Globalization and internal structural adjustments
have wreaked havoc on the work and lives of workers and their
families. Corporations single-mindedly seeking the fattest
bottom-line squeeze out savings and profits at every level. This has
spawned "the new sweatshops", where appearance deceives and terms
and conditions of work are appalling.
Profits Above all Else
Many countries and factories in Asia and
elsewhere are desperate for investments and orders, and bidding at
the lowest cost, primarily obtained from violations of basic workers
rights and of countries’ own labor laws.
Multinational corporations exploit this, and play countries and
factories against each other, at workers’ expense.
Government and IFIs are part of the
problem
Governments and IFIs have contributed to the
problem, with their economic policies and lending programs
Governments look only at numbers of jobs generated, largely uncaring
about their quality and working conditions. IFIs obsessed with
hoped-for efficiency of markets push for exports, where
multinationals hold sway.
Developing countries such as the Philippines seek to sustain the
economy, welcoming MNCs’ business, despite lost taxes, low returns
and high social costs.
On the prowl for the lowest cost
With liberalized world trading, the Philippines
has been deluged with many middle merchants: contractors, importers,
agents and others, each trying to make profits from those below them
on the supply chain.
The highest premium is placed on price. Regardless of how this came
about.
Devastating workers
Unimaginative employers see only labor in cutting
costs, pushing workers to produce goods as quickly as possible. This
is where low wages, forced overtime, punishments and fines for slow
work and mistakes, child labor, and other abuses come in.
Proposed Amendments to the Philippine Constitution and the Labor
Code; and internal structural adjustments
In the previous Administration, government and employers teamed up
to push for the watering down of pro-labor provisions in the
Philippine Constitution. The Congressional Commission on Labor (LaborCom)
seeks liberalizing of labor-only contracting and of management’s
actions on hiring and firing while putting more restrictions on
unions and the right to strike.
Globalization and its associated forces are inducing more openness
of markets, and is acting as a convenient excuse for employers to
intensify exploitation of workers. The social dimension has been
neglected.
