A Case Study of Young Workers in the Furniture Industry of Cebu: A Country Report. 1999.
An ILO-IPEC Working Paper Series
Elizabeth M. Remedio
University of San Carlos, Cebu City
E-mail: eremedio@cnms.net

In 1992, about 259 Philippine companies engaged in the rattan furniture industry. Sixty percent (60%) of these companies operate in Cebu. The rattan furniture industry in Cebu started in the early 1900's as a homebased industry before it moved to the factories in the 1930's. It later on attained worldwide recognition because of its higher quality and craftsmanship than products made in other countries like Taiwan and Hongkong. The Cebu rattan furniture industry has become one of the leading competitors in the world market.

During the early years, seventy percent (70%) of Philippine furniture exports came from the rattan furniture industry in Cebu until its market reached the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and South America. The industry had its share of problems especially during the global recession but it somehow managed to stay afloat.

A brief profile of establishments (respondent establishments) in Cebu that engage in the industry would include an asset size of P 1.5M - P 5M and an average annual sales of P 67M (P 7.8M lowest and P 333M highest). Subcontracting firms, however, have an average asset size of P 158,000 and an average annual sales of P 3.3M. Most of these companies (firm-respondents) employ subcontract workers to meet production demands, lower labor costs and avoid labor disputes.

These establishments (firm-respondents) hire males, females and young workers who are below 18 years old. Subcontractors are responsible for the hiring process without the knowledge of the furniture firms. Majority of the workers work six days a week, eight hours a day on regular days and 11 hours of work a day on peak seasons. The firms, however, grant certain benefits to workers doing overtime work.

The young workers, including women, do the sanding and polishing jobs which comprise 23% of the total production workforce. The young workers interviewed belong to the 9-17 year-old age bracket, with 14 as the mean age. Majority of these children stay with their parents, one third of whom are also employed in the rattan and furniture industry. Only seven of the 40 respondents are in school while the rest (thirty three) have stopped due to lack of finances. The mean family size of respondents is five. The average age of children when they stopped schooling is 12. Many of them start working at the age of 13.

Most of them do piecework with a weekly earning of P 101 - P 300 (P 235.65 as average weekly income). Majority of the young workers do eight hours work in a day, while half of them do sanding work. The young workers' shared complaints are exposure to dust when sanding, physical stress and low pay. Four out of ten children who were injured or taken ill due to work-related accidents received medical assistance.

In spite of the P 4,413 a month average family income and P 2,388 monthly expenses, many of the parent-respondents still insist on sending their children to school in order to have a better job and future. More than half of them however, believe that the family's standards of living will decline if their children stopped working.