Tighter security sought
by Ernest F. Herrera
TUCP Secretary General
THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) wants the National Police to proactively take adequate steps to ensure the personal safety and security of the mostly young women going to work or returning from work at night in the country’s bustling call center hubs.
As more young women work at night in call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) providers, they will naturally be visibly exposed to felonious elements, including muggers and sexual predators.
In India’s call center districts, an increase in violent crimes and other forms of harassment against female employees on their way to work or home night has been reported.
In the most recent incident, well-publicized in the international media, a 24-year-old employee of a Bangalore call center, wholly owned by Hewlett-Packard Co., was raped, her throat slit and later strangled to death, by a cab driver contracted by the company to transport employees.
We definitely do not want what is happening there to transpire here.
In Bangalore, a number of women has been discouraged from working at night in call centers because of pressure from their worried families.
Activities in Philippine call centers that service the customers of mostly American companies, peak between night to dawn in Manila, when it is daytime in the US.
Women comprise about 90 percent of the estimated 132,000 Filipinos working in 120 BPO providers, mostly call centers.
Despite the hazards of the graveyard shift, the TUCP is not opposed to the repeal of the old-fashioned Labor Code provision totally banning night work for women.
The outright prohibition has simply become antiquated, even ridiculous as a result of the changing times.
Local BPO providers have coped with the statutory ban by routinely seeking exemptions from the Department of Labor and Employment.
We are not being alarmist. We simply want police to be extra watchful, and to assist the security departments of call centers in safeguarding female employees going to or returning from work at night.
Although many call centers, even in the absence of any untoward incidents, have been reinforcing their security measures, they should also provide adequate shuttle services for their employees at night, or to engage the services of reputable cab operators whose drivers have regularly updated police clearances.
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On top of all the safety, health risks & social deprivation that working for a call center pose,Â* no amount of monetary or any incentive at all can compensate all these. The least that these centers can do is pamper their employees, watch over their welfare considering the few number of qualified man power and refrain from becoming slave drivers since most centers tend to be one.Â* Not to mention half-baked supervisors and managers that "has to be" promoted because of the romp up/expansion.Â* It literally is an industry gone wild.Â* Some centers pose and brags about being professional but in reality, is a corporate jungle.
This is the other side of working for a call center which what most people do not see behind those colorful whole page ads in newspapers every Sunday with a long list of compensation and better benefits, so to speak.Â* Working for a call center is not a glitzy and glamorous job, technically you are just a factory worker/production, and that is a fact. ...and yes it is a dead-end job making these young, idealistic individuals believe that they are up for climbing the corporate ladder.Â* Well, people evolve, become more intelligent and will actually see through this veil of deceit in time.Â*
Â* Â*Meanwhile, a good number of agents especially veteran agents already realize this, has seen the entire picture and analyzed the system but are still enticed by the compensation so they end up "call center hopping."Â*
it is good to know that labor union organizations and the media are watching because these business process outsourcing firms for they sure can't deny some very questionable facts and labor anomalies that are happening everyday. The outside world
doesn't know what really transpires behind the walls of these
"highly secured" facilities.Â*
Â* Â*Onerous contracts and one way policies are common which nobody can dare question because they also have a specific policy and corresponding penalty for that.Â* And if they can't slap you with anything, don't be surprised if issues about your attendance and performance will all of a sudden become an issue which was never an issue in the past and
will isolate you from even the most mediocre performing employee.Â* That's how these bastards get rid of erring employees and they did it to a lot of good employees that got their ire.Â* Well, I can't blame them nor can't do anything about that but it is how you are isolated which makes it malicious.Â* So, if you're noisy, one should not be surprised why they instantly become the management's "favorite" and will monitor all your every move in the office,Â* probably even your private phone calls and
definitely your emails and private messages.Â* Good luck lovebirds!Â*Â*
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To add insult to injury the human resource people, the last resort of the employees (since unions are not allowed), are pro-management.Â* It's perfectly understandable, of course, it is management that pays them; without management, no moolah for them.Â* When employees go to them, they are like "What did your manager/supervisor say?"Â* Duh?! There's no use raising your issues to HR because production management will be the judge, jury and executioner at the same time.Â* They present their side of their story and almost personally render the decision and penalty themselves.Â* It is a done deal.Â* HR are inutile. They don't have clout over management and certainly
do not have the balls.Â* They are just like management's poster boys and girls or messengers.Â* This is a first for me by the way.Â* So where do people go?Â* DOLE? NLRC? Which are equally inutile?Â* If I were in their situation I'll take my chances with the unions and media, at least they can make a hell lot of noise. Believe me, they are "itching" to get into these BPO firms, hehe!!
Poor Filipino worker, beggars can't be choosers therefore can be exploited.Â*
Â*I truly pity people who do not have a choice.
In this country it pays to have good friends in high places and make these issues known to them.
I pray that one of these days call center people will unite and form an organization so that these big foreign bullies can't just push around the Filipino worker. It's actually just a phone call or a text away.Â* Everything is simply electronic.Â* Apparently, humans are no longer an exemption.Â*
I am not pro-union per se, but I am anti-injustice and if unions can give justice at whatever cause and means, so be it.
Call center managements have organizations, why can't the employees?! I just can imagine what these BSD's talk about during their junkets, it's all about profit regardless of what.Â* They are one big country club.
To suffering call center peeps, we are aware that there are a lot of you and to the silent opposition in that part of "an I.T. park";Â* don't let anybody or any company for that matter get the better of you coz there will always be a day of reckoning.Â* The sad part is that some of the "former" erring employees sold out by suddenly having a change of heart and is singing a different tune since they were promoted "na lang" because of the expansion.
Most people prefer to be silent but a few chooses to speak out!Â* That is exactly what these companies want their employees to be, malleable and controllable.Â* I refuse to think about the kind of exploitation they are doing to the employees in MEPZ.Â* Such as, the constant renewing/extension of production employee contracts without regularization and safety hazards. They are getting around a technicality and the government is allowing it.Â* Worst, the people have learned to accept it.Â* Whatever happened to that Mitsumi issue?Â* Whitewashed, again?
BTW, I can't seem to find the previous threads about call centers anymore.Â* I don't want to think that call center management has infiltrated istorya too.Â* Istorya is better than that.Â* Probably it was just a fluke, I hope.Â*
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CALL CENTERS: Labor Unions are watching...
Originally Posted by darkwing
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