The Hidden Assembly Line

Conditions of Filipino women homeworkers under subcontracting are highlighted in a new book entitled The Hidden Assembly Line - Gender Dynamics of Subcontracted Work in a Global Economy and edited by Radhika Balakrishnan.

Published by Kumarian Press, the book contains articles by research teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, and the Philippines.

The Filipino research team composed of Rosalinda Pineda Ofreneo, Joseph Y. Lim and Lourdes Gula, who worked in partnership with PATAMABA, contributed a paper entitled "The View from Below: The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Subcontracted Workers in the Philippines." The paper looked at the macroeconomic changes brought about by a series of free trade agreements which has had serious consequences for the garment industry and the scope of subcontracting in that industry. Using the results of a survey, community profiles and focus group discussions completed in 1998, the paper also examined the program and policy implications, specifically on the organizing and advocacy strategies of PATAMABA.

Among the paper's recommendations are the strengthening of community-based organizing, shifting to alternative livelihood, addressing gender concerns, ensuring the rights of subcontracted workers, facilitating access to social security and protection, and linking the micro with the macro.

"The Hidden Assembly Line casts a bright searchlight on the global economy, illuminating the lives of millions of female workers struggling in low wage jobs in the developing world. Based on painstaking surveys undertaken by an international team of researchers, this novel and indispensable book ensures that the global subcontracting assembly line is hidden no more. It should be consulted by anyone concerned with the real life-blood of today's globalization." Gerald Epstein, Professor of Economics, Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI)

The Hidden Assembly Line demonstrates how changing production patterns, dictated by multinational corporation and IMF-influenced macroeconomic policies, form the social and economic reality of women workers. The contributors explore the unique and shared responses of national government and businesses, and present multiple perspectives on the emergence of women's subcontracted labor.

Presenting case studies from India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the contributors analyze household-level changes in women's financial security and work opportunities, provide examples of strategic responses from NGOs, unions and activists seeking to strengthen the bargaining positions of subcontracted workers, and the wide-ranging implications for women's empowerment and changing relations of production.

Orders may be placed with the Kumarian Press, 1294 Blue Hills Avenue, Bloomfield, Connecticut, 06002 USA, tel. 860.243-2098, fax 860.243-2867, www.kpbooks.com.