Many workers in local commercial printing companies are deep in debt. It could be loans or debts from stores but they are just living beyond what their salaries can afford. A local commercial printer, much like other local stores, pays their workers minimum wage plus benefits, like a 13th-month pay, which is given in December. Or they could give the 13th-month in two separate payments, one in June for the opening of classes and another one in December in time for Christmas. They also give free meals and transportation allowance to workers who work after office hours, on top of their overtime pay. But the workers still clamor for more because they are always in lack.
 
Let us take a look at some of the areas where they rack up debts and loans.
 
1. Food. A lot of workers in commercial printer do not bring food from home. Instead they have lunch at the eatery located near the office. They buy everything, from viand, to rice, then sometime soft drinks, and dessert. For some of them, they would even smoke after their meals. In the afternoon, a lot of them will take a break, go to the same eatery and buy coffee or soft drinks and then some snack items. Every day they do this. But they do not usually pay immediately but they have a credit line where their consumption is just added up.
 
2. Groceries and Medicines. Some commercial printing companies have a tie-up with a local grocery store and pharmacy so that their employees have a credit line there. They would just need to secure a purchase order from their office signed by the manager so that they can present it when getting some items on credit. Their credit purchases are then deducted from their salaries, depending on how many installments are allowed.
 
3. Cash Advances. The workers also get some cash advance from their employers when they are short of cash before payday. This will help them get through their everyday expenses like transportation till the next payday.
 
4. Loans. When they have major expenses, like school opening or home repairs, they resort to salary loans from social security and the home fund, as well as from their cooperatives. More of than not, their allowable amount for loans have already been maxed out.
 
This is the vicious cycle in the lives of most workers in a printing press. But despite their complaints of having very low wages, it is not their salaries that are giving them a problem but their lifestyles. All of them have mobile phones and when you check what they use it for, for a large part it is merely for sending forwarded text messages or having text pals. These are not really for emergencies and yet they spend money buying phones and their corresponding loads. They also drink too much soda and have vices. These are not needs but a large part of their income goes to their expenses. And they don’t know where to stop. They just keep wishing that somehow they will have bigger amount of money on hand so that they can use it to spend on more things.
 
That is the crazy lifestyle of a lot of workers in local commercial printing companies. Now, if you are a local commercial printer with such kinds of employees, what would you do?