A study on the non-compliance of labor contractors to Philippine labor laws.

Abstract

Contractualization of labor, one of the categories of flexibilization of labor, was precipitated by the process of globalization. This predominant scheme in labor relations shows two incoherent sides. On one side, it is a mere management style developed to serve the needs of firms in adjusting to changes in the global market. On the other, it slowly troubles the lives of the same laborers giving life to firms. In contracting or subcontracting, three parties are involved: the principal, the employees, and the labor contractors. Under the Philippine Labor Code, the legitimate labor contractors are the employer of the workers. The relationship of these two is covered also by the labor code. In the thriving industry of subcontracting, the manifold rights of the workers are increasingly being violated. This study focuses on the conditions and perceptions of contracted-out workers under the contractualization scheme, non-compliance to the labor law from a few contractors’ perspective, and the role of the government in the rampant violation of the labor code in the age of neoliberalism.