Blue Collar Workers

Labor is cheap. This is the dominant aspect of the blue collar workforce here in Manila, a factor that makes itself visible in other countries similar to the Philippines.

Numerous multinational companies have come to the Philippines to procure cheap labor and cut production costs. In turn, these firms churn out goods and services that return good profit from the market. What's ironic is that the laborers who made these expensive goods get only small and insignificant salaries. In most cases, these salaries are so meager that it can't even support a family and provide them with a decent and comfortable lifestyle. The result? Poverty.

The sad reality of the matter is that many workers, especially here in the Philippines and in similar countries, don't get enough or equal compensation for their time and sweat. In an effort to lower production costs and make a bigger profit, the salaries of some laborers are sometimes kept below the minimum wage.

Of course, the workers have the right to the proper compensation, but with the political situation in the country, corruption in management and government offices, prevents them from having a voice in the administration of their welfare. This is further aggrevated by the fact that most of them are already poor. They just keep to themselves and continue to suffer in silence while under the constant cloud of fear that they could lose their jobs at any time.

Some money hungry companies also tend to abuse their workers by withholding important benefits such as healthcare, housing, and insurance. Workers already abused inside inhuman sweatshops are only human. One time or another, they will collapse. Their muscles and lungs will fail. In the end, their ill health will cause of their resignation. They lose the backbone of their livelihood. They'll eventually lack the money to put food on the table and clothes on their backs.

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