This works great for them. Not for you.

If you're a subcontractor and you don't have a variation process, you'll do the extra work first, then beg to get paid for it later. A proper variation change order clause exists for one reason: so changes are documented, priced, and agreed before the work begins. Because without it, you end up absorbing extra labor, extra materials, overheads, and calling it 'we're just keeping the project moving.' And here's the nasty part: some contracts basically say start the additional work process now regardless of approval. And if you're stuck with that, you can still control when you do it. So what you want to do is prioritize the original scope and don't into all of these extras until the financials are sorted. The real money move is a secret weapon, and the secret weapon is to have someone who's documented them, bought the changes and delays, submit a notice within the day or two, and then follow up with the formal change order variation process. Because the goal isn't to be perfect, it's about getting the paperwork in and on record early. The variations aren't really a pricing problem, it's a proof and it's a timing problem, and the contract stuff is really where the money is.