Malou Fabella, 47, has spent nearly three decades threading together more than just spools of dyed yarn. She has also helped weave an enduring struggle for dignity, safety, and justice at work.
Since 1999, Fabella has worked at the Manila Bay Thread Corporation (MBTC), formerly Manila Bay Spinning Mills Inc. In 26 years, she has seen the industry shrink around her—machines now run fewer days, jobs have been outsourced, and what was once a bustling operation is now a stripped-down version of itself.
But as it changed, so did her fight—and Fabella never stopped threading the line.
Threads of survival
At 21, Fabella was let go from a cloth diaper factory in San Mateo, Rizal. Frustrated, her aunt suggested she apply for work at a nearby factory. Coincidentally, her aunt had ties to the driver of the owner of MBTC, which led Fabella to take the opportunity and enter the bustling factory.
She started out when the factory was still spinning cotton into thread, back when the production was still local and the workforce exceeded 3,000.
“Noong unang pasok ko, bulak pa talaga ang gamit namin–bulak papuntang sinulid,” she recalled. Fabella worked as a machine operator, feeding cotton into the spinning lines. After a year of working, she became a regular employee in 2000.
From cotton to thread, each step was done in-house, with six departments in total: the blue room where cotton fibers are separated, the preparatory stage where the fibers are loosely wrapped (still in cotton form), the spinning stage where the cotton is spun into thread, the dyehouse where the thread is colored, finishing stage where the thread is prepared and treated for final use and the packaging or warehouse stage, where the thread is wrapped into smaller tubes or cones then packed for delivery.
However, by 2007, the company began downsizing. From producing tons of threads to producing just a handful of trucks. This is because the production has also been outsourced, with threads arriving pre-made from China and Cambodia, to name a few.
“Ang dahilan nito, ito kasing pagawaan na ang dati namin na spinning mills na bulak pa lang siya, dinala siya sa ibang bansa kasi mas mura doon ang manpower, ang sahod ng mga manggagawa, kaya dinala doon. Tapos pati raw tax, hindi ganoon kalaki,” she explained.
Fabella narrated that the company would approach workers directly, asking them to sign agreements for compensation due to supposed “financial losses.” Their union, Pinag-isang Lakas ng mga Manggagawa sa MBTC (PIGLAS-MBTC), believed this was a tactic to push for layoffs. As a response, the union encouraged workers not to sign, knowing the company hadn’t filed for bankruptcy.
The union also brought the issue to the Department of Labor and Employment, but as the situation escalated, Fabella lamented that most workers were forced to agree to the company’s terms.
Eventually, the first three stages of production in MBTC were suspended; only the dyeing, finishing, and warehouse departments remained. It was in these remaining stages that Fabella continued her work: winding dyed thread, sliding it into cones and tubes, and preparing them for delivery to local and overseas customers.
Due to the closure of some departments, only 165 regular employees remain—an equivalent of 94% reduction from the original 3,000 employees. Such loss underscore a broader pattern of displacement, especially for contract-based workers, and the impact of global outsourcing, deregulation among other labor pains in industries like MBTC.
Several departments, including the dyehouse, also saw their workweek reduced from six days to just three or four. For workers like Fabella, this reduction hits hard. Three days is not enough to live on, especially when “prices keep on going up,” she said.
Fabella also recalled the glory days when the production was at its peak and the delivery trucks were a regular sight on the streets.
“Noon, ang lakas ng garments dito. Maraming napproduce. Ang aming tigapag-deliver, ang dump truck, ngayon ang nag-de-deliver na yung mga L3 na lang. Imbis na kukuha lang sila, sila na rin ngayon yung nag-de-deliver. Dati kasi, ang mga ahente, maghahanap lang ng order, pero ngayon, nagde-deliver na,” she said.
Meanwhile, despite her tenure, Fabella said her daily wage still falls short.
“Hindi mo naman makukuha agad ang sahod mo sa isang araw. Siyempre kapag dating ng isang linggo, ang dami pang kaltas. Pinagtataasan pa nila ‘yong kontribusyon [benefits] kaya hindi sasapat, kulang na kulang,” she lamented.
Beyond machines
Despite the ongoing setbacks, Fabella’s commitment extended beyond her personal struggles.
Beyond the machines, Fabella is also the president of PIGLAS-MBTC which currently has 100 members.
PIGLAS-MBTC has existed for over 30 years and its role has become more vital in recent years as job cuts and insecurities have grown.
Since 2007, Fabella has been an officer, starting as a board member for ten years, then serving as the public relations officer before becoming president in 2022.
Looking back at her early days in the union, Fabella admitted that her journey wasn’t always straightforward.
“When I was just a member, I was focused on work and home. I’d attend meetings, but I never fully immersed myself in the cause,” she shared. “Even when asked to join rallies, I’d just go along but without much passion.”
Her perspective changed dramatically as she took on more responsibility in their union.
“Noong naging officer ako, syempre lumalalim na ‘yong pag-aaral mo at paliwanag. Doon ko na naunawaan. Kahit na ako ay buntis, talagang ako ay makipag-rally, tumatakbo na ako kasi naunawaan ko na kung bakit may rally at bakit sila nasa lansangan,” she explained.
Another turning point of her leadership endeavors was when an on-call technician once fell through a roof and was severely injured due to a lack of safety gear. The company initially refused responsibility because her colleague was not a regular employee. The union argued, saying, “He is still their worker,” to demand accountability.
Eventually, the company paid for the medical expenses and offered livelihood support for the technician. For Fabella, the incident has become a wake-up call about why unions are important. Without one, the management can easily take advantage of workers, offering whatever is convenient without regard for their well-being.
Fabella has also helped lead collective bargaining agreements (CBA) that sometimes took nearly a year to conclude.
“There was a time it took us 11 months just to secure a raise,” she recalled. “Management always tries to bargain down, but we hold the line until they listen.”
“Basta nakita lang talaga yan na kumikilos ang mga manggagawa… Talagang kailangan talaga kumilos ang manggagawa bago ibigay,” she added.
Over the years, the union has also successfully pushed back against contractualization in their company. Now, if someone works beyond five months doing the regular work, they must be regularized, she said proudly.
Thread must hold
As early as January this year, lawmakers have pushed to enact House Bill No. 11376 or the “Wage Hike For Minimum Wage Workers Act,” which provides a P200 wage increase across the board to workers in the private sector, regardless of employment status. Since then, various labor groups urged the Marcos Jr. administration to certify the P200 legislated wage hike as urgent, especially with the soaring hikes in basic commodities, rising public transportation costs, among other economic pressures.
Now, as the second quarter of the year approaches, the proposal remains under review by Malacañang, which continues to direct the issue back to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.
Meanwhile, think tank and research group IBON Foundation asserted that a P1,200 daily living wage is needed for a family of five to live decently.
For workers like Fabella, the call for P1,200 family living wage is necessary and justified because “if workers earned enough, they would not need to send a family member abroad just to survive. That wage would make a big difference, especially for those of us raising children.”
Whatever amount may eventually be approved, Fabella said they would welcome any increase as it is long overdue. Still, the call for a P1,200 wage resonates more urgently given that the current wages barely cover basic expenses.
Fabella also pushes back against recurring myths that wage hikes lead to inflation or drive businesses into bankruptcy. According to her, Prices go up “even without wage increases, and the capitalists are always the first to raise prices, but workers are always the last to benefit.
IBON emphasizes that inflation is primarily driven by factors including fuel prices, supply shocks, and corporate price-setting rather than wage adjustments. The research group added that big industries have sufficient profit margins to absorb moderate wage increases, especially the proposed P200 wage increase, without compromising their financial stability. Meanwhile, for smaller businesses, the group emphasized that the government should provide support through wage subsidies and other forms of assistance as a relief. Still, the call for regularization among contractual workers, along with just and fair compensation, remains a persistent and resounding demand from labor advocates.
Uncertainly looms for many workers in MBTC these days, as one of their major clients may shut down—and they worry about more job losses, too. Still, Fabella refuses to give up.
This is beyond securing better wages or conditions, Fabella surmised. It is a call for a government that listens to the needs of its people, not just the interests of wealthy corporations.
“The government should stop only listening to the rich. It needs to understand what ordinary people are going through,” she said in vernacular.
For Fabella, collective action is a vital cog, emphasizing “Kapag ikaw ay may unyon, mas mabilis ka nila pakinggan kasi kaya mo pagkaisahin ang mga manggagawa.”
And though the machines run fewer days, Fabella remains unyielding and continues to thread the line of hope and justice-–one that is not outsourced or silenced.
