International | The Philippines

Sharply rebuked by its critics as a poor employer and defender of labor rights, Wal-Mart's legacy continues particularly with supplier nations like the Philippines. Similar to their fellow workers in Central America, Bangladesh, and Mexico, the Filipino workers at companies in free trade zones have been underpaid, overworked, abused and exploited. Wal-Mart's response is that it is not responsible for the standards of its supplier factories but as the primary consumer of goods from these suppliers, it is responsible for setting the terms of a humane and economically viable work environment.

Protestors Abused at Chong Won Factory
		Click here to view a slide show of worker abuse on the picket line at the Chong Won garmet factory.

PUBLICATIONS
		WRC Assessment of Chong Won Fashion Worker Rights Consortium, February 21, 2007

• Minimum wage varies by region from $4 (P200) a day for agricultural workers to $7 (P350) a day for nonagricultural workers.

• Violation of minimum wage standards is common. Many firms hire employees for less than the minimum apprentice rates.

• The Chong Won factory, which was a supplier for Wal-Mart, was reported for minimum wage violations, forced overtime, violations of workers’ right to unionize and bargain collective, and violence against workers engaged in a legal and peaceful strike.

• By law, the standard legal workweek is 48 hours for most categories of industrial workers and 40 hours for government workers, with an eight-hour per day limit. The law mandates one day of rest each week.

• However, there is no legal limit on the number of overtime hours that an employer may require.

• The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15, except under the direct and sole responsibility of parents or guardians.

• A significant number of children are employed in the informal sector of the urban economy or as unpaid family workers in rural areas with some as bonded laborers.

• The law provides for the right of workers, including most public employees, with the exception of the military and the police, to form and join trade unions.

• The 1.6 million union members represent 4.4 percent of the total workforce of 35.9 million.

• The law provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively.

• Approximately 5 percent of the work force is organized and collective bargaining is practiced.

Source: U.S. Department of State, "Philippines: Country Report on Human Rights Practices," 6 March, 2007.

Visit our philippines blog, or browse the latest entries below

• The Behemoth Retailer That Could
  Wal-Mart is expanding international expansion.
• Wal-Mart’s 2008 Shareholder Resolutions: Human Rights Committee
  Resolution #7 on this year’s proxy proposes the establishment of a human rights committee at Wal-Mart. Below, the details of the proposition, why Wal-Mart’s shareholders would benefit and how the company has reacted to the proposal.
• The Wal-Mart Connection
  For years manufacturers have shifted jobs overseas, where labor is cheaper and safety regulations are lax.  The result is no secret: Wal-Mart’s cost pressure on manufacturers and the Chinese factories which supply them is manifesting itself in the form of both unsafe working conditions and unsafe products. 
• Chong Won Factory Workers Criticize Wal-Mart For Failing to Renew Order
  From the Financial Times: Workers in the Philippines who were sacked for going on strike have criticised Wal-Mart for its decision not to renew orders from their factory, in a case that is testing the retailer’s efforts to use its buying power to improve the ethical standards of its global supply chain.
• Global Labor Orgs Demand Justice for Chong Won Factory Workers
  Six months after receiving reports from the Philippine Workers’ Assistance Center (WAC) of violent attacks by Export Processing Zone police on striking workers, as well the unjust firings of two union leaders and 117 strikers, Wal-Mart has still not taken sufficient action to rectify the situation.