The increasing interdependence among nations ushers in a new era of worldwide economic relations. The world’s globalization thrust has given rise to more open economies and trade markets. The once mercantilist and isolated trade rivals have now become more interdependent, removing trade barriers between them and accelerating the process of their integration into one large and rapidly growing market.

Globalization has been touted to increase economic efficiency and competitiveness through increased dependency on market forces, reliance on comparative advantages, and heightened participation of the private sector in economic activities. Its specific manifestations include accelerated economic liberalization, reduced tariff barriers or quantitative restrictions, freer flow of capital and technology, and increased privatization.

Concomitant with the fast-paced globalization taking place is the emergence of an integrated labor market. Many countries with surplus income for investments, but without adequate manpower, find themselves scouting for nations with burgeoning labor force but which cannot be employed domestically. As a result, labor surplus economies end up selling their manpower resources to global capitalists.

Globalization breeds new forms and levels of economic activities and promotes important shifts in social relations and systems. If we are not careful, ongoing economic restructuring could lead to the adoption of economic models with basis for trade liberalization and market reforms, but which sadly neglects the social dimension.

For the Philippines, the phenomenon of globalization sets a challenging opportunity and environment for its recovering economy. In positioning itself to take the challenge, the country is relentlessly pursuing an export-oriented industrialization strategy to develop its competitiveness in the world market.

The strategy is being carried out through a package of industrial policies which include, among others, tariff reforms, trade liberalization, investment incentive reforms, market-determined exchange rate, financial liberalization, removal of export taxes, and restructuring the government corporate sector. 

While the strategy may propel the Philippine economy to move forward, the change, however, is attended by the emergence of non-traditional or atypical forms of employment arrangements which challenge conventional work settings and labor standard requirements. One such employment form is the labor-subcontracting method. This method involves linking segmented production process which have several production actors (normally household members) for its production base scattered in various parts of the country. This is one production arrangement where the use of child work is perceived to have taken root and proliferated.

According to the “Comprehensive Study on Child Labor in the Philippines” (ILS, 1994), the subcontracting method which has been found to exist in the garments and other export-oriented industries, brings work closer to communities and domiciles. With employment opportunities within their reach, children especially of economically-wanting families are encouraged to work. On the other hand, children’s work provides subcontractors a “competitive edge” in the global market, given their docility, manual dexterity, and lower cost.

Furthermore, as export-oriented industries expand due to globalization, they tend to absorbed more workers and reduce the available workforce for non export-oriented industries. This, in turn, exert pressure toward children being utilized as substitute labor for economic activities left behind by adult workers in non-export industries. This may be true for agricultural activities which are also less remunerative. With adult workers moving into factories, children are compelled to fill in the role of adults in farms.

Child labor in the Philippines refers to work among individuals less than 15 years of age, who labor for persons other than their parents or guardians, to the detriment of their normal development. It also encompasses work of minors between the ages of 15 to 17 years in hazardous ventures. Although this problem is basically rooted in the poverty issue, some studies (DOLE, 1993; IIR-UO 1998 Del Rosario, 1986, 1990) theorized that it could also be a by-product of globalization, the export-oriented strategy. In particular, which is a predisposing factor to subcontracting, and possibly the use of child workers as “adult labor substitutes.” 

While several studies have claimed to have established a link between the child labor issue and globalization, there is a dearth of empirical evidence to point out explicitly if such a linkage exists. Most of the studies rely on documented cases of child work in industries employing subcontracting merely to expose the incidence and the conditions under which the child workers are employed. Hardly were there efforts to concretely examine and evaluate the linkage between child work and the export-oriented strategy.

 This Monograph hopes to address this gap. It is envisioned to determine, through a specialized survey, some empirical evidences that link the export-oriented strategy to the incidence of child work in the country.

Specifically, it seeks to determine factors compelling export-oriented establishments to utilize child work and to examine the conditions of child workers in such establishments vis-à-vis those who work for the local market.