The relentless spread of the red-stripe soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation is threatening jobs of thousands of sugar workers, the Democratic Association of Labor Organizations warned Friday, August 7.
In Northern Negros, members are already seeking advice after being informed in advance by their employers that operations will cease, DALO president Alan Gozon said in a statement.
The reason given by employers was the deadly effect of RSSI, which has destroyed more than 50 percent of their cane production, he said.
“Although we look at this as a flimsy excuse by some employers to dismiss workers who have rendered long service, the continued spread of RSSI will ultimately lead to the closure of sugarcane farms,” Gozon said.
That is why DALO fully supports calls from sugar industry leaders, stakeholders, the provincial government, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and various planters’ groups to urgently contain and stop the dreaded spread of RSSI, he said.
“This pest poses a direct threat not only to the livelihood of sugar farmers, but will mostly affect sugar workers and small agrarian reform beneficiaries,” Gozon said.
Thousands of sugar field workers, sugar mill employees, their families, and other businesses dependent on the sugar industry will bear the brunt of this crisis if it is not immediately contained, he said.
Gozon said DALO is calling on national government agencies, through the DA and SRA, to address the causes of the infestation and find long-term solutions to stop the insect’s spread.
Science-backed measures must be introduced without unnecessarily halting farm and milling operations, Gozon added.
“We have to protect the sugar industry to preserve the livelihood not only of sugar farmers, but most of all the sugar workers whose sole source of income relies on sugarcane farming,” he said.
The RSSI infestation will also impact the local economy, as the industry is one of the region’s top revenue earners, Gozon pointed out.*
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