after Sako announced plans of shutting down.