Millions of parcels are packed and sorted every day inside massive sorting hubs before they reach their destination. Consumers expect their items to arrive in a snap. But this is not simply because of technology – but because of the women workers’ labor inside those massive warehouses.

By Kat Catalan and Joanna Robles

MARILAO, Bulacan – Online shopping has become part of Filipinos’ everyday lives, growing especially popular during the pandemic. With just one click, a product can arrive at your doorstep in a day or two.

Recent statistics confirm that consumers heavily rely on e-commerce platforms. According to Kepios’

Digital 2026 Philippines

report, 23.5 million Filipinos shopped online in 2025, with half purchasing from platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and Temu every week. The most popular products include electronics, food, and clothing.

Studies show that Filipinos trust online shopping platforms because of their affordability, assured product quality, ease of use, and fast delivery.

But what really happens behind the parcels we receive? Whose hands do they pass through?

Behind every parcel delivery is a woman sorter working under an informal contract, with no protections and, more often than not, no guarantee of receiving her pay by the end of her shift.

On the parcel trackers of online shopping apps, the movement of parcels from sellers’ warehouses to sorting centers can often be seen happening from midnight until the early hours of the morning.

Behind the ‘add to cart’

Joyce (not her real name) formerly worked as a backroom staff at a Shopee hub in Bulacan for six months.

She juggled caring for her six-year-old son while working night shifts inside a sorting center. Before each shift, she patiently waits for her agency to post her schedule on the group chat. Upon arrival at the hub, she lines up alongside workers from various agencies while waiting for the warehouse manager.

There is usually a set number of workers required each day. If she makes the cut, she gets to work and earns P525 for the day. If she does not, she goes home empty-handed, having also spent money on transportation.

Joyce was a worker at SPX Express, the logistics arm of Shopee which is considered the largest e-commerce platform in the Philippines and one of the major companies in Southeast Asia. Kat Catalan/Pinoy Weekly

“There really is no work that isn’t difficult. But inside, you really have to push yourself because someone monitors you with a megaphone. You are not allowed to rest,” Joyce shared with

Pinoy Weekly

. “In an hour, you have to sort 1,000 parcels.”

Work intensifies during sale seasons, when millions of parcels are sorted by around 200 workers in 12-hour shifts. Some workers are even pressured to work overtime with minimal incentives.

Joyce endured this system for months as a solo parent trying to provide for her son. She eventually stopped showing up for work after noticing unexplained deductions in her pay.

Her agency had been cutting from her wages for “benefits,” yet no contributions were being remitted to her SSS, PhilHealth, or Pag-IBIG accounts. Her frustration peaked when she went home empty-handed after a shift and was even fined for damaged and missing parcels.

She noted that while management maintains a database of every parcel scanned by each worker, penalties are being imposed arbitrarily.

“What would I even do with those parcels — you can’t take anything out. The guards are very strict. They check everything, even inside your bra and shorts,” Joyce exclaimed.

Being informal is normal

Alex and Amy (not their real names) are sisters from Camarines Sur. Frequent typhoons and storm surges in their home province pushed them to move to Manila to earn for the family they left behind. After working in various factories over the years, they became parcel sorters in 2025 at a J&T Express

hub, a delivery partner of Shopee and other e-commerce platforms.

With their years of experience, they have seen their share of workplace abuses, but the treatment inside the hub still shocked them. They have been shouted at and cursed at by supervisors for failing to sort all parcels within eight hours.

From the conveyor belt, sorters separate parcels by the city where they are to be delivered. Alex and Amy handle no fewer than 80,000 parcels in the warehouse each day. Screenshot from a contributed video

“They would shout: ‘The doors are open, you’re free to go. We don’t need you …