1
Executive Summary
The onset of COVID-19 has compounded the challenges of addressing poverty
and precariousness across the globe. In fact, the disruption caused by the
pandemic has or threatens to reverse many of the gains made toward resolving
the problems of inequality. This is especially true for the countries of the Global
South. Among the many key lessons learned from the struggle against the
pandemic is the realization that there can be no recovery, much less future growth,
if significant sections of societies are forced into precarious conditions.
This report aims to describe in detail the working and living conditions faced by
those stuck in precarious employment in the Philippines, specifically in sweatshop
labor. To this end, the following findings were made: precarious working conditions
remain prevalent among the surveyed sweatshop workers; the consistency of
compliance with labor and OSH standards varied greatly across different
workplaces; worker's participation in workplace and OSH-related decision-making
was dismally low and; labor and OSH standards violations were widespread,
especially during the ECQ period.
Responding to these issues and the policy/practical gaps that cause them, the
report suggests several governance and policy reforms, including the alignment of
current OSH standards with internal standards, deputization of trade union
representatives for labor inspection duties, establishing security of tenure as the
norm in employment, and the review of the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989,
among other possible steps.
Given the tremendous damage caused by the pandemic, it is clear that States have
the moral and political responsibility to ensure the rights of all workers are
protected across industries and sectors. "Building back better" after the worst of
COVID-19 demands that economic progress and rights protection be treated as
inseparable social objectives. There can be no economic growth without safe and
healthy populations.