Focus on the Global South - Philippines Programme

By Aya Fabros

“Kababaihan: Jobless kaya Pay-less (Women: Jobless therefore Payless)” a protest placard expressed during a women’s day mobilization last March 8, summing up some key dimensions of the worsening global downturn. Payless, also a common brand of instant noodles—a cheap meal that has become staple diet for poor Filipino households-- captures both the massive loss of jobs and income as well as the intensifying poverty and hunger situation, as the impact of the global crisis becomes more pronounced in the country. At the same time, payless also calls attention to women’s unpaid family work, particularly undervalued household and reproductive labor, which remain unrecognized as ‘real work’, despite the increasing load borne on women’s backs, especially when times get tough.  The challenges that workers face, both in the workplace and at home, are made more glaring by the circumstances women workers are thrust into as the crisis deepens. 

In the Philippines, the global economic slowdown is exacerbating the already severe jobs crisis, as significant sectors shut down, downsize and expand irregular employment modalities. The wave of lay offs and work irregularities has been taking place across the country, although concentrated in critical hotspots, particularly export processing zones, which employ a significant number of women workers. The Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon (CALABARZON) region, a key industrial area where many ‘export processing zones’ are located, accounts for over 70 percent of worker displacement, according to consolidated records from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
 Longtime workers in the Rosario Cavite export processing zone, Jane, 29-year old, mother of three, and Aileen, 21-year old mother of one (not their real names), are among the growing number of workers affected by the crisis. As they both express, what makes their situation difficult is not just the loss of income but also the over-all uncertainty and insecurity they experience.

FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS
 “Hindi kasi alam kung tatanggalin na ba o hindi, kung mababayaran ba o hindi,” says Aileen. “Naghihintay lang kami.” (It’s still not clear whether we are already going to get laid off, whether we’ll get severance pay or not. We’re just waiting.)
Aileen has been working for DANAM Philippines since 2007. DANAM is a manufacturer of parts for electronic products and supplier to other manufacturing plants such as American Power Conversion, another company located in the Rosario, Cavite Export Processing Zone.
Aileen recounts how production has been affected since December. By January 2009, Aileen and her co-workers were asked to go on forced leave, working on-and-off since. “Naapektuhan na ang mga orders galing sa US,” Aileen explains, “kaya simula noon two weeks kaming nakabakasyon tapos nung pinatawag kami ulit bawas na ang araw. Noong una, Monday lang ang walang pasok. Pagdating ng February, Martes hanggang Biyernes na lang. Ngayong March, dalawang araw na lang ang pasok.” (Orders from the US were affected and since then, we were on forced vacation for two weeks. When we were called back, our workdays were already reduced. In the beginning, we had no work on Mondays. In February, we only worked from Tuesday to Friday. This March, we only had 2 days of work.)
“Walang pasok, wala ding sahod, (No work, no income)” she adds.

 The Department of Labor and Employment-Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (DOLE-BLES) documented over 100,000 affected workers, from October 2008 to March 10, 2009. The CALABARZON region accounts for 76,324 affected workers, including 31, 534 displaced workers and 44,808 under flexible working arrangements. (See Table)

In January, DOLE issued Department Advisory No. 2, 'Guidelines on the Adoption of Flexible Work Arrangements’ “to assist and guide employers and employees in the implementation of various flexible work arrangements as one of the coping mechanisms and remedial measures in times of economic difficulties and national emergencies.”

As expounded in the advisory, DOLE considers flexible work arrangements, such as reduction of workdays, forced leave, compressed workweek, broken-time schedule, flexi-holidays and rotation of workers, as “better alternative than the outright termination of the services of the employees or the total closure of establishments.”

 Aileen, who has been subject to these arrangements, shares what management has been telling them-- ‘ maswerte pa nga kami kasi ang iba talagang wala na.’ [we’re actually lucky they say because other workers have already lost their jobs]

CONTRACTUAL AND DISPLACED WORKERS
In January, Jane and 50 other co-workers got laid off from Sangkou Seiki Company (also in Rosario, Cavite). “Inuna nila kasi yung mga taga-agency (the company started with the agency workers),” according to Jane.
As an agency-supplied contract worker, who is renewed on a 3-5 month basis, Jane is not considered a regular employee, among the many contractual workers who are first to be let go.

United Cavite Workers Association (UCWA), a federation of worker groups and associations in the province, notes that these flexible work arrangements proposed by the DOLE simply extend other irregular practices of companies, especially in the EPZA, where the hiring of contractual workers is a norm rather than an exception. For UCWA, hiring ‘contractuals’ has allowed companies to evade providing full benefits due to regular workers and to undermine worker tenure, making it easier to terminate employees, whether or not there is a threat of a crisis.
As Jane points out, “wala naman kaming magagawa kasi agency kami.” (We can’t do anything because we’re under the agency not the company.)
Jane seems to have already gotten used to the consequences that go with being a contract worker. She has been going from one contract to the next since 2004, applying after every “finished contract”. 

As a contractual worker, she did not receive any benefits or separation pay from the company when she was let go, although she has been working for Sangkou Seiki for almost two years, under several consecutive employment contracts of 3-5 months.
Almost three months since she lost her job, she is still trying her luck “nag-aapply pa rin” (still applying), but she faces another hurdle given age and status preferences in the EPZA.

“Mahirap talaga. Sinusubukan kong mag-apply pero mahirap na maghanap ng trabaho sa age ko. May age limit kasi. Mahirap din mag-apply ang married kasi ang gusto nila single,” says Jane. (It’s tough. I’m trying to apply but it’s hard to get work at my age. There’s an age limit and also married workers have a hard time. They prefer to hire single workers.)

Although she has been working in the EPZA for ten years, Jane, who is 29, married, with three kids, has had to resort to agency-based arrangements to get job contracts. But this time, agency or no agency, Jane’s chance of securing a contract is slim.

SOCIAL SECURITY, SERVICES AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSES
Jane still hopes she can find employment soon as debts have been piling up. Her husband also works as a contract worker in the EPZA but his income is not enough to sustain household needs. “Ang dami din kasing gastos sa bahay, sa mga bata at gastos sa pag-aapply. Kailangan pa ng mga requirements. Yung medical 300 na, kapag kailangan pa ng drug-test kulang-kulang limang daan, (Lots of household expenses, expenditures for the kids, plus the expenses that come with job hunting. Work requirements are needed- the medical exam costs around 300 pesos, if you’re also asked to do a drug test then that adds up to almost 500 pesos)” she explains.

Now that their household income has considerably declined, the couple runs to five-six money lenders charging 20 percent interest each month, to make ends meet.

Industry	Establishments Affected	WORKERS AFFECTED (October 2008-10 March 2009)					TOTAL WORKERS* ASSISTED
		Total Affected	WORKERS DISPLACED			Flexible Work Arrangements	No.	%
			Displaced Workers	Permanently Displaced	Temporarily Displaced
ALL REGIONS	543	109529	50380	11574	38806	59149	11,354	10.4
NCR	74	4825	4157	3175	982	668	2294	47.5
CAR	10	2282	592	553	39	1690	902	39.5
Region I	2	15	14	0	14	1	14	93.3
Region II	5	507	507	410	97		501	98.8
Region III	34	6644	5292	2303	2989	1352	2179	32.8
Region IV-A	258	76324	31534	2962	28572	44808	1408	1.8
Region IV-B	16	1334	1334	81	1253		0
Region V	8	713	321	321		392	338	47.4
Region VI	18	568	508	508		60	418	73.6
Region VII	55	5630	1270	779	491	4360	1991	35.4
Region VIII	2	74	0	0	0	74	66	89.2
Region IX	6	327	225	50	175	102	159	48.6
Region X	14	1448	437	292	145	1011	228	15.7
Region XI	2	179	179		179		179	100.0
Region XII	12	853	197	140	57	656	57	6.7
CARAGA	27	7788	3813		3813	3975	620	8.0
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT (DOLE-BLES) *Preliminary consolidated data from submitted reports of regional offices

 

 Aileen also faces the same situation, now that her workdays have been significantly reduced. For her, one clear implication of the recent turn of events is this: “Siguro mga 200 o 300 nalang ang sasahurin ko ngayong cut off, kakaltasan pa din kasi, (I’ll probably just get 200 or 300 pesos in the next pay cut off, with deductions and all)” referring to workers contributions to the Social Security System, Pagibig and PhilHealth. Like Jane, Aileen’s family is also racking up loans.

“Pinipilit nalang pagkasyahin, pero kulang talaga. Gatas pa lang ng anak ko kulang na ang isang libo. Pagkain pa, kuryente, tubig, bahay. Naubos na yung konting naipon ko, ipit talaga kaya nauuwi sa utang (We try to make ends meet, but it’s just not enough. We spend over a thousand pesos for my son’s milk alone. And then there’s food, electricity, water, housing expenses. We already used up the little savings we had, so I really have to borrow),” Aileen points out.

Two weeks ago, United Cavite Workers Alliance and the Partido ng Manggagawa staged a picket at the Social Security System complex in Quezon City to raise the growing concern regarding unemployment benefits and access to loans. One response that workers have been getting is that they cannot secure loans from the SSS, unless they have a new employer who will sign their documents and ensure that payments will be remitted.

Jane finds this unfair and absurd. “Kaya nga naghuhulog para may makuha kapag nangailangan. Hindi mo naman magamit. Paano mo mapapakinabangan ang hinulog mo kung sasabihin nilang kailangan muna na may employer? Kaya ka nga nangungutang kasi nawalan ka ng trabaho at wala kang makuhang panibago. Sa tingin ko po, napaka-unfair.” (You shell out contributions because you want to have something when you need it. But you can’t. How can you make use of your own contributions if they ask you that you have to have another employer first? In the first place, you’re trying to get a loan because you lost your job and can’t get a new one. I think it’s really unfair.)

Aileen also points out constraints in accessing other programs meant for affected workers. “Yung livelihood, kailangan daw magbuo pa muna ng grupo ng 15 tao, tapos marami pang seminar at screening bago makakuha. (You still need to form a group of 15, to get livelihood assistance, and then you still have to go through screenings and seminars.”

Given the conditions they face, both workers note that they are not giving much consideration to government responses, which don’t address the many-facets of their current situation. DOLE records, based on preliminary consolidated reports as of March 10, 2009, show that 10.4 percent of total affected workers have already been assisted, in the form of livelihood programs, skills training, legal support. Of course, for workers such as Aileen and Jane, it’s not just the number of workers covered that’s important; It is also crucial to immediately put in place responses that are appropriate, adequate, and coherent.

As Jane expounds when asked what to her would be a more appropriate and effective response, “Sana trabaho na agad. Mahirap kasi kung magsisimula ka pa, pagugulungin pa, pero wala kang pagkukuhanan sa pang-araw-araw. Kailangan pa rin ng at least six-months na magagamit habang nag-aayos ka ng kabuhayan o naghahanap ng trabaho.”

COPING AND MOVING FORWARD
Jane and Aileen’s stories highlight the precarious jobs situation in the country and the vulnerable conditions faced by workers and their families; at the same time, calling attention to the lack of safety nets, the inadequate response and the constraints that limit access to social security and other programs. Under these circumstances, Filipino families are pushed to make hard, constrained choices given the limited options available.
Aileen says she does not intend to wait too long for things to clear up. Her family cannot afford to stay on without a job. “Umalis ako doon kasi mahirap talaga ang buhay, pero kung ganito ang sitwasyon baka babalik na lang. Kasi sa probinsya kahit papano hindi ka magugutom, (I left the province because life is hard there, but given this situation, we might have to go back. At least, we won’t go hungry)” says Aileen.

Jane and her husband, on the other hand, plan to try finding work overseas. Her husband has already lodged applications, although, as Jane explains, “sinusubukan, nag-aaply, pero hindi rin sigurado ang trabaho ngayon sa abroad.” (We’re trying, applying, but overseas work is also uncertain right now.)

Noting how most Filipinos are thrust into a series of dead-end options, groups such as the Women’s March Against Poverty and Globalization (WELGA ng Kababaihan Laban sa Kahirapan at Globalisasyon) attribute these gaps not just to incoherent or insufficient measures to address the impact of the global crisis; but also to the Philippine government’s chosen economic orientation—which put too much faith on global markets, de-prioritized social spending and reproductive provisioning, and failed to provide the necessary conditions for Filipino families to secure a decent and stable way of life. 

As it calls for both immediate and long-term responses to the multiple-crises afflicting the country, WELGA stresses that “unless economic policies are reversed, unless the current development thrust and outward orientation change, unless the government lets go of the illusion that migration is a solution, this chronic and never-ending crisis will persist.” ##