Garments factory imposed forced leave, early retirement scheme – labor rights monitor

MANILA — Garments factory Metro Wear, a supplier for global brands Victoria’s Secret and Lululemon, reportedly subjected its workers to forced leave after intense work in peak seasons, according to the Visayas Human Development Agency (VIHDA).

Based on the information gathered by VIHDA, the factory employed more than 1,500 workers. Those who were subjected to a forced leave were placed under a “no work, no pay” scheme while others on floating status were given P125 ($2.12) daily subsidy. 

This is a recurring pattern that started in July 2025, VIHDA said in an earlier report. The group added that the subsidies given to the workers under floating status were insufficient to support families.

“During this period, workers bore the burden of heightened precarity compounded by economic insecurity,” VIHDA noted. “Many were confronted with the difficult choice of seeking alternative employment, thereby forfeiting their accumulated benefits, or enduring prolonged uncertainty regarding their return to work.”

The management also introduced an early retirement program in October 2025, which was availed by over 500 workers. VIHDA emphasized that the affected workers said that they would not have accepted the offer if they were not subjected to forced leave. 

Due to fear of another slowdown in production and the possibility of large-scale forced leave, at least 300 workers voluntarily availed of the early retirement program when it was offered after last year’s peak season.

“These instances illustrate how workers in economic zones remain vulnerable to labor precarity linked to global supply chain dynamics,” VIHDA added. 

Asia is still the main garment manufacturer in the Philippines, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), responsible for approximately 60 million workers in the region.

ILO also noted that working conditions remain poor with high levels of insecurity and precariousness in the sector. 

“Poor working conditions in the sector are largely attributable to global supply chain dynamics and their interaction with institutional constraints at the country level,” the report read.

“The ups and downs of the garment industry are not new, that’s why various groups have been calling on brands to carry out particular measures to protect labor rights,” the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said in a statement. 

Brands in the garments industry are compelled to veer away from short-term and high-volume orders, CTUHR said, to ensure stable contracting so factories can plan production and not be forced to close down during lean seasons.

“Victoria’s Secret, Lululemon and other brands serviced by Metro Wear should ensure that their factories are upholding and respecting labor rights. The tragedy is that even brands that have the capacity to improve their workers’ labor rights refuse to do so and are enjoying impunity,” CTUHR executive director Kamz Deligente said.

This incident is not only limited to Metro Wear, according to VIHDA. Other garment factories at the Mactan Export Processing Zone are increasing the use of agency hiring arrangements in lieu of direct employment. Such practice exposes the volatility of the global supply chain while the liabilities of the employers are minimized. 

The groups are calling on the Department of Labor and Employment and the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to investigate the situation of garment workers at the Mactan Export Processing Zone, ensure the compliance of the companies in the labor rights standards, and create specific guidelines for the garment industry.

“Workers are entitled to safe working conditions, just compensation, security of tenure, and comprehensive benefits,” VIHDA ended. (AMU, RVO)

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