Shoe exec: Bills curbing contractual jobs turn off Taiwan shoemakers

A footwear federation official on Wednesday said moves to curb labor subcontracting in the Philippines are deterring Taiwanese shoemakers from investing in the country. Roger Py, director general and vice president for external affairs of the Philippine Footwear Federation Inc. (PFFI), said in an interview that potential investors from the Taiwan Footwear Manufacturers Association (TFMA) are wary of bills that propose limiting the number of contractual workers to 20 percent of the workforce per company. “Taiwanese footwear manufacturers find subcontracting agency arrangements advantageous, so moves to remove this is a concern for Taiwanese investors," explained Py, citing instances of Taiwanese shoemakers who had previously experienced labor problems in the Philippines. The PFFI and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority have for years been wooing TFMA members to relocate to the Philippines. Reasons like lack of contiguous land and costs of labor and lease, however, have discouraged Taiwanese shoemakers from setting up shop in the country. TFMA is reportedly composed of about 100 member-companies, many of which supply cheap footwear to American stores. Citing rising production costs, a number of TFMA member-companies have reportedly transferred their factories from mainland China to low-cost locations such as Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. — AY/PE/VS, GMA News