The Up’s And Down’s of a Street Sweeper: The Lived

Experience of Street Sweeper

Research Proposal in

Practical Research 1 (Qualitative Research)

Presented to the Research Committee of

Sto. Tomas National High School

Senior High School Department

Researchers:

Ace Inguito
Maria Rosario Laquiores
Mariane Mae Miraflores
Jose Roberto Dayaganon
Nikko Cabigas
Roger Asesor
Rejie Mark Sapnio

March 2019
 Chapter I

Introduction

Street Sweepers are those who are engaged in cleaning the public places

especially in the area of urbanized cities. In our society, street sweeping is considered as

demeaning job as it involves the filth and waste usually the people produced. Often times,

the society neglects them as they are invisible as if their work is significant.

Street Sweeping play an important role in maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene

within the cities. This job exposes the street sweepers to a variety of risk factors such as

dust, toxins, and diesel exhaust pollution, which make them vulnerable to develop certain

occupational diseases. Therefore, it was thought necessary to study the morbidity profile

in this occupational group.

Background Of The Study

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper he should sweep streets as Michelangelo

painted, or Beethooven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep

streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lives a great

street sweeper who did his job well” (Garris, 2006, The words of Rev. Martin Luther King

Jr., Section,para. 1).

Street sweepers are really the important in the society. They’re the one who clean

up all the messes in the streets causes by the storm waters, people’s garbage and also

a car vehicle’s accidents mess on the roads/streets. Since sanitation and waste removal
became a priority in some country. Globally some street sweepers are now mechanical

street sweepers wherein people won’t spend a lot of effort to do their jobs. Street

sweepers spend a lot of effort, sweat, energy and time on their work. Though it is their

jobs and they should be doing their jobs, street sweepers however have a case of

problems. Street sweeper’s health are mostly at risk to many illnesses that they may

caught from sweeping on the streets. Also it is so wondering if the salary of those street

sweepers are enough for their family, do they didn’t have any job to fit in or why street

sweeping is their job. Usually street sweepers are at the age of 28 and above. Most of

them didn’t finish their studies that is why they end up to being a street sweeper.

Research Questions

1. What are the experiences of street sweepers?

2. What are the coping mechanism of street sweepers?

3. What insights can they have in the society in general?

Significance of the study

Street sweeper’s major significance is maintaining and clearing the streets especially in

urban area. Street sweepers play an important role for keeping the cities clean. Primarily,

to the working street sweepers most specifically in the Sto. Tomas, this undertaking will

serve as their voice and an avenue for them to air out their sentiments and to share to

the world how they live their lives and how it is to become like them. Secondly, to the

Mayor of concerned Local Government Units (LGUs), the information which will be

revealed in this study give insights to the local chief executives of each city as to

necessary actions that should be considered in uplifting the quality of life of these
vulnerable group of workers. Third, the result of the study may become beneficial and

applicable to the regional office of Department of Labor and Employment since this would

positively turn-out to be an aid for the concerned office to resolve the possibility of lapses

and provision of necessary attention to prompt more sensitive actions, programs and/or

services towards the needs of the workers and hereby facilitate effective employment

mechanism not just limiting to Sto. Tomas but also in all other regions wherein street

workers are present in order to give the dignity of life that they deserve. Lastly, is to

encourage more academic deliberation relevant to the issue and/or concerned subject

aside from providing insights to the people to be a compassionate and considerate

individual towards the life and work of these workers as part of their social responsibility.

Theoretical Lens

This study is anchored on Paradox of Well-being by Herschbach (2002)[33] - an

empirical phenomenon which has been called paradoxical in the field of social science.

The paradox objectively meant that negative factors in one’s life have relatively little effect

on subjective quality of life despite the disadvantaged income and mistreatment

experienced as workers wherein efforts are tend to be underestimated. Relatively, this is

interrelated to the stand point of Poggi (2010) who speak about the two main processes

that form worker’s aspirations and create the relativity in people’s evaluation - social

comparisons and environmental adaptation. Referring to social comparisons, the author

relates that people are able to construct aspirations about working conditions by adjusting

their perceptions, making comparison from their past experiences, reference groups,

living and social environment or personal future expectations. However, when individual
is experiencing bad working condition he or she may get used to such contexts and

therefore could adjust perceptions about the lived reality; this is what the author meant

about environmental adaptation. Moreover, to further enrich and extend the theoretical

frame of this study, this study was guided also on a phenomenon called “Satisfaction

Paradox” also known as the Zapf Theory by German Sociologist Wolfgang Zapf which

explains that in reality there are workers who are living in objectively deprived conditions

yet often claimed to be satisfied with their quality of life; the latter author calls such people

“adapted” (Zapf, 1984)[89].

Human capital theory. Human capital theory argues that workers with higher skill levels

receive higher compensation because they are more productive. Employee involvement

may require workers with more general skills to perform more complex tasks, which might

result in more rigorous selection and hiring criteria and increase the demand for and

wages of more educated workers. New practices may also require more firm-specific

skills, which would increase employer-provided training and wages as well.

Compensating differences theory. This theory argues that workers who face

particularly desirable (undesirable) working conditions will receive lower (higher) wages

(Williamson 1985, pp. 268 ff.).

If employees regard employee involvement as a benefit because problem-solving tasks

and job redesign relieve the tedium of traditionally-organized work (Hackman and Oldham

1980), then firms that have it could offer lower wages and workers would not be worse

off. Conversely, if employee involvement requires extra effort and tighter work demands,

then plants with employee involvement might offer better compensation.

Scope and De limitation

Our study focuses on how the street sweepers lived their lives afterall their hard

works yet their salaries are not enough to support their families. How they come up to

that job and how they face their struggles in their lives. This study will be conducted at

Brgy. Tibal-og, Sto. Tomas Davao del Norte on February 7, 2019. The researcher select

this topic to give importance to street sweeper and raise awareness about their status

and their condition about their salaries. We are concern about their salaries and how they

deal with their work and some of their experience and insights as a street sweeper.

Definition of Terms

Street Sweepers/Sanitary Aid– street sweepers are basically the one who clean the

streets, they are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the cleanliness of the

environment.

RELATED REVIEW OF LITERATURE

EFFECTIVENESS OF STREET SWEEPING FOR

STORMWATER POLLUTION CONTROL

TECHNICAL REPORT
Report 99/8

December 1999

T.A. Walker and T.H.F. Wong

Street cleansing is a common (and expensive) practice undertaken by most urban

municipalities with annual expenditure by a municipality often exceeding one million

dollars. Street sweeping, essentially the operation of large trucks for cleaning street

surfaces, is primarily performed for aesthetic purposes. It is, often perceived to lead to

improvements in the environmental conditions of urban waterways by preventing

pollutants deposited on street surfaces from reaching the stormwater system. There is,

however, little available evidence to quantify the extent to which street sweeping can

improve stormwater quality. This report investigates the effectiveness of street sweeping

for stormwater quality improvement. The effectiveness of street sweeping for stormwater

pollution control is examined for two types of pollutants, gross pollutants (> 5 mm) and

sediment (including associated pollutants). The research literature on street cleaning

indicates a general dearth of studies that address the issues of gross pollutant

management. Most studies predominantly examine the effectiveness of street sweeping

for sediment and associated contaminant removal. This study looks at the effectiveness

of street sweeping for gross pollutants using the results of Australian field studies, while

sediment and other suspended solid removal is investigated with interpretation of results

from overseas studies. Experimental studies overseas found street sweeping to be highly

effective in the removal of large solids

greater than 2 millimetres under test conditions. However, field conditions are expected

to significantly reduce the efficiency of solid removal because of limitations with sweeper
access to source areas (mainly due to street design and car parking), sweeping

mechanisms used and operator skills. Field studies undertaken by the Cooperative

Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH) in Australia found significant

stormwater gross pollutant loads generated from source areas in spite of a daily street

sweeping regime. An earlier CRCCH study, involving analysis of gross pollutant loads

from a 50 hectare urban catchment of mixed residential, commercial and industrial land-

use, found a clear relationship between the gross pollutant load in the stormwater system

and the magnitude of the storm event. The shapes of the curves relating gross pollutant

load to event rainfall and runoff were found to be monotonically increasing and

representable by a logarithmic function. The shape of these curves suggests that the

limiting mechanism affecting the amount of gross pollutants entering the stormwater

system is rainfall dependent (ie. the available energy to re-mobilise and transport

deposited gross pollutants on street surfaces) rather than being source limiting (ie. the

amount of available gross pollutants deposited on street surfaces). Overseas studies

indicate that street sweeping is relatively ineffective at reducing the street surface load of

fine particles (below 125 µm). The particle size distribution of suspended solids conveyed

in stormwater in Australian conditions typically range

from 1 µm to 400 µm with approximately 70% of the particles smaller than 125 µm.

Therefore, street

sweeping as it is currently practiced cannot be expected to be effective in the reduction

of suspended

solids and associated trace metals and nutrient concentrations in stormwater. The study

concludes that the performance of street sweeping for stormwater pollutant control is
limited and must be accompanied by structural pollutant treatment measures to effectively

reduce the discharge of gross and sediment associated pollutants in stormwater. The

incremental benefits in increasing

the frequency of street sweeping beyond what is required to meet street aesthetic criterion

is expected to be small in relation to water quality improvements. As a result, there seems

little benefit in conducting an in-depth field-based study into the effectiveness of street

sweeping for stormwater pollution control.

Scott Brown, NTCD,

775-901-0775, sbrown@ntcd.org

Rick Susfalk, DRI

Domi Fellers, NTCD

Brian Fitzgerald, DRI

Funders:

USDA Forest Service, Erosion Control Grant

NDSL, Lake Tahoe License Plate Grant

Washoe County, in-kind labor and equipmentA 752 m length of Village Blvd. in Incline

Village, NV was divided into two “study areas” and monitored for two years to characterize

the benefit of frequent street sweeping using a high efficiency dustless, waterless street

sweeper. Although many studies of street sweepers have been generated, this study is

different because it specifically investigated the

effectiveness of a dustless sweeper to remove sub-16 micro-meter (µm) sediment during

winter conditions on an active road where traction control material was frequently applied.

To understand the mass balance of sediment in the study areas, samples were collected

from the road using a vacuum cleaner, from the material collected by the street sweeper,

from material accumulated in drop inlets, and from stormwater discharging from the study

areas. This report contributes to understanding the characteristics of sediment on Village

Blvd. in Incline Village, NV and the capabilities and limitations of street sweeping. This

report also has implications for the rest of the Tahoe Basin because the basic behavior

of road sediment and street sweepers are believed to be similar. However, results could

vary because the use of different traction control material, different technology street

sweepers, and different operational procedures may not produce the same results. The

operational profile guiding

this study was to have the road maintenance crew of Washoe County follow existing

operational procedures as much as possible which conveniently coincided with the study

objective to sweep as frequently as possible. The Washoe County street sweeper

collected an average of 123 g/m2 where as the vacuum indicated the sweeper had

collected 61 g/m2 of total sediment each time the street was

swept, 5.1% of which was fine sediment (less than 16 µm). The street sweeper removed

an

average of 74% of total sediment and 43% of fine sediment (i.e., less than 16 µm) on

Village Blvd. By conducting two controlled “washoff” experiments, street sweeping was

shown to reduce fine sediment in stormwater by 50%.The minimum practical fine

sediment mass per unit area that the street sweeper could achieve was 3.3 g/m2.

Equating 3.3 g/m2 with road condition may help maintenance crews
decide when sweeping a street may be impractical. Drop inlets that drain the study areas

collected a significant mass of sediment, perhaps as much sediment as found in

stormwater. However, only 7.4% of the sediment mass in the drop inlets was fines,

whereas fine sediment was 62% of stormwater sediment mass. As a minimum, the drop

inlets appear to play a significant role in decreasing maintenance

requirements for downstream assets, and the drop inlets may have a role in decreasing

fine

sediment mass discharged from paved roads. One mystery this study was unable to

answer involved the mass balance of road sediment. The mass of traction control

abrasives applied to the road represented only 4.6% of the sediment collected by the

sweeper. The remaining 95.4% of material collected by the

sweeper had a different source. Several possible sources are suggested, but road wear

is the most likely candidate.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STREET SWEEPERS IN REMOVING POLLUTANTS

FROM ROAD SURFACES IN FLORIDA

Graham A. Tobin & Robert Brinkmann

Pages 1687-1700 | Received 11 Mar 2002, Published online: 18 Aug 2006

To test the effectiveness of street sweepers in the sandy-surfaced, subtropical Florida

Peninsula, a controlled experiment was set up to compare the effectiveness of two

different sweeper types in removing sediments, heavy metals, and organic constituents

from a paved surface. Both a rotary brush and a regenerative air sweeper were tested on

an asphalt roadway. The results indicate that rotary brush sweepers are more effective in

removing total sediment loads from roads in this type of environment. However, the

chemical analyses proved somewhat inconclusive. Each sweeper was effective in

removing particular chemicals off streets, but neither sweeper proved better in all

categories. Nevertheless, the rotary brush sweeper was most effective in removing the

total sediment load off streets and is therefore recommended for use in areas covered

with coarse sediments in the local drainage basin.

Keywords: Street sweeping, Urban sediment pollution, Storm water

STREET SWEEPING FOR POLLUTANT REMOVAL

Prepared by:

Meosotis C. Curtis

Watershed Management Division

February, 2002

There are two parts to the County's overall street sweeping program: the Department of

Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) program that covers residential roads, arterial

roads, and the Piney Branch Central Business District (CBD) and the CBD Program that

covers the Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Wheaton CBDs. During the year 2000, these two
programs prevented about 2,500 tons of solids from washing into the County's storm

drains, stormwater management facilities, and local waterways. An estimated 348 pounds

of copper, 468 pounds of lead, and 2,371 pounds of zinc was removed in this solid

material and prevented from polluting our waterways. Even though the primary purpose

of the street sweeping program has been to maintain neat roadways, it needs to be

routinely continued as a best management practice to reduce pollutants.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) initiated the current report after

learning that funding for the DPWT street sweeping program had been eliminated from

the FY’02 budget. At that time, the County reported annually to Maryland Department of

the Environment (MDE) on the status of its street sweeping program as a Federal Clean

Water Act permit requirement. The County is one of 10 Maryland jurisdictions that must

comply with the requirements for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

(NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit to control pollutants

discharged through its storm drain system.

Elimination of the DPWT street sweeping program was technically a violation of the

County’s permit. In July 2001, the MDE re-issued the County's permit without the explicit

requirement for reporting on street sweeping activities. Instead, the County is now being

required to identify potential sources of pollutants from road and roadside

maintenance activities, to develop a plan for reducing pollutants from these activities, and

to annually report on implementation status of the pollution reduction plan. This plan

should include countywide street sweeping. To maximize pollutant material at the lowest

possible cost, the DPWT should evaluate its existing schedule for street sweeping and

amount of materials removed by the greatest detailed data available (by district, by road,
by season). This information should then be used to develop

a written plan, schedule, and periodic re-evalution for street sweeping that would target:

! those roadways with contributing land uses (high level of impervious, high level of

industrial activity) that would be expected to show high pollutant concentrations and

! those roadways that have consistently accumulated proportionately greater amounts of

materials (pounds per mile swept) between currently scheduled sweeps.

Street Sweeping as a Method of Source Control for Urban Stormwater Pollution

Water Quality Research Journal of Canada 44(1):48-58 · February 2009

The effectiveness of street sweeping as a source control measure for stormwater pollution

was tested at a site in Toronto, using three types of sweepers employed by the City. A

paired-plot experimental design was employed along an arterial road with a traffic volume

of 26,000 vehicles/day. Typically, after several days of dry weather, one roadway plot was

swept by the available sweeper (treated) and the following plot was left unswept (control).

After sweeping, sediment on the roadway was sampled on both plots; wet samples were

collected by washing off one half of each plot, and dry samples were collected by vacuum

cleaning the remaining halves of both plots. Differences between swept and unswept

plots were assessed by comparing: (a) conventional sediment quality parameters, total

residue mass, and particle sizes for dry sediment samples, and (b) toxicity, conventional

water quality parameters, and particle sizes in wet samples. Results were highly variable

and contained large uncertainties. The greatest environmental benefits of sweeping were
the reduction of the total mass of sediment on road surfaces and a reduction in some

dissolved metals in the runoff (e.g., Cr and Zn).

Sweeping practices, perceptions and knowledge about occupational safety and

health hazards of street sweepers in Dhaka city, Bangladesh: a qualitative inquiry

By: Research Gate August 2015

Street sweepers play important roles for keeping the cities clean. Their works

entail removing of debris from streets, collecting solid waste, disposing and recycling

waste material. Consequently, they have higher chances to be exposed to numerous risk

factors; therefore, their occupational safety and health hazard became crucial. There is

little evidence about the sweeping practices, perceptions and knowledge on their

occupational safety and health hazards. The objective of the study is to explore current

sweeping practices, perceived risk and the level of knowledge of a group of street

sweepers of Dhaka city. Methods: An explorative qualitative research design was used.

We conducted 15 IDIs, 8 KIIs and 5 FGDs with Telegu street sweepers, community and

religious leaders and NGO workers in two different sweeper colonies in Dhaka City.

Results: Due to the manual handling process, the street sweepers are often exposed to

a variety of risks factors – exhaust fumes, extreme noise, toxic substances and dust

particles. Frequent infections and injuries were reported commonly as they lack basic
safety equipment’s during works. Low perceived health hazards were prevalent. Strong

faith-based explanations were found to rationalize possible health hazards. Conclusions:

A number of socio-economic factors influence the level of knowledge and risk perception.

Interventions on awareness building program coupled with behaviour change counselling

(BCC) activities would be appropriate to address the lack of knowledge on health hazards

and low risks perception.

 Chapter II

Methodology

This chapter contains the methods and procedure used in gathering information about

the work and life of a street sweeper.

Research Design

As for Creswell (1994) qualitative research is a holistic approach that involves

discovery. Qualitative research is also described as an unfolding model that occurs in

natural setting that enables the researcher to develop a level of detail from high

involvement in actual experiences.

This undertaking employed a qualitative research method using a phenomenological

inquiry. Creswell (1998)[19] explained that when you want to describe the meaning of the

lived experiences for several individuals about a concept or the phenomenon, a

phenomenological inquiry is best suited since it will help you emphasize the meaning of

such experience from a number of individuals. Moreover, Wertz (2005) [86] described

phenomenology as a low hovering, in dwelling, meditative philosophy that glories in the

concreteness of person world relationship and accord lived experiences. Yuksel and

Yildirim (2015) [88] opined that if you want to seek reality of individuals on their lived

experiences, the process of phenomenology as a methodological framework is the ideal

one to employ; the authors specifically referred it as existential philosophy,a

phenomenological philosophy which reflects a need to focus on lived experience.

Phenomenology is a qualitative research method that is used to describe how

human beings experience a certain phenomenon. A phenomenological study attempts to

set aside biases and preconceived assumptions about human experiences, feelings, and

responses to a particular situation. It focuses in the commonality of a lived experience

within a particular group. Through this process the researcher may construct the universal

meaning of the event, situation or experience and arrive at a more profound

understanding of the phenomenon.

Research Locale

The study will be conducted within the province of Davao del Norte, specifically at

the Municipality of Sto. Tomas, brgy. Tibal-og.

Research Participants

Creswell (1998) [19] recommended that for a phenomenological study, the process

of collecting information must involve primarily an in-depth interview

(IDI) from three to 25 subjects since the important point is to describe the meaning of a

small number of individuals who have experienced the phenomenon.

These recommendations will help the researcher estimate how many participants will be

part of their research studies. The conduct of another interview for clarification and

verification in a phenomenological undertaking is essential to supply substantial additional

needed data (Creswell, 2007)[20].

All participants of the study came from different Purok of Sto. Tomas Davao del

Norte. Specifically in Brgy. Tibal-og age range from thirty (30) to forty (45).

Research Instrument

The qualitative approach described as an in depth perceptions and thoughts

express by the street sweepers concerning about their work and life. The researcher

gathered primary data sources from interviews and open ended questions.

The researchers will make a draft of guide questions. The researchers have three

(3) grand tour questions. Each grand tour questions consist three (3) sub-questions.

Data Gathering Procedures

 The researchers will give a consent to the participants from the school Principal

which allows the researcher to ask significant questions which is concerning about their

jobs and their life. The researchers gave the participants the opportunity to view the basic

interview schedule session in order for them to have time to consider their responses. It

encourage them to give significant replies, wherein it provides richer data. Giving

feedbacks are excluded except for a clarification feedback.

To record the interview, researcher will asks permission to use recording devices.

Most of the interviews took place at respective place of the participants during their most

favorable time. The interview will be conducted in a more conversational manner.

Data Analysis

The researcher will analyze the statement and responses of the participants which

are the street sweepers. The researchers will use thematic analysis to analyze and

understand the responses of the participants more. Thematic analysis is one of the most

common forms of analysis in qualitative research. It emphasize pinpointing, examining,

and recording patterns within data. Themes are patterns across data sets that are

important to the description of a phenomenon and are associated to a specific research

question.

Thematic analysis is defined as, “A method for identifying, analyzing and reporting

patterns within data.” (Braun and Clarked, 2006 p. 79)

APPENDICES
RESULTS

The goal of this is to discover the statement or response to the street sweeper.

This study also seeks to find the coping strategy used by the street sweepers who has

low income and how do they handle their situation. The participants of this study are

citizens of the Sto.Tomas Davao Del Norte.

The researcher arrived in this data by getting the information from the participants

through one-on-one interview. This research is intended to help the street sweepers to

have a regular work and an income that could support the obligation of their family.

Participants thought and opinion are based on their personal experiences and researcher

did not change it. It’s their own opinions and thoughts of the respondents.

Specifically, the study sought answer to the following questions:

1. What are the experiences of a street sweeper?

2. What are the coping mechanism of street sweepers?

3. What are the insights of a street sweepers?

Q1. What are the experiences of a street sweepers?

Experiences

A. Positive Experience

Statement Code/keyword Theme

Participant 1:

“It’s nice sometimes, because “Meeting new people who

I meet new people who are are concern in the

also concern to environment.” environment” Environmentalism

“Nindot siya panagsa kay naa

pud koy makaila nga malooy

pud sa palibot, kanang

concern pud ba sa kalikasan”.

Participant 2: “Interested in cleaning the

“There are children that are environment”

interested in cleaning the

environment.”

“Kanang nay poy mga bata

nga interesado sa paghinlo sa

palibot… sa atong

kinaiyahan”
Participant 3:

“Sometimes, there are people

offering something to drink “Offering helps and drinks” Helpful citizens

and offering some help if they

saw that I have difficulties in

pulling my cart.”

“Usahay nay mga tawo nga

gahatag ug mainom ana,

unya naa puy usahay nga

gatabang pag makakita nga

naglisud ko sa pagbira sa

akong kariton.”

B. Challenges

Statement Code/ Keyword Theme

Participant 1:

“My salary is not big enough

to sustain the need of my

family.” Low income

“Ang akong sweldo kay dili “Salary is not enough to

kayo dako para sustain the need of my

masustentuhan ang family”

panginahanglan sa akong

pamilya.”

Participant 2:

“I can’t support my family for “My salary is not enough”

all that they need because

my salary is not enough.”

“Dili nako masoportahan ang

tanan panginahanglan sa

akong pamilya kay akong

sweldo ky dili pud jud sapat.”

Participant 3:

“Sometimes it is tiring and

difficult. It is so hot under the “Tiring and difficult” Difficult job

heat of the sun while thinking

that my salary is just P340

0nly.”
“Usahay kay kapoy ug lisod

nga unsa ba. Unya init pa jud

kayo sa ilalom sa adlaw

unya mag huna-huna pa ko

nga akong sweldo kay three

hundred fourty (P340) ra

tawun.”

Q2: What are the coping mechanism of street sweepers?

Coping Mechanism

Statement Code/Keyword Theme

Participant 1: “I have another job, a

“My salary is not enough sideline” Sideline jobs

that’s why I have another

work/job. A side line.”

“Kay dili man maigo ayy

ma sakto ang akong

sweldo mao nang naa kuy

laing trabaho, kanang side

line ba.”

Participant 2:

“I budget my salary so that Budgeting

it would last until I get my

next salary.”

“Akoa nalang gina-budget

akong sweldo kay arun “I budget my salary”

maasigo pa siya hangtud

makuha napud nako akung

sunod nga sweldo.”

Participant 3:

“I rest for a few minutes

and continue cleaning and “Rest for a few minutes” Rest/Relaxing

as days goes by I am used

to do my job.”

“Mag pahulay ko ug mga

pila ka minuto ug mag

 sugod nasad sa pang-hinlo

ug naanad na man sa

akoang trabaho

kadugayan.”

Q3: What are the insights of a street sweepers?

Insights

Statement Code/Keyword Theme

Participant 1: “follow and maintain the

“I hope that citizens in our implementations regarding

community would follow waste disposal” Proper waste disposal

and maintain the

implementations regarding

to waste disposal.”

“Unta ang mga katawhan sa

atung komonidad ky mo
tuman jud sa mga

implimentasyon

mahitungod sa mga basura

ana lang.”

Participant 2:

“Being a street sweeper is “Honor to serve our

difficult and tiring but it is community and the

also my honor to serve our environment”

community and the

environment.” Community service

“Kanang ang akung

pagkamang lilimpyo o

pagka-sanitary aid(street

sweeper) kay kapoy, pero

lami gihapon sya sa

paminaw kay naka serbisyo

man pud kug apil sa atung

komunidad labaw na sa

atung kinaiyahan.”
Participant 3:

“I want to say to my co- “

workers that keep doing

great in serving the

community and the nature

because every hard work, Keep doing great in serving

there’s a gift in exchange.” the community and the

“Ang akong maingon sa nature”

akong mga katrabaho nga

padayun lang sa

pagserbisyo sa atung

komunidad ug sa atung

kinaiyahan, kay ang kahago

naay kambiyo nga

maayuhon.”
 CHAPTER III

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

EXPERIENCE

A. Positive experiences

Environmentalism. Our planet, Earth, is just as much our home, but we don’t look after

it anything like as well. We use its resources, we pollute it with trash, we plunder with our

neighbors (other animals and plants) without care, and we give little or no thought to what

things will be in the future, never mind what shapes will be in for our children. So let’s

start caring to our nature before it’s too late.

These are some of the statements of the participants:

“Nindot siya panagsa kay naa pud koy makaila nga malooy pud sa palibot,

kanang concern pud ba sa kalikasan.”

“It’s nice sometimes, because I meet new people who are also concern to

the environment.”

(IDI)_SSN01
 “Kanang nay poy mga bata nga interesado sa paghinlo sa palibot… sa

atong kinaiyahan”

“There are children that are interested in cleaning the environment.”

(IDI)_SSN02

According to Chris Wood (2018), environmentalism is a different way of thinking in

which people try to take care more about the planet and long-termed survival of life in

earth. It means recognizing the planet’s environmental problems and coming up with

solutions (individually and collectively) that try to put them right.

Helpful Citizens. In our society nowadays, it is hard to find someone that is helpful in

some ways that would not think of what will be your payback for them. That’s why some

people are lucky because of those helpful citizens out there. There help maybe big or not

still they’re helpful in their own ways.

This is a statement from a participant:

“Usahay nay mga tawo nga gahatag ug mainom ana, unya naa puy usahay

nga gatabang pag makakita nga naglisud ko sa pagbira sa akong kariton.”

“Sometimes, there are people offering something to drink and offering some

help if they saw that I have difficulties in pulling my cart.”

(IDI)_SSN03

Baruch Scholars (2010) states that, ”Helping others takes the selfishness in our

lives and replaces it with selflessness. It gives us a sense of self-worth and make us feel
good about ourselves helping others is beneficial not only to you but to the people you

help. One act of kindness turns into countless acts of kindness.

B. Challenges

Low income. Millions of Filipinos remained poor not because they are jobless, but

because they have low incomes, according to the World Bank. Filipinos nowadays are

getting low income despite of what their jobs are. It might be hard or easy yet some of

them are suffering to low income jobs.

These are some of the participant’s statements:

“Ang akong sweldo kay dili kayo dako para masustentuhan ang

panginahanglan sa akong pamilya.”

“My salary is not big enough to sustain the need of my family.”

(IDI)_SSN01

“Dili nako masoportahan ang tanan panginahanglan sa akong pamilya kay

akong sweldo ky dili pud jud sapat.”

“I can’t support my family for all that they need because my salary is not

enough.”

(IDI)_SSN02
 “The Philippines needs not necessarily more jobs, but better jobs. And one striking

fact is that since 2000, real wages, meaning the wages adjusted for the increase in the

cost of living, have remained flat. They have not increased and this is a very strong

contrast to wage increases in other Asean countries, which saw a very strong wage

growth.” Said by Jan Rutkowski, the World Bank lead economist. He also added that

another cause of low incomes is underemployment. Underemployed Filipinos consist of

those in the informal sector, those who have no contracts or those looking for additional

sources of income.

Difficult Job. Having a hard job is very common in working areas and women, perhaps all of us

might say that our jobs or all the jobs that exist in this world are difficult. But you need to wake up

into the reality that there are jobs that is really difficult to deal with.

These are some of the participant’s statements:

“Sometimes it is tiring and difficult. It is so hot under the heat of the sun

while thinking that my salary is just P340 0nly.”

“Usahay kay kapoy ug lisod nga unsa ba. Unya init pa jud kayo sa ilalom sa

adlaw unya mag huna-huna pa ko nga akong sweldo kay three hundred fourty (P340) ra

tawun.”

(IDI)_SSN03

Some jobs involve a particularly high degree of stress. One theory, known as

the job demand-control (JDC) model, posits that high degrees of work stress are

prevalent in jobs with many demands and little control over working conditions. Some

jobs that are known to be particularly stressful include firefighter, airline pilot, enlisted

military personnel, police officer, and event coordinator. Additionally, some jobs such
as healthcare worker, teacher, social worker, and administrative support worker have

been associated with increased levels of depression. Elevated rates of substance

abuse are prevalent among employees who work in mining, construction, and the

food service industry.

Work-related stress is a significant problem, with an estimated 40% of workers

describing their job as very or extremely stressful. In addition to mental health

symptoms, work-related stress can cause physical health problems such as heart

attacks, hypertension, pain, and insomnia (Good Therapy).

Coping Mechanism

Sideline Jobs. The benefits of having side lines are apparently you can make more

money than you usually would, it simply improves your cash flow. This is what other

workers do if their income to their jobs are not enough to support the needs of their family.

And it increases the tiredness of every worker.

These are some of the participant’s statement:

“Kay dili man maigo ayy ma sakto ang akong sweldo mao nang naa kuy

laing trabaho, kanang side line ba.”

“My salary is not enough that’s why I have another work/job. A side line.”

(IDI)_SSN01

“Side hustle” or “sideline” in some case, is increasingly becoming a common term among

young Filipinos. To put it simple, a side hustle is a source of income that isn’t someone’s
primary occupation or employment. For example, you could be working at an office as an

accountant during the day and by night, a freelance graphic designer during your spare

time so as to bring in extra money. (DELA CRUZ, 2028)

Budgeting. Many people think of budgeting as something to do when they’re short on

cash. College students might budget to figure out how to make do with their high

expenses and limited incomes and minimize how much they need to borrow. Young

adults who are supporting themselves for the first time create budgets to make sure

they’re properly allocating their paychecks among emergency savings, retirement

savings, student loan repayments, rent and utilities, and rewards for their hard work like

new gadgets and concerts. So, budgeting is important.

Here’s a statement from a participant:

“Akoa nalang gina-budget akong sweldo kay arun maasigo pa siya hangtud

makuha napud nako akung sunod nga sweldo.”

“I budget my salary so that it would last until I get my next salary.”

(IDI)_SSN02

A budget will help you plan for short-term expenses such as your monthly bills;

mid-term expenses such as vacations; and long-term expenses such as buying a house,

paying for a child’s college education or putting away money for retirement. When you

have an app, spreadsheet or notebook in front of you showing how much money you

expect to make over the one month, six months, one year or five years — and how much

of that money will be flowing out and how much you will have left to save each month —
you’ll always know when you need to cut back on spending, when you can afford to loosen

the reins and how long it will take to save for major goals or pay off debts (Amy Fontinelle).

Rest/Relaxing. Rest is defined as an instance of resting, where work or movement is

ceased in order to sleep, or recover strength. Resting is part of everyone’s daily routine

in work. It may be done while lunch break or other breaks.

This are some statements of the participants

“Mag pahulay ko ug mga pila ka minuto ug mag sugod nasad sa pang-hinlo

ug naanad na man sa akoang trabaho kadugayan

“I rest for a few minutes and continue cleaning and as days goes by I am

used to do my job.”

(IDI)_SSN03

You always want to allow enough time to recover fully but not so much time that

you lose the gains you’ve made. Resting is just as important as working out because it’s

an equal part of the total process required to build strength, endurance, muscle. (Katie

Rosenbrock)

Insights

Proper Waste Disposal. Whether you are simply cleaning out your home or

investing in a major renovation project, proper waste disposal is important for both the

environmental and public health. Many of the Filipinos are taking for granting the waste

disposal. They do not think about what will be the result of what they are doing. They

even not think about their health with the surroundings that is so unhealthy for humans.
 Some are statements from the participants:

“Unta ang mga katawhan sa atung komonidad ky mo tuman jud sa mga

implimentasyon mahitungod sa mga basura ana lang.”

“I hope that citizens in our community would follow and maintain the

implementations regarding to waste disposal.”

(IDI)_SSN01

Misty Witenberg said that, “Garbage decomposes at wildly different rates. For

instance, a banana peel takes about a month, while rubber takes about 70 years and a

plastic holder can take 500 years. Landfills are dirty, smelly eyesores that are quickly

becoming overcrowded and releasing methane gas into the atmosphere, while

incineration releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air. With the proper

disposal methods, you can reduce your garbage impact while effectively removing it from

your life.”

Community service. Community service is work done by a person or group of people

that benefits others. It is often done near the area where you live, so your own community

reaps the benefits of your work. Persons who do community service are those who are

concern to the environment and to the society. These people are good enough for caring.

These are some of the participant’s statements:

“Kanang ang akung pagkamang lilimpyo o pagka-sanitary aid (street

sweeper) kay kapoy, pero lami gihapon sya sa paminaw kay naka serbisyo man pud kug

apil sa atung komunidad labaw na sa atung kinaiyahan.”

 “Being a street sweeper is difficult and tiring but it is also my honor to serve

our community and the environment.”

(IDI)_SSN02

“Ang akong maingon sa akong mga katrabaho nga padayun lang sa

pagserbisyo sa atung komunidad ug sa atung kinaiyahan, kay ang kahago naay kambiyo

nga maayuhon.”

“I want to say to my co-workers that keep doing great in serving the

community and the nature because every hard work, there’s a gift in exchange.”

(IDI)_SSN03

Community service is when you work for free to help benefit the public or your

community. Usually, students who choose to do community service do so as volunteers,

meaning that they chose to help out because they want to do so. Community service can

have a lot of positive effects on students, such as helping them to develop their skills,

making contacts, and allowing them to improve the quality of life of others. Community

service is also a good help and care to the environment (Barge,2018).

 IMPLICATIONS

“Low income, unstable job, absence of benefits and low social recognition; these

are the daily struggles encountered by the sweepers as they are bound to fulfil their duty.

Considering their working environment, they are vulnerable to any untoward incidents; it

is an unavoidable scenario that they could contract disease, get into accident and even

worse, face death.” According to Glenne B. Lagura and Victoria O. Ligan. Yes that was

right, we could never imagined what a street sweeper’s life is. They’re prone to any illness

that they could get from the surroundings specially that they are dealing with garbage and

dust every day. Imagine if you are in a street sweeper’s life? Would you make it until your

life will be comfortable? So, this research is concerning about the life of street sweepers

who has low income and do not have a stable job for they are working for job order (JO)

only. Their health is at risk always yet they don’t have a proper contract if what will happen

to them while doing their work. This is for the LGU’s to know specifically here in Sto.

Tomas Davao del Norte that they should give a fit benefit for the street sweepers who are

working for the community and also to the environment.

SUMMARY
 This research study is concerning about the life of Street Sweeper’s here in our

local government unit in Sto. Tomas Davao del Norte. It focuses on the street sweepers

who have an unstable life for them to have a higher salary. So that they could support

their family for all they need. Also, for them, street sweepers ca get the proper benefit for

a worker and a regular job. This research study includes the awareness of the people in

the society to give respect to street sweepers and to care even more to the environment.

And also for the people to follow the implementations regarding proper waste disposal.

This study is to help the street sweepers and also to help our nature and ourselves. To

have a better future for our children.

The phenomenological inquiry employed in this qualitative study sparks an

evidence-based information which can be used by the concerning government institutions

specifically the city local government units in enhancing the quality of life of our street

sweepers in the country who are working under the employment status of job order.

Hoping that this study would never be neglected.

Theoretical Lens

The study will be connected to this theories, the first theory is attachment theory

anchored by Bowlby 1969, The theory stated that the attachment is a deep and enduring

emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. Attachment

does not have to be reciprocal. One person may have an attachment to an individual

which is not shared. Attachment is characterized by specific behaviors in children such

as seeking proximity to the attachment figure when upset or threatened. Attachment

behavior in adults towards the child includes responding sensitively and appropriately to

the child's needs. Such behavior appears universal across cultures. Attachment theory

explain how the parent -child relationship emerges and influences subsequent

development.

Attachment theory in psychology originates with the seminal work of John Bowlby

(1958). Bowlby defined attachment as a "lasting psychological connectedness between

human beings", Psychologists have proposed two main theories that are believed to be

important in forming attachments. The learning/behaviorist theory of attachment is a set

of learned behaviors. The basis for the learning of attachments is the provision of food.

An infant will initially form an attachment to whoever feeds it. Bowlby suggested that a

child would initially form only one primary attachment and that the attachment figure acted

as a secure base for exploring the world. The attachment relationship acts aa a prototype

for all future social relationship so disrupting it can have severe consequences.
 This theory also suggests that there is a critical period for developing an

attachment (about 0-5 years). If an attachment has not developed during this period, then

the child will suffer from irreversible developmental consequences such as reduced

intelligence and increased aggression.

And the second theory is Parental theory anchored by Baurmind 1991, the theory

stated that for the importance of parenting with the long -term implication for children,

families and society there is precious little psychological theory specifically on parents

and parent development. And while there are many parental education programs

available and certainly substantial research on parents, none are based on an overall

theoretical model regarding who parents are and how they develop in relation to the

parenting role. This article provides a theoretical framework, the Parent Development

Theory (PDT) to assist professionals in organizing their thinking practice and research

regarding parenting.

According to Mowder 1997 he stated that the parent role is important to

understand. Since it is through this role that individuals perceive what parenting involves

and consequently parent children. Therefore, the Parent Development Theory defines

who parent are examines the parent role individuals play, clarifies how parents and

parenting develop and change over time and explains how the parent roles relates to

parenting activities. Mowder suggested that the Parent role is one key to understanding

parents since the role is performed by individuals who create the role as well as respond

to role demands.
The parent role is partially an individual creation in that people conceptualize parenting

based on their own prior experiences in a parent-child rearing expertise and

understanding. But while part of the role is individually thought about shape and refined

other aspects are externally imposed like legal requirements in socially well -developed

countries regarding children's protection and welfare. Parents perceptions of their role are

not only affected by their own developmental experiences changes and needs but also

by their changing growing and developing child. In addition, Lorine suggested that the

broader-social-cultural context also influences parents view of their parenting role

parent’s religious orientation for example potentially affects parent’s perceptions of their

role as well as associated parenting activities.