Gender Issues in Diverse Manufacturing Industries in the Philippines

Gender Issues in Diverse Manufacturing Industries in the Philippines

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Gender Issues in Diverse Manufacturing Industries in the Philippines

Jinky Leilanie Lu

Reseach Associate Professor

National Institutes of Health

University of the Philippines

Abstract

This study was an investigation of the impact of information technology and gender relations in two manufacturing industries, namely, garments and electronics, in the Philippines on the health and nature of work of women workers. It consisted of a cross-sectional study of 23 establishments, 630 respondents and 47 supervisors. Methodology consisted of questionnaires, walk through survey of industries, and interviews. The overall physical health of supervisors are affected by four factors: number of workers supervised, work that is burdensome, fast-paced and toxic, overtime, and lack of job autonomy. Workers health was also affected by job autonomy, close monitoring, poor quality of work and hazard exposures (p=.05). Results showed that gender segregation was evident in the companies, that new management styles and production processes adversely affect the health of the women, and that information technology has brought about several organizational changes affecting women’s nature of work. The data was analyzed in the light of existing regulations of the four books of the Labour Code of the Philippines. Policy and advocacy work implications were recommended based on the results of the study.

Keywords: Gender, Information Technology, Occupational Health, Export Zones, Global

Economic Changes, Policy and Advocacy Work

Introduction

The new era of work is an interesting inquiry in our modern society which has been to a great extent shaped and influenced by the new information and communication technologies. Information technology has created new industries such as electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. It has also altered the work production process in “traditional” manufacturing such as in garments and textile. The use of microelectronic devices in modern machinery has been widely adopted in the various phases of production. The so called “modern” industries like semiconductor and electronics as well as the “traditional” ones like garments and textiles are now faced with new work processes and new forms of work organization as a consequence of these new information technological inputs into work systems. Microelectronics-based equipment, numerically controlled machine tools, computer-aided designs, robotics and programmable controllers have all changed the nature of task, organizational set-up and work conditions of the workers. In the textile industry for instance, the use of circular automatic looms in knitting has necessitated special training for the blue-collar workers (Brady, T., 1989; Acero , 1995)1. The use of microelectronic control devices has also facilitated the adoption of new forms of management and work organization, such as “semi-autonomous groups”, “quality control circles” and “just in time production” (Ferraz, 1992; Acero, 1995). In the banking industry, information technology has brought about new work strategies for customer service such as electronic transfer, automated clearing, and home banking and insurance. This cuts down the need for front office desks and facilitates the relocation of information processing to the central office answered and done by automated machines with built-in voice mails (Senker, J. and Senker, P.,1994; Webster, J. 1996: 46-47)2.

Work relations and work organizations are influenced by the introduction of information technology among the various occupational and job categories. This seems to follow the labour process theory of Braverman that tasks are fragmented, intensified and controlled, thereby deskilling and fragmenting the work (Braverman, H., 1974)3. The paper of Jacobs and Lim in 1998 is suggestive of the deterioration of women’s economic position in developing countries. Although they noted a declining trend of sex segregation across occupations and industries, this is not translated to equal economic advantages for both men and women (Jacobs, J. A., and Lim, S. T., 1998: 259)4. Even the growth of new industries like soft manufactures (mainly electronics and garments) has not erased women’s economic disadvantage. The newer production commodities that involve the use of newer information technologies are called soft manufactures in contrast to hard manufactures that involve bulky machineries such as in shipbuilding and automobile manufacturing.

The experiences of women in developing countries give us a perspective on their working conditions and the effect of employment on their lives. In Bangladesh, the export oriented garment industry created a feminized labor force employing about 500,000 young women. Job conditions in the factories is far from perfect or even normal. It is characterized by low wages, unsafe work environment, overwork and lack of job security. It is even better than employment in domestic work and prostitution. Those in the Video-Display terminals reported video blues which consists of syndromes of eye problems, varicose veins, headaches, nausea, skin allergies, and persistent coughs and colds including reproductive problems at the extreme such as abortion, infertility, stillbirths and birth defects (Spivack, 1995 in Mitter, et.al., 1995:18)5. Among the issues central to women workers included health and safety, establishment of childcare facilities, better health care for the injured and sick women, and housing and transportation benefits. On the other hand, some of the problems encountered by Indian women in the workplace included burden of the dual role, sexual harassment, lack of solidarity among women, the need to exert double time to gain the same recognition as the male counterpart (Gothoskar, S, 1995:166)6. The increased scale and pace of production has also led to stresses among women. Those who produce Video-Display terminals report of video blues, eye problems, varicose veins, headaches and skin diseases as well as abortion, infertility, stllbirths and birth defects (Spivack, 1995)5.

As regards the work environment and hazard exposures of women in the industrial sector, the Bureau of Working Conditions reported the following problems in the Philippines: isolation and fatigue from decreased communication, reproductive-associated problems such as spontaneous abortion from chemical exposures, injuries and disabilities from unsafe machines, allergies and chemical burns, headaches and loss of sight from working with video terminal displays and localized muscular and back pains due to prolonged standing and repetitive and strenuous work. (BLES, DOLE, 1994:23-32)7. In the export zones in the Philippines, Aganon (1994)8 noted that young workers were confronted with long hours and overtime work. This becomes heavier for women who are saddled with household, family, child care and community responsibilities. Aganon also noted that many women workers in export zones work at night, subjected to socially disruptive shift work, compulsary overtime, extreme fatigue, hazard exposures or a combination of these factors.

On the other hand, some positive effects of the use of information technology in the production process are evident in literature. The need for both software design and hardware manufacture of electronics products does not only alter the employment composition between sexes but also demands a shift in supervisory skills. In traditional mass production processes, supervision is connected with the monitoring and surveillance of the workforce to ensure that standard operating procedures are met and output is maximized. The global trend of including high value added, application-specific, integrated circuits requires greater input from supervisors on circuit design and software programming. This veers away from the repetitive and unchallenging roles of supervisors and managers to more creative, challenging and autonomous jobs. In fact, factory work is regarded as “clean, light, secure, prestigious work to young women compared to homework and work in the informal sector (Ackerman, 1984, cited in Ng, 1996:76)9. In Malaysia, the semiconductor sector demanded expertise in material control systems such as materials requirement and material resource planning.

In the light of these developments in the labour market which has significantly depended on women’s labor to meet the volatility of the global market, and the demand for competitiveness and quality production, it is worthwhile to look into the nature and content of women’s work as influenced by information technologies. The study tried to look into the role of information technology in the contemporary development of women’s work and to look into the organizational changes concomitant with technological innovations. It also investigates the health of women workers and how it is influenced by the complex physical work environment, social environment, the way they produce and organize their work and the impact of economic changes in the local and global levels.

Discussion of Results:

There were a total of 23 industries taken from the list of semiconductor and garment industries located in Laguna and Cavite export zones. The samples were selected through stratified random sampling consisting of 13 electronics and 10 garments establishments. Based on a proportionate sampling, there were a total of 5 small industries, 5 medium-scale, and 13 large-scale industries. The classification is based on the existing DOLE category: small industries are those employing less than 100 workers, medium scale are those employing 100-199 workers and large scale employing 200 and more workers.

For the survey questionnaire given to the women workers, there were a total of 630 respondents whose mean age was 27 years old and most were 24 years old (mode) showing a relatively young and active population. The study consisted mainly of female workers (100%). Majority were single (64.4%) while only 32.1% were married. Forty and nine tenths (40.9%) had a salary range of 6001 to 8000 pesos per month. However, there were 4.92% of the respondents who received only a measly amount of at most P4,000.00. The new technologies and computer-aided facilities used by the sample industries in this study were: computerized decision support systems, computer information systems; computer aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), computer numerically controlled machining (CNC), mechanized product systems such as conveyor belts or workstations, and robotics.

Among the sampled establishments for the electronics industry, more than half were large industries (53.8%) followed by medium (30.7%) and then small (15.3%). Among the sample establishments for the garment industry, the large scale were likewise predominant (60%) followed by small industries (30%) and then medium (10%). Females also dominated the labour force.

For the first leading ailments reported by the workers, upper respiratory tract infection was the most prevalent for both the garments and electronics industries. This data was taken from the medical records. This however does not reflect the cases or illnesses that were not consulted to the clinic. In the questionnaire for workers, majority reported of a combination of work-specific illnesses (Table 1).

Table 1. Classification of the type of Industry according to the First leading ailments

Type of Industry
Electronics / Garments / Total
freq. / % / freq. / % / freq. / %
Headache / 4 / 30.7 / 1 / 10 / 5 / 21.7
URTI / 5 / 38.4 / 2 / 20 / 7 / 30.4
Fever / 1 / 7.6 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 4.3
Muscle Pain / 1 / 7.6 / 1 / 10 / 1 / 4.3
PTB / 0 / 0 / 1 / 10 / 2 / 8.6
Diarrhea / 0 / 0 / 2 / 20 / 2 / 8.6
Cuts / 0 / 0 / 1 / 10 / 1 / 4.3
UTI / 0 / 0 / 1 / 10 / 1 / 4.3

In the electronics industries, the most prevalent physical hazard consisted of noise, cold temperature, low pressure and non ionizing radiation. For the garment industries, the most prevalent hazards consisted of noise, heat, low pressure and vibration. The data show that there are characteristic hazards per type of industry depending on the work process involved (Table 2).

Table 2. Classification of industry according to physical hazards

Type of Industry
Electronics / Graments / TOtal
freq / % / freq / % / freq / %
Noise / 11 / 84.6 / 9 / 90 / 20 / 86.9
Vibration / 3 / 23 / 2 / 20 / 5 / 21.7
Heat / 1 / 7.6 / 8 / 80 / 9 / 39.1
Cold / 4 / 30.7 / 1 / 10 / 5 / 21.7
High pressure / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 4.3
Low pressure / 2 / 15.3 / 4 / 40 / 6 / 26
Non-ionizing radiation / 2 / 15.3 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 8.6
Ionizing radiation / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

For the chemical hazards, the most prevalent among electronics consisted of dust fibers and then fumes and smoke. Chemical fiber dusts were most prevalent in the garments accounting for 90% among all establishments (Table 3).

Table 3. Classification of industry according to chemical hazard

Type of Industry
Electronics / Graments / TOtal
freq / % / freq / % / freq / %
Dust/fiber / 5 / 38.4 / 9 / 90 / 14 / 60.8
Fumes / 4 / 30.7 / 1 / 10 / 5 / 21.7
Smoke / 2 / 15.3 / 1 / 10 / 3 / 13.0
Mists / 1 / 7.6 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 4.3
Gas / 3 / 24 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 13.0
Vapor / 7 / 53.8 / 2 / 20 / 9 / 39.1

On the nature of task (Table 4), the most prevalent issues among workers in the electronics industry included the need to upgrade skills, repetitive work, pressured in doing work, fast paced work and that work entailed both physically and mentally demanding tasks repetitive work.

Table 4. Distribution of women workers by nature of task

Nature of Task

/ Garment / Electronics
Freq. / % / Freq. / %
Work is boring / 54 / 8.7 / 66 / 10.6
Work is repetitive / 164 / 26.2 / 233 / 37.3
Work is fast-paced / 174 / 28.0 / 207 / 33.3
Work produces pressure / 167 / 27.0 / 214 / 34.6
Work is too much and not enough salary / 98 / 16.0 / 128 / 20.8
Worker encounters conflicts / 123 / 20.7 / 142 / 23.9
Work requires new quality / 208 / 33.9 / 281 / 45.8
Work is physically and mentally tiring / 174 / 27.8 / 202 / 32.3
Salary is enough / 62 / 9.9 / 124 / 19.9

There were a total of 196 supervisors included in the study. Fifty-one percent of the companies belong to the garment industry while 49% are in the electronics industry. Majority of the supervisors were female accounting for 66 % of the population while only 34 % were male supervisors. With respect to civil status, more than half of the supervisors were married (80.7%). More than one-fourth of the respondents have one child (27.7%). Data also show that 46% of the supervisors in the electronics industry were married while 25% only for the supervisors in the garments.

Sixty eight per cent (68%) of supervisors in the electronics industry have the right to give rewards and sanctions to workers based on their evaluation. Thirty two percent (32%) in the garments industry have the same job autonomy. Seventy seven per cent (77%) of the supervisors in the electronics said that benchmarking is part of their work while only twenty three (23%) in the garments were able to do this.

In terms of the nature of production (Figure 1), the electronics industries were engaged in the manufacture of component parts (58.3%), followed by sales and marketing (37.5%), and then fabrication of model parts and assembly of whole parts (25% each). For the garment industries, the primary line of production included assembly of who product (88.2%) followed by design (31.8%). Very few were involved in design and research and development which are the phases in the production process relegated to the first world countries.

Chi-Square Differentiating Male and Female Supervisors

The odds of males, participating in bench marking is 3.11 (211%) more likely compared to female. This means that men tend to partake more in bench marking compared to female. Based on the odds ratio, the odds of male supervisor’s job description as IT literate is 3.43 compared to female. Thus, male supervisors are more IT- based compared to female. Given that the odds ratio in the use of computer aided designs, it shows that females tend to use CAD more likely than male. On the other hand, male supervisors tend to use robotics more likely than female. The odds of female experiencing headache is 6.75 times compared to males. This means that female supervisors experience headaches more compared to their male counterparts.

Logistic Regression of Organizational Factors Affecting Physical Health of Women Workers and Supervisors

Physical Health of Women Workers

The overall physical health of workers is affected by overtime and mental work. Moreover, workers who have autonomy in making use of their own strategy to accomplish their work are likely to have higher level of physical health. Those under close monitoring are more likely to have low level of physical health. Cases of low physical health are less common in medium industries. Poor quality of work and exposure to hazardous work also increase chances of having low physical health among workers.

Physical Health / Coefficient / Odds Ratio / Standard Error / z / P>|z|
Overtime / 0.80 / 2.23 / 0.26 / 3.04 / 0.00
Mental work / 0.39 / 1.48 / 0.14 / 2.80 / 0.01
Autonomy in accomplishing work / 0.23 / 1.80 / 0.13 / 1.72 / 0.09
Monitoring / -0.28 / 0.76 / 0.13 / -2.11 / 0.04
Medium Industry / -0.61 / 0.55 / 0.32 / -1.91 / 0.06
Quality of work / -0.83 / 0.44 / 0.14 / -5.80 / 0.00
Hazardous work / -1.77 / 0.17 / 0.28 / -6.36 / 0.00
Constant / 1.38 / 0.28 / 4.85 / 0.00

Analysis of Data:

The data gathered in the study must be analyzed in the light of existing provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines in order to assess the compliance and/ or non-compliance of the industries included in this study. In the same manner, the results of this study will also be used to assess the lapses and gaps in the existing rules and regulations pertaining to health and safety standards for workers.

The garment industry employs workers in apprenticeship program where they are paid 75% of the minimum wage with no fringe benefits. This employment arrangement is allowed by the government but only for a limited period until such time that the worker has gained mastery over the work (Section 6, Rule I, Book VI, Labor Code of the Philippines)10. But the women workers said that they have been employed for so many years as apprentice moving form one industry to another, and in spite of mastery of work, they have not gained entry into the regular workforce. This arrangement is more precarious than the contractual employment since the wage is far below the sustainable level, and that work employment is limited to 5 months only.

Casual employment is also allowed by law but in so far as “the work or service is incidental to the business of the employer and such job, work or service is for a definite period made known to the employee at the time of engagement.” (Section 5,b, Rule I, Book 6)10. The study showed however that casual employment is resorted by employers even for very integral tasks and services in the company. This remains to be the dominant mode of employment in the garment industry.

The workers may also leave the premises of the workplace during rest period, and such is counted as compensable working time (Section 4,b, Rule 1, Book 3) 10. This however is not implemented at work because of the strict surveillance of the entry and exit of employees from the work premises. There are guards stationed at the gates that monitor the movement of employees.