RIZAl
Though I’m not a fanatic of our national hero I considered
his works as very important and relevant in the study of our national
consciousness. His undying novel such as Noli Me Tangere exposed an argument
that until now even the present Spanish government can no longer retrieve its
reputation as an Empire of tyranny, corruption and injustice during its 300
years of colonization. Added to this is his Cientro de cien Anos[1]
essay in La Solidaridad dated 1890 which obviously predict the collapsed of the
mother Spain if she will not provide the necessary reform in las Islas
Filipinas. Soon as true enough, Andres Bonifacio founded the rebellious
Katipunan, started the National uprising and destroyed the Spanish Government
in the country within a year.
MARX
Marx’s Communist Manifesto[2]
assumed that so much capitalism will result to a workers rebellion followed by
the collapsed of Capitalism. This is applicable in the Soviet history for their
started by revolution of the communist Bolshevic rebels. For all the changes
and advancement of its nation before transformation to democracy in 1991 the
people of the Russian Federation still cannot separate its present political
ideology.
BPO INDUSTRY: Capitalism
For all this historical studies do we learn from it? Or due
to our Colonial Mentality we continue to ignore those lessons of the past and
think like we don’t have our owned sense of nationalism?
I been in the BPO industry for the past three years (though
this is not only my job after graduation since I teach as a tutor and lecturer
of a Korean School and a review center) and I saw a continued defect and
treatment of its laborer. Forcible Over Time and abnormal time of break
schedule and low standard of recruitment. Forcible over time was apparently
good for business industry since they can attain the quota that needed in
production. High income for the company and good for the client’s[3]
will be the result. But how about the situation of the work force that handle
the connection customer-agent relation? In the Philippine Labor Market, laborer
are already abused by 8 hours continues work with cheap labor. If you will add
30 minutes -1 hour over time will cause laborers fatigue and lost of
concentration. Remember that majority of the BPO industry are in night shift
the energy of the body is different from a day shift work. If the Americans
will do trade to the Asian countries in the evening, do you think will they
come up with better business transaction?
Abnormal time of break schedule will result to health problem
of the BPO laborer for they will eat after 6 hours of shift or they will only
pee on the time of their scheduled break. Low standard of recruitment lead to
workers unserious job application, those applicants, after get their salaries
in training will be suddenly disappear resulted to high attrition. We called
those workers as call center hoppers. But the Industry doesn’t bother to search
them and I don’t know the reason why. If
those BPO companies are not serious in dealing with their applicant who signed
contract with them, and after a week those people will be considered as AWOL,
much more that those applicant. Though it’s hard to imagine but this is how
rotten the BPO system is.
BPO Industry: Patriotism
Currently an aware that due to the employers exposure to American
immoral attitude, their languages, manners and even decision making are trying
hard American standard in which not applicable to the Filipino social
structure. We make our owned Diasporas in which we are not force to do but we
are willing. This is due to hegemonic treatment of the managers to the workers.
The workers are not aware of this due to lack of social consciousness and
nationalism. English Only Policy, freebies to bar and expensive restaurant,
they think these are good things offered by the company well in fact a serious
threat to our owned future national consciousness. There is no different in
what David Sturtevant[4]
discussion about a landlord offered advance payment for festivities, sabong, kasa, and other irrelevant
activities of the kasama that
resulted to his debt to the landlord and at the end of the harvest time, he can
only brought a single peso for his family.
BPO Industry: Nationalism
They say that since the BPO is a western supported industry
it has an American standard of labor well in fact in it is misleading. If this
is an American standard then it should have labor unions, American standard
salary and American standard benefits in which we don’t have. We are victim of
so much capitalism. We try to be someone so that the American will be satisfied
of what they need but apparently sacrifice almost half of what will be in the
future. This industry created several
individual who with so much capitalism lost his identity, his love for fellow
countrymen. Marx explained:
“ It has converted the physician, the
lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science into its paid wage-labourers.”[5]
This is what happened to us. A historian became a call center
agent, a registered nurse, a teacher, a chemist and a theologian. We don’t
understand this situation because we don’t open our eyes and justify this kind
of exploitation due to our own gain. We want to earn so much no matter how much
the cost.
Reform should start in the highest position in the company so
that the laborers and the managers will sail in one direction. There’s nothing
wrong in doing changes in ones institution for the benefits of this radicalism
is for all. Why we are afraid of doing things that is essential for the
laborers well in fact they are the foundation and backbone of the company.
Without them those capitalist will never have revenue of what they are
receiving right now. I’m afraid that if the BPO industry will not reform itself
as one of the labor force of the Philippine economy, it will lead to collapsed.
The prevailing changes of market from West to East is now on the rise and if
the Western people lost their revenue, do they think will the Asian people
accept the BPO services as a paradigm shift of business venture, well in fact the Americans and Asians has
different culture? Look at how Japan improve their advancement through robotic
(not to human) technology.
I don’t want to be Rizal or Marx here as a theories, I just
want to the people to see what I saw, promote dignity of labor and applies the
reform that needs by our beloved work, the BPO industry.
[1]
There is a very good explanation of this essay in A Nation Aborted: Rizal,
American Hegemony and Philippine Nationalism by Floro C. Quibuyen, p 211.
[2]Marx,
Karl and Engels, Frederick, Manifesto of the Communist Party, Foreign Language
Press Peking 1975, p. 36
[3] We
call them Client, the primary customer of the BPO representative, the third
party is the agent while the Middle man is the capitalist.
[4]
Sturtevant, David. Popular Uprising in the Philippines. Ithaca
[5]
Marx and Engels. same cite p.36
