We Still Stayed in the Office amidst Heavy Rain

The agony of working for a foreign company.

Habagat Unleashes Her Wrath

Despite the Memorandum issued by Malacañan last Tuesday, August 7th, we were still ordered to stay until our last classes were finished. It seemed that the management of our company didn't know how to follow Philippine laws that they even defied the memorandum that President Aquino himself had issued.

source: ph.yahoo.com

I was so pissed off because I heard from one of my colleagues that one of the Korean managers even looked outside through the glass window and said that the rain was not really serious.
What the hell! Employees in other companies were already sent home. Since we use Internet at work, we even accessed several news websites which broadcast about the traffic situation and about the areas which had already been affected by flood.

Annoyed, most of us posted expressions of disgust, plea, news headlines and others as status messages to let the management know about our sentiments. In our company, we use in-house chatting application called "Spark" to communicate with each other online in case of emergency and in case we just want to talk to our colleagues.  We posted some statements such as

“As of 9:40, Malacañan ordered cancellation of work in private offices”.

“Have mercy, we also have families”.

“Please read the news”.

but it seemed that our pleas had not been heard and our status messages had been ignored. Instead, we were ordered to stay we finished calling all our students.

By the way, this industry is called “on-line teaching”; it is a call center setting but we offer English tutorials to Koreans on-line. Of course, this company is managed by Koreans who grew up in a different environment. In our company, we only had three shifts for full time teachers: AM shift (5 AM-2PM), PM shift (2-11PM) and broken shift (5AM-9 AM, 7-11 PM). In addition, we also have part time teachers (5AM-9AM or 7PM-11PM). The chance of putting our lives at risk is higher than other office jobs because call centers operate in different work schedules. Like the other call center employees, we go to work on Philippine Holidays because we honor the holidays in the country where our employers and clients are based.

Korean culture is different from ours, and for them, work is very important. That means, they work rain or shine. Even though their family members are sick, they still go to work, and since we're already grown-up adults who voluntarily applied in this company, they expect us to do the same and to somehow adapt to their culture. But heck, couldn't they understand the danger that we might be facing? Although PAGASA stated that it was not categorized as TYPHOON, it still triggered flood in several areas. Atmospheric disturbance like heavy rain should be treated seriously nowadays. With roads impassable, it was really difficult to go to work and to go home.

However, it seemed that the management did not care about the welfare of their employees. They KNOW that not all of us are living in a comfortable condos nearby. They ARE aware that most of us have our own families who depend on us. But it seemed that they only care about the profit that they might be losing if we were not able to call our students and conduct classes. For teachers who are working in the morning, it was unfair because teachers who are working in the PM shift were not required to go to work anymore since the managers had already informed the students about the flood. If they were able to explain to the students of PM teachers about the inclement weather of the Philippines, why were they able to do the same to the students of AM teachers? We could have gone home earlier and safer too. Oh wait, each of us were given a five-peso coin and one Dunkin doughnut. Jokingly, I commented, “Five pesos? Is this the cost of our lives? They should have given us Starbucks coffee!”

Unlike the other call center industries, most Korean on-line teaching call centers do not offer health cards to their employees. I even heard about some companies which don't pay mandatory contributions, so be prepared to shell out your own money if something bad happens. However, the good thing about working in this industry is we are not required to work at midnight, on weekends or on rotating schedules and work load is not that bad. Hence, if you are a working student or a mother, this job suits you.

Most of us still went to work amidst heavy rain for two reasons. First, was to get P0,000.00 as perfect attendance incentive, if you were able to come to work on or before 4:45 AM for the entire month. In simple words, no late, no absent for one month. So, if you went to work at 4:46 to 4:59, five hundred pesos will be subtracted from your four-digit incentive, take note, whether you have valid reasons (you were attacked by pickpockets, armed robbers or got a road accident) or invalid ones (woke up late,etc.). In fact, one of my dear friends had lost her perfect attendance incentive after being a victim of armed robbery inside a public utility vehicle. In spite of what happened, she still went to work but her effort was not appreciated and her reason was not accepted. In addition, if you were late even for a minute (5:01 AM), you'd be saying goodbye to your four-digits, whether your reason is valid or not.

Another reason is, employees in our company are being cautious not to get disciplinary points for not coming to work. Again, whether you informed them or not, whether your reason is valid or otherwise, you'd still be getting three disciplinary points for each late/absence incurred, except if you had filed for leave of absence which should be at least two weeks before the actual date and it would still be up to the management to decide whether they would allow you or not. I repeat: for every late/ absence, they will give you disciplinary points. Imagine that you were absent for three days because the flood in your place hasn't subsided yet. For three days that you were suffering you will be receiving NINE disciplinary points. In my case, I was just lucky because my place had not been flooded. I just prayed hard not to be involved in a road accident since the road was slippery. But unfortunately, my colleagues who happened to live in Rizal, Manila, Kalentong (Mandaluyong), Marikina, Bulacan and Caloocan were not able to report to work and thus will be "punished" for the things that they unintentionally did.

We are very cautious since seven disciplinary points is equivalent to First Memorandum, and it is just a few points away to receive Second Memorandum which will forfeit all our incentives thus making our salaries lower. For most of us, incentives matter, because honestly, our basic salary is no match to those who work for call centers operated by Americans, Canadians or Australians. Let me give you a hint: for new employees with zero to several years experience, the basic salary is a hundred or two plus the daily minimum wage. If you have many students to call everyday, an additional amount will be given as teaching allowance. That four-digit incentive will be added to our salary BUT is still subject to deductions for mandatory contributions such as tax, SSS, Philhealth and Pagibig. It is TAXABLE while it's exempted in other companies.

I know that incentives are not included under the scope of Philippine Labor Code, and it's the company's discretion to give it or not, but they could have at least be compassionate towards their employees who are in the front line of their company. Why couldn't they understand us? Couldn't they bend their rules a little since nobody could beat the wrath of nature and once in a while, everyone of us would encounter some circumstances beyond our control?

Foreign businessmen should study Filipino culture and Philippine geography before putting up contact centers, on-line teaching business and other kinds of businesses in the Philippines. They should learn to at least be more sympathetic with their employees. They should remember that agents and on-line teachers are not waterproof, robots or superheroes; like them, we are also humans who are vulnerable too. They should also remember that even though they were the ones who provided us with jobs, they would not be earning big bucks without us working for them.