The Philippines: Life in the Sheltered Workshops
By Michelle Favis (mfwheels@yahoo.com)
Sheltered workshops are a common source of employment for people with disabilities in the Philippines, largely due to the obstacles to finding suitable jobs in the open market. The existence of sheltered workshops has stirred a great deal of controversy among disability advocates, who are concerned about the conditions that Filipinos with disabilities face.
In this article, five workers with disabilities share their perspectives on employment in sheltered workshops. Some names have been changed.
Pablo
"Kung walang tiyaga, walang nilaga." This statement, made by a wheelchair maker named Pablo, means: "If you aren't patient, you won't be able to eat." Pablo, who is thirty-one, married, and the father of a newborn baby, has worked as a wheelchair maker for seven years, trying his best to make sure that he has food to eat. He is a part of an assembly line crew of 32 men with disabilities at the Metalcraft Workshop, a sheltered workshop manufacturing wheelchairs for Filipinos with disabilities.
Pablo, who has had vocational training in electronics, once worked as a technician, but found it difficult to find employment outside of the organization that runs the Metalcraft Workshop. His current position provides him with job security. When asked how he feels about his work, he responds, "it is okay," explaining that it was through the workshop that he met his wife, who works in another department.
Pablo, a wheelchair user himself, says he enjoys the simplistic nature of his job. The pay may be low, but with proper budgeting Pablo and his family have managed to survive. In fact, Pablo believes that the limited salary has caused him to avoid drinking and other "vices".
Erlinda
Erlinda is not content with her job. She is a thirty-three year old married woman with a disability, and works in one of the air-conditioned packaging labs. "The work is okay," she says, but her main frustration is the pay. She makes about 200 pesos (US $4.00) per day, but only if supplies from the company arrive. She reports that when the supply does not arrive, as happens from time to time, she and the other thirty to forty workers in her lab receive nothing.
Erlinda, who dropped out of high school due to financial problems, is talkative and high-spirited during the interview. Her favorite topic is her husband Armando, who works in the packaging lab next to hers. She is proud that he is employed, and thankful that the supply at his lab never seems to stop coming in.
Juan
Compared to the packaging lab, the conditions at the Needlework Department are terrible. The humidity and heat, reaching upwards of 90 degrees, make it difficult to work comfortably. Despite this, Juan, the only disabled worker in the sewing workshop, does not complain. He states, "Even if it's hard, I can handle it." Like Erlinda, Juan did not finish high school because of money problems. "My dad was poor," he explains.
Juan is also not satisfied with his current salary. He wants a raise above the 80 - 120 pesos (US $1.60 - $2.40) a day that he currently receives. (The exact amount depends on the amount of work given to him.) Juan, whose wife is currently unemployed, once worked outside of the workshop for another company, which paid him more. Unfortunately, the company closed down. When asked about applying for work at other companies, he states, "I tried applying, but companies weren't receptive to taking disabled employees." A sheltered workshop seemed to be his only choice.
Rico
Twenty-six-year-old and newly employed, Rico also came be a sheltered workshop worker under special circumstances. Referred by a relative to the organization, Rico quit going to school after the fourth grade, and has lived at home ever since. Employment at the Fish Works Department manufacturing fishing lures was an opportunity to get out of the house and obtain some job training and experience. The department he works in is the only one where non-disabled individuals are also hired.
Only a few months into the job, Rico notes the challenges of his work. "It's hard because of the detail," he describes. He also gets tired at the end of the workday: his eyes hurt because of the intricacies entailed in making the lures. Unfortunately for Rico, no matter how many hours he works, he always gets paid the same amount - an average of 80 pesos (US $1.60) per day. Like all the other workers, Rico is paid by the volume of work given, not by the amount of time he works. He hopes that with time, he will become more efficient at his job because "it takes too long" to finish each package of lures. He also hopes to be transferred to a job in one of the packaging labs.
Ricardo
Ricardo, a woodcraftsman, has enough work experience to make him an expert artisan. He knows the ins and outs of his craft and of the sheltered workshop where he has worked for almost fifteen years. He claims that whatever money he receives now is charity - not compensation for employment. Previous work as a utility man in an office, and as a radio technician and mechanic enabled Ricardo to gain job experience outside of the sheltered workshop setting. Now that he is advancing in age, Ricardo decided to settle at the Woodcraft Department.
His main concern is his department's recent loss of contracts and requests to manufacture woodwork. Requests from schools, as well international groups like UNICEF, have not been coming in recent months. "As a matter of fact," he says, "we only have a four day work week because we have fewer projects." This forced leave situation has decreased the pay the workers get a week. Ricardo, who is a husband and a father, points out the harsh truth: "Families can't survive on these wages."
Some remarks
The low salaries and inconsistent workdays that characterize sheltered workshop jobs are just some of the problems that these workers encounter. Disability advocates, arguing that employment in sheltered workshops is unacceptable because of its low wages and segregated work setting, have started to raise the cry for improvements in these working conditions. One advocate, who is familiar with the conditions of the sheltered workshops, claims that the system can turn into one in which "People with disabilities are exploiting other people with disabilities." This comment refers to speculation that some disabled individuals managing the workshops are cashing in on the profits of supplying cheap labor - the workers with disabilities - to companies, and not paying the workers enough money to live comfortably or to improve their lives.
Even so, the sheltered workshop employees have continued to work. Ricardo states: "Tiyaga lang, kung hindi, wala kang pupuntahan," which translates as, "Make do with what you have, or else, you won't be getting anywhere." It seems that this is the mentality of many of Ricardo's coworkers. The workshops have provided the opportunity to work, and these disabled persons are taking it... and some are satisfied with it.
Escaping the outside world and leading a productive life are factors motivating Filipinos with disabilities to seek employment in sheltered workshops. No one disputes that confinement in the home, and discrimination by other employers has left many disabled people marginalized. Although some are content with working in sheltered workshops, it is not enough for many of them. More employment opportunities in the open market, vocational training programs, and justice to victims of job discrimination need to be arranged. Ensuring that these changes happen would be an excellent way to foster the integration of willing and capable people - like Pablo, Erlinda, Juan, Rico, and Ricardo - into mainstream society.
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