Assessment of the law on night work prohibition on women as applied in the business process outsourcing industry

• Main Author: Latina, Grace Anne E.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Women—Employment—Law and legislation > Philippines; Night work—Law and legislation > Philippines; Contracting out > Philippines; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Law
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/7090
• Institution: De La Salle University

The Outsourcing Industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. It has provided numerous positive effects on the economy of the Philippines. However, it cannot be said that it is an all good situation. One of the issues concerning this industry is the Night Work Prohibition on Women in the Labor Code. An Outsourcing company has a 24 hours operational requirement because their clients are from different parts of the world; therefore they have to adjust to their time frame. According to the Department of labor and Employment, 70% of the employees of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies are women. This study seeks to determine the applicability of Night Work Prohibition on Women specifically Article 130-132 of the Labor Code to BPO companies and the women employees therein. The problem posed by this study is whether Article 130-132 of the Labor Code is still applicable to BPO companies, and if yes, how do we address the issue of women therein working during the night time. This study is qualitative in nature. It is geared towards gaining an insight on the situation of women employees in BPO companies. To be able to come up with a resolution on the matter, the researcher conducted interviews with women employees in BPO companies, human resource managers of BPO companies, labor lawyers, the legislative body of the government, specifically the Senators who proposed a bill in the Senate regarding the expansion of the exemption provided in Article 131 of the Labor Code, and the regulatory body of the government concerned with employment of ii women, specifically officers from the Department of Labor and Employment, Bureau on Women and Young Workers, and Bureau on Working Conditions. The results of this study provided that to better safeguard the welfare of women, it is not enough that there is a law restricting them from working during the night. In the advent of globalization, it is imminent that the Philippines need to adapt to the operational requirements of multinational companies. In the present time, restricting women from working whenever they choose might be seen as discrimination on their part. What women are asking nowadays is to be given equal opportunity in the workplace. The issue on their safety and welfare will follow. The study showed that there is no need to totally abolish the law, what is necessary is to expand the exemption on night work so as to allow women to work in include industries with less rigorous working conditions and to provide additional facilities or benefits for them.