On the onset of the third quarter of 2019, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) has posted a new record high in employment as the number of workers surged to a total of 44,297 employees. A clear evidence of AFAB’s fulfilment of AFAB’s primary mandate of inducing inclusive growth and poverty reduction through continuous job generation, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) has been setting a new high in total employment yearly.

This total represents an 8% increase from the second quarter of 2019 with 41,089 workers and a notable 18% growth compared to the total number from July 2018 with 37,413 workers. The FAB has truly grown exponentially since 2011 inheriting only 12,099 workers. In less than 8 years, the AFAB has generated more than 32,198 new jobs, meaning 32,198 families have been fed and 32,198 lives have been uplifted.

Out of the 44,297 workers in the FAB, about 74% or approximately 33,000 workers are from the province of Bataan and the other 26% are workers that came from other regions even as far as Visayas and Mindanao.

While the AFAB actively promotes a business and commercial atmosphere that encourages investments leading to economic growth, the AFAB simultaneously strives to foster a community where industrial harmony and morality is being observed. One way of doing this is through the promotion of worker regularization. Out of the 44,297 workers in the FAB, 57.51% or 25,476 workers are already classified as regular employees. This represents a whopping 145% compared to only 10,410 regularized workers in 2016.

The majority of the FAB’s total workforce, about 72.26% comprising 32,000 workers is part of the production lines in the industrial enterprises. While the remaining 27.74% or more than 12,000 workers possess jobs in other industries such as Information and Communication, Wholesale and retail trade, Accommodation and Food Services, Real Estate and Lease Development, Administrative and Support Services Activities, Warehousing and Logistics, among others.

Through its Labor Center, the AFAB ensures the protection of the rights and welfare of the workers through monitored enforcement of labor laws and standard, particularly in ensuring every worker’s right to safe and humane working conditions, full employment and equal work opportunity. Moreover, the AFAB, in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) continuously develops and conducts labor-related programs and activities in the form of learning sessions and capability building programs for all of FAB registered enterprises.

AFAB