dahil high school lang ang tinapos ko maliit lang ang sahod ko:
saleslady: 115 kada araw
karate instructor: 50 kada araw
barker sa jeepney: 25 kada araw
computer shop staff: 150 kada araw

pagdating ng ika-18 kong kaarawan nadiskubre ko rin ang call center
SAHOD: 500 KADA ARAW…
sapat na para ipagpatuloy ko ang kolehiyo…

dahil sa call center unti-unting nabubuo ang pangarap ko… dahil dito nagkakaroon ako ng pag-asang makapagtapos… ano ba ang magiging buhay ko kapag nawala ang call center? lumanghap ng usok sa kalye para sa konting barya? magpakaalila sa amo ko para sa isandaang piso? ano?

tama, nakakastress nga ang buhay dito sa call center. pero ano ang masasabi n’yo sa buhay namin bago pa magkaroon ng ganitong trabaho?

tama rin po kayo congressman… “unfair” nga ang trabahong ito… pero kumpara sa kalagayan ng ibang trabaho para sa mga kalevel ko lang, malaking bagay na ito… ‘yung iba’ng kakilala ko, nasa factory, 12 oras nagtatrabaho para sa 300 piso. ang iba, mga driver.. kahit may trangkaso sige lang para may pangkain… ang iba, nagkakatulong… wala’ng backpay… wala’ng incentive… minsan kahit panggabi ang oras mo wala’ng night differential… wala rin pakiaalam kung holiday ba ‘yan o ano… dahil wala’ng holiday OT… kapag may sakit… wala’ng leave… walang bayad…

so what if the foreigners are getting much profit from our low-cost labor?
at least it’s enough for us to eat in decent restaurants and pay for our bills on time…

if there is a solution for us to stop this “abuse”, as you call it… try thinking of something else for “us” to live by…

sa amin na hindi matanggap-tanggap sa trabaho dahil kulang sa pag-aaral…

at sa amin na binitawan ang pagtatrabaho sa linya namin dahil kulang ang sahod (teacher, doctor, nurse, bank rep)…

sana po ‘yun na lang ang maging priority n’yo…

gusto ko lang po’ng malaman n’yo na isa ako sa mga hindi pa rin nawawalan ng pag-asang makamit ang pangarap ko… na nagkocall center lang ako dahil wala ako’ng choice… ito lang ang trabaho na kaya kong gawin, at the same time sapat sa amin para mabuhay… at bumuhay…balang araw aalis din ako dito at pupunta sa dapat ko talagang puntahan… at taas noo ko’ng sasabihin CALL CENTER ANG NAGPAANGAT SA KALAGAYAN KO…

PERO… HINDI AKO MAGPAPAKABULOK SA INDUSTRIYANG ITO…

First, most of the call centers practicing FORCE OVERTIME and FORCE Early Log out without pay. Call centers are meeting their staffing requirements from their clients. Kapag kulang ng tao sapilitan nila hindi pauuwiin ang mga ahente and they are forced to take calls kahit sobrang stressed na. Kapag sobra naman sapilitan nila binabawasan ang mga ahente at pauuwiin at ibabawas sa sahod.

Second, increasing rate of Miscarriages and Stillbirths. I am not working as an agent but as part of the management team. I lost my first child after delivery last year. He had birth defects. I had UTI during my pregnancy because of stressed. I’m working in a call center that needed to maintain 17-20 degrees temperature. why? Because they are protecting their servers and computers. Sa ganung temperature kahit anong kapal ng jacket o magkumot ka pa kung nalalanghap mo ay malamig na hangin na galing sa aircon malalamigan pa rin ang baga na pwedeng mauwi sa pneumonia. This type of infections from UNHEALTHY WORKING ENVIRONMENT was the primary cause why my baby died.

Third, some call centers haven’t increased the basic pay for 3 yrs already. Nung una naintindihan pa namin na kaya hindi nag tataas ang sweldo dahil sa recession sa America. But the 2nd year nagtayo sila ng bagong branch sa ibang lugar at hindi pa rin nagtataas ng sweldo. As part of the management team, I have access with the company’s revenue at nakikita ko na hindi bumaba ang revenue ng company despite of the world crisis kung hindi tumataas pa since US branches pulled out their centers in US and Canada and transferred here in the Philippines. This is so unfair for Filipino BPO employees. Revenue must be given to the people who sacrifice to save the company in the middle of crisis.

Sa totoo lang, contradicting ang ginagawa ninyong pakikipaglaban kung ganito niyo naman nakikita ang mga Call Center Agents.

Im a mother & a call center agent, at masasabi kung 1 lang sa bawat 10 call center agent ang kayang sikmurain na kaya siya nag-call center agent e para lamang mamumhay ng maluho. Kahit sino sa atin na kapag bagong suweldo ay mae-excite na gumastos din lalo na kung pinaghirapan niyang kitain ang pera.

-Tama ang sinabi ng isang nag-comment na ang dapat unahin ay i-LOWER ang TAX naming mga call center agents. Grabe, ang taas ng TAX NAMIN!!!! tapos makikita mo lamang ang mga pulitiko na sarap buhay.

-Dapat din masiguro ang mga pangunahin naming benepisyo gaya ng PAG-IBIG, SSS & PHILHEALTH. Kung kayang tayuan ng Unyon di mas maganda.

-HINDI LAMANG AKO SANG-AYON SA PUNTONG NAGPAPALALA ITO NG SEX DRIVE & DECADENT LIFESTYLE. Sa aking pagkaka-alam, masyadong STEREOTYPICAL kung call center industry lang ang ituturo sa ganitong mga activities. Totoo ng highschool pa lamang ay nalulugmok na sa ganitong aktibidad ang mga kabataan. Matanda, Bata, may trabaho o wala, construction worker o socialite man, may decadent lifestyle.

-MARAMI SA MGA CALL CENTER AGENT AY DEDICATED TATAY O NANAY, ANAK O KAPATID. Hindi lahat ng call center agent ay nagsa-starbucks or nagpa-party lang. Nagtatrabaho kami para makatulong sa pamilya & maka-ambag sa gobyerno.

-PARA MAS MAUNAWAAN ANG TUNAY NA KALAGAYAN, dapat siguro ninyong subukan ang klase ng trabaho namin. Hindi madali ang trabaho namin, at hindi rin nakakatulong na husgahan ang kalagayan namin dahil lamang sa mga RESEARCH ng mga tao na hindi naman nasubukan ang pagtatrabaho sa call center.

-ITAGUYOD ang karapatan ng mga call center agent.

AMEN kapatid, AMEN! Need he say more? Truth need not be professional.

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1. Sa old-school(semicon ako dati), kapag umabsent ka, absent ka. Di kailangang mag OT no pay ang mga

teammates mo. Sa BPO, kapag umabsent ka, may consequence sa mga teammates mo (like OT NO Pay for each team

member), at magagalit pa sila sayo, at mumurahin ka pa behind your back (“mamatay na lang”, “wag ka nang

babalik” etc etc). Naranasan ko yung emotional blackmail ng team leader ko: Tatay ko (who was hospitalized) or

teammates ko (who rendered 30 minute No Pay OT).

2. Sa old-school, kapag late ka, bawas sa sweldo mo yun at syempre may consequence sa performance mo. Sa BPO,

kapag late ka, bawas sa sweldo mo, kailangan mo pang bawiin ang late mo, may immediate sanction ka pa, at may

consequence sa compliance mo.

3. Sa old-school, ang kasama ko mga mature na tao,mga matatanda (30 to 40 years old) mga professional, at

kagalang-galang. Sa BPO, mga kabataan na tumagal lang ng 7 years, professionalism na ang motto, pero ni hindi

nga nya maramdaman na may problema na empleyado nya, magaling na nga performance mo bulok ka parin, at sya ang

magaling.

4. Sa old school, performance mo, performance mo lang. Kung bulok ka, malalaman nila, at mag-isa ka lang dapat

mabulok. Sa BPO kapag bulok ang isa, bulok lahat. I know its team work, pero feeling ko mas lalong bubulok ang

bulok kapag pinagkakaisahan na sya. Hindi lahat ng tao, mabilis matuto. Para sakin magalit ka lang sa tanga

kapag may namamatay na sa kabilang linya, tanag ka pa rin. Palibhasa kasi, performance ng isa, performance ng

lahat. It’s either galingan sa pagtuturo, o papagresignin nyo na lang.

5. Sa old-school maraming manginginom, sunog-baga, mabisyo etc, etc… Sa BPO, mas maraming manginginom,

sunog-baga, mabisyo, etc, etc at a worse condition, at mga talubata pa. Sa old-school kasi mga tunay na mature

ang mga tao. kung magyosi man, dun sa di kita ng tao. Kung maginuman man, walang anunsyo at bahay-bahay lang,

videoke o kaya Playsatation, or swimming kung may holidays. Sa BPO, papasok ka sa lobby amoy usok ka na,

paglabas mo sa umaga, sa halip na morning dew malanghap mo, usok. Kapag tiningnan mo sa malayo akala mo may

sunog sa lobby. Pagdating sa inuman, syempre tuwing umaga yan. Parang aswang, ang nightlife umaga.

6. Sa old-school, kung naiihi ka, umihi ka. Kung natatae ka tumae ka. Wag kang magkakalat sa cleanroom o kaya

sa operating room. Sa BPO, pagalingan sa pagcontrol. Or better yet, seryosohin mo ang running jokes nila –

areinola o kaya catheter.

7. Sa old-school, ang company mo may client, client mo may customer, pero wala kang interaction sa customer

mo. Ang poproblemahin mo lang, yung kumpanya mo. Sa BPO ganun din naman – company to client, client has

customer. Kaso ang agent tatlo ang kalaban – yung BPO company, yung client ng company, pati yung customer.

Kahit confident ka, hahanapin ni customer american agent, wala bang balls ang mga clients na yan na harapin

ang customer nila? takot sa irate customer. Sa bagay, filipinos are cheaper.

8. Sa old-school, may kooperatiba, nagkakapera ka na, nakakatulong ka pa. Sa BPO, ang alam ko wala – ano bang

alam ng mga talubata sa mga ganung bagay? credit card lang ata ang alam nila.

9. Sa old-school ang party wholesome, mas lalo na kapag xmas party – may comedians, celebrities (with real

entertaining talents ha), family day talaga. Ang venue, kung hindi malaking parking lot (kapag medyo mahina

ang ekonomiya), sa araneta coliseum, sa cuneta astrodome,etc, etc. Sa BPO, ewan. Isipin mo na lang kung anong

uri ng party ang nasa isip ng mga kabataan ngayon. Tsaka syempre sa gabi yun. Tsaka yung attendance mo

inuungkat pa, akala mo gumawa ka ng kasalanan kung di ka sisipot.

10. Sa old-school, wala kang e-mail, wala kang instant messenger, wala kang sariling computer, (well, based on

my experience ha), pero masarap ang usapan at kwentuhan. Sa BPO, pero heads-up, pero di naman nakakaheads up.

email mo napupuno pero data, IM mo bigla na lang bumubukas mas lalo na kapag may calls ka. Peste sa trabaho.

11. Sa old-school, kapag may problema ka sa isang tao, ramdam yan ng iba kaya napaguusapan. Sa BPO, pwede mong

murahin yung customer through mute button, pero yung katabi mo tinatamaan, haha!

Kung ang mensahe kong ito ay napaka unprofessional para sa iba, sasabihin ko sa kanila na “SA INYO NA

PROFESSIONALISM NYO, ULOL!” Para sa akin, character parin ang mahalaga. Di bale nang magutom ako, atleast

napanatili ko pagkatao ko. Sabihan mo na akong impraktikal at tanga, sabihin ko sa yo “dakila naman”, at

hinding hindi na ako papadala sa tamis ng pangako ng call center jobs.

Syempre di ko naman nilalahat, pero dahil nagbabago na ang panahon, nawawala na ang prinsipyo ng dangal sa

paggawa. Namimiss ko ang old-school company ko, dahil lang sa recession sa electronic industry

—

I came from the bottom, I managed to climb up, and brave the hail, ice, and stones, and afterwards, after basking at the rays of our mother sun, quit it all. I went to newly-opened sites, and managed to see the site grow from a single team to a big floor. I could attest the truth to all of these comments. It’s a multi-faceted multi-chain-linked reality that’s hard to break.

When you’re already a bit up the ladder, that’s the only time these guys [immediate supervisors/employers] would take you seriously [like paying your mandated contributions *for real*] [like giving you to-the-letter 'perks' without the standard 'loopholes'] [and giving you more responsibilities ]. But while you’re down there, apathy would more often-than-not be the name of your everyday game. You’d see people of different shapes, sizes, views, and ideals, waning towards the unknowns.

I actually did 15-day straights, each day with varying shifts [often with intervals less than 8 hours], with LOB’s not even stated in the crystal-clear contract copies I hold on to. Raise a hand [with Labor Code held on the other] to inform them about the issue? They’ll just hand-hold-and-escort you to the door leading out of the office.

Heard of the ‘Wet Monkey Theory’? A bit too extreme for some, but, alas, in some parts of this sector we all, incidentally, are, it definitely has substance. [http://unreasonablefaith.com/2009/08/05/wet-monkey-theory/] Incoming employees with a vision for the future are stoned down to death by their co-workers, with devastating results. Irregulars are viewed as enemies.

We’re actualy battling against human nature itself. It’s a dog-eat-dog world.

In their fogged eyes, the lower ranks are viewed as disposeable-replaceable pawns [and possible competitors able to replace them]. For some places, the situations change when you get up the ladder rungs. But for some, it still remains the same. For some employers, it’s easier to just kick the errant/irregular/critiquing worker and possibly give his backpay [after an indeterminable time, or even never] than to change and reinvigorate the system they use. Heck, it’s cheaper too.

Remember, boys and girls, it’s a *business*, not a *charity*. The employer is trying to satisfy both fronts, and bloat their pockets in the process. Kind of like an Ethernet NIC in promiscuous mode.

It’s a vicious cycle indeed. It’s an endless waltz. The three beats will loop on-and-off-and-on forever until there’s no living human standing.

The problem with the silent majority is the fact that they don’t use the proper channels for complaints. But then again, the proper channels never reveal any favorable results, them themselves witnessing how these hoops are blatantly circumvented. It’s another cycle in itself.

We could all possibly enumerate local sites that don’t comply with a ton of laws, and possibly propagate lies and shit in the process; we pass those information around through our peers like wildfire, but alas, some people never learn, or worse, never care, and yet complain like the plague once they are within the system’s walls.

The person who commented about all of these being part of the job? He has a point there. OT and OTY? Well, you got it made if you don’t have that in your inventory!

But that doesn’t mean that since ‘these guys’ [insert-favorite-person-type-here] wantonly break the law, we guys should just allow them.

—

Remember the Ondoy incident and the old man availing for Calamity Loans? The SSS/Pag-Ibig worker kept making the old man understand that there was no contribution ever plugged into their system, thus rendering him unable to get a loan to repair his roofing.

Believe it or not, it could happen to BPO workers today. I myself didn’t have any contributions into my accounts until I managed to rise up the rinky-dinky ladder, and had the required weight limit to duke it out and complain. And don’t tell me I didn’t do it my own way and not trot forward to BIR/SSS/PagIbig/PhilHealth myself to settle matters.

—

Pero wag mawalan ng pag-asa, at mayroon pa ring mga iilang makataong kumpanya na pinipilit sumunod sa batas kahit na recession na. Sana dumami pa sila.

—

If this bill gets signed into law, *hopefully* this is a step for all persons involved to be aware. That employers should be aware of permanent ramifications of not following the established laws of the land, and for employees to be fully aware of what otherwise their rights would truly be.

Awareness is just the beginning. Information is just half the battle. Everybody must make a stand.

And stand for what they believe in.

—

Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar. Give to God what is due to God. And give to Juan what is due to Juan, even if they just barely skim the borders of the laws of the land.