NFA employees lament fate as mass layoff begins
Too young to retire, too old to find a new job.
This was the sentiment of National Food Authority Employees Association (NFAEA) president Maxie Torda following last week’s release of the Rice Import Liberalization Law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR), which would effectively displace more than a thousand workers of the agency due to downsizing.
While the measure eases the importation of rice in the country and could bring rice prices down by P7 a kilogram, it also clips the power of the NFA to regulate, license, market and monitor activities related to the staple.
According to the technical working group for the law’s IRR, a conservative estimate sees the displacement of 1,134 workers during the first phase of NFA’s restructuring plan, or about 27 percent of its 4,136 workforce nationwide.
However, with only buffer stocking remaining as its sole function, the agency could lose more people, said Torda. He said they were expecting a “mass layoff.”
“This is hard for us to accept,” said Torda. “Because if you look at the IRR, they would only move some of our functions to other agencies. These people have families to feed, children going to school … Some are either too young to retire or too old to find a new job.”
Based on the law’s IRR, the compensation package for NFA employees is still subject to President Duterte’s approval. Funding for the separation benefits would mostly come from the NFA’s corporate funds, but will be aided by the national government.
NFA employees said officials from the Bureau of the Treasury have been visiting regional offices to create an inventory of the agency’s assets.
The grains agency has yet to issue an official statement since the release of the IRR, but according to NFA employees who talked to the Inquirer, there would be simultaneous consultations with NFA workers nationwide beginning this week, and another involving employees at the central office in Quezon City the week after.
Department heads are already creating reorganization plans that would downsize operations, but these are still subject to management’s approval.
