PH clothes factories eye flexible work scheme

Local factories that make clothes for global brands might soon force their workers to take turns off work, amid fears that only a few shoppers would brave the malls amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Member companies of a local industry group have been receiving fewer orders from fashion retailers around the world, leaving them with too many factory workers and not enough work to do.

To cope, members of the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (Conwep) might have to do flexible working arrangements, wherein some workers will be forced to take paid leaves.

“We’re already seeing a decline on the front-end orders [from retailers],” said Conwep executive director Maritess Jocson-Agoncillo in a phone interview with the Inquirer.

It’s the fewer orders for autumn and winter clothes that concern the industry.

“Some companies are reporting a 20-percent decline [in orders]. Some companies are reporting 15-percent decline at the moment,” she said.

Conwep member companies account for nearly 70 percent of the country’s clothing exports.