Dispatches

Newsbreak Special Issue

Newsbreak magazine’s special edition on decent work is now off the press.
Called “Toil and Trouble,” the collection of in-depth articles examines current trends and explores various issues on labor and employment.

Made all the more timely and relevant by the current financial crisis, the special issue looks into layoffs at export processing zones, the call center phenomenon, contractualization in the retail industry, safety at work, the fading appeal of workers’ unions, the killing of labor leaders, among other issues.

Copies are available at bookstores and at the Newsbreak office. Call 920-0997 for bulk orders.

CONTENTS

By the Numbers

Facts and figures on labor and employment

OVERVIEW

The Hidden Jobs Crisis

By Roel Landingin

The government is reporting just a small number of jobs lost as the economy slows down, but the impact on workers lives is devastating.

CONTRACTUAL LABOR

A Nation of Casuals

By Clarence Pascual

Non-standard work is on the rise among wage earners, diminishing the gains from the steady shift from self-employment to higher quality jobs.

OVERSEAS WORKERS

Uncertain Future

By Prime Sarmiento

Overseas work has become a riskier and less rewarding proposition, but most Filipinos still prefer it to domestic alternatives.

ECONOMIC ZONES

Enclaves of Sorrow

By Jesus Llanto

Factories in special economic zones allegedly ignore labor standards, but there are no of few alternatives for laid-off workers but to return to these employers.

CALL CENTERS

Hello and Goodbye

By Clarence Pascual

Call centers still offer high-paying jobs amid the global slowdown, but work-related stress and ill-health are rife among workers.

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY

From Shipyard to Graveyard

By Raymund Antonio

The growing number of fatalities at the Hanjin shipyard reveals problems both with investors and the government.

FARMING

Hard Labor

By Earl Parreno

Farming remains backbreaking work with few rewards.

DEEP-SEA FISHING

Nowhere to Fish

By Criselda Yabes

Dwindling tuna catches are turning deep-sea fishing from a decent livelihood into a game of chance for the proud fishermen of Kiamba in Southern Mindanao.

SOCIAL INSURANCE

Protection Racket

By Roel Landingin

Social security institutions have mixed feelings about expanding or introducing new benefits for troubled members.

LABOR UNIONS

Losing Ground

By Carmela Fonbuena

Labor unions fight an uphill battle to maintain relevance amid corporate controls and worker

apathy.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Collateral Victims

By Aries Rufo

Labor leaders and organizers are turning up dead or missing in the course of the government’s counterinsurgency drive.

THE WORKPLACE

Who Moved My Office?

By Jesse Edep

Technology and new business models radically transform the Philippine workplace.

FIRST PERSON

Nighttimer

Why a call center agent decided to keep his job.