Contributed to BULATLAT Vol VIII No27, August 10-16, 2008
It was not in the job description but kissing the drunk owner of this 18 year old rubber boots and shoes factory in Muntinlupa was the first thing women workers had to do when they report for work at 6 o’clock in the morning. They lined up not just to have the timecard punched. They lined up to be harassed.
Bleustar Manufacturing Inc., maker of Advan boots and shoes is located at the RMT Compound in Tunasan, Muntinlupa City. It produces as much as 10,000 pairs of rainboot and shoes daily. 85% of it 205-strong workforce are women who mostly worked in the sewing department and were all virtually subject to the sexual advances of its owner, Mr. Jimmy Ong.
“He would arrive at the factory sometimes as early as 4:00 am, extremely drunk. His car would be parked right at the factory’s gate so that when it was time for us to enter and punch in at 6:00 am we would have to line up to kiss Mr. Ong,” Gloria Bongon, Vice President of the Bleustar Workers Labor Union said.
Liza Malimata, vice auditor of BWLU estimates that at least 90% of women who worked in Bleustar had been harassed by Mr. Ong. “Every woman who had to report for work early in the morning had no choice but to kiss Mr. Ong. You’re considered lucky if had to report at 10 am when Mr. Ong would most likely be at his office or asleep.”
But even then, there were times when Ong would make his rounds. When he does, women workers would leave their posts and go to the comfort rooms or hide in cabinets or under the tables. “We all wanted to avoid him.”
Malimata narrates that at one time, Ong summoned her and right in front of over a hundred employees at the sewing department. He offered Malimata a promotion and asked if she would kiss him. “I immediately refused the promotion. I refused outright and told Mr. Ong I would not be shamed in front of my co-workers and my husband who was also in the same department. He retorted I should kiss him when my husband is not around. It was embarassing.”
“We didn’t like it. Nobody liked it but we had no choice. We all feared we would lose our jobs,” said Bongon who said that in July of 2006, she had been asked by Ong outright to touch his private parts.
“He was drunk and put operations to a halt at 10:00 am. We then decided to go home and as I punched out my time card, he shouted and asked that I approach him. At first he said he wanted to know if I was the one responsible for trying to organize a union in the factory. I denied this and asked if I can leave. He ignored my request and said it was good that I wasn’t starting a union. At that point, he pulled his zipper down and grabbed my hand. He asked if I would touch him as he tried to bring my hand closer to his private part. I was able to pull away and ran towards my co-workers outside. I was shocked and shivering,” recalled Bongon.
Bongon claims that even as these incidents would be reported to their immediate supervisors, they were often told that Ong’s advances were part of his fatherly affection and that they could just wash it off. “Nadadaan naman yan sa paligo!”
ANIT-SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW
“For over a decade, it was tolerated and even encouraged by the management. We had no union and we didn’t know where to turn to. Not one sexual harassment case was filed against Mr. Ong,” Bongon said.
Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Liza Maza said this was not unusual. “As contractualization and unemployment worsen, women find it more and more difficult to find their voices inside the workplace. They risk losing their jobs. Unfortunately the existing law against sexual harassment has failed to curb the commission of the crime in workplaces.”
RA 7877 or the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law was enacted in 1995. “It has been ten years. We believe it is time for amendments to be introduced,” said Maza who, along with fellow Gabriela Rep. Luz ilagan filed House Bill 3704 “Amendments to the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act”.
The bill seeks to expand the definition of harassment to include those committed outside the workplace. It likewise amends Section 4 of the existing law where “the employer, head of office in a work-related, education or training environment or institution shall hereby be mandated to adopt a comprehensive, detailed, written policy on sexual harassment and so that there shall be a 48-hour deadline within which to act on complaints against sexual harassment in these places.”
In the proposed law, the employer or head of the office is presumed to have knowledge of sexual harassment act or acts if: the management failed to act on the complaint within the period provided for in the preceding section; a complaint was made before the committee or authority designated to receive complaints or investigate cases as provided in the rules and regulations; and the harassment is openly practiced or well-known among employees, students or trainees.
Section 7 on penalties be also amended so that violators shall face imprisonment of one month to six months, or pay a fine of P50,000 to P200,000, or penalized with both.
“Crisis begets violence. Women become all the more vulnerable to gender violence, sexual abuse and harassment in the midst of poverty. Women workers would have no other choice than to endure these sexual advances rather than face joblessness. In the workplace, violence against women becomes all themore prevalent in the absence of a women’s committee or worse, in the absence of a union.”
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
Bleustar workers agree, “It is not just the sexual harassment that goes unabated when workers are without union.”
A casual worker at Belustar Manufacturing is given only 248.00 per day, way below the mandated minimum wage in the National Capital Region. Tenured workers who have been with the company in all of its 18 years continue to receive an average of 380/day.
Workers are often made to go forced leaves, for around three to four (3 – 4) days after six (6) days of work without any rational basis. On other days they would be forced to work overtime for as much as four to six more hours which was often computed incorrectly come payday. They likewise complained of incorrect computation of night differentials and holiday pay.
They have raised these issues several times with the management, but were never addressed. “We know that organizing ourselves into a union would give us leverage. We have had several attempts in the past ten years but the management always found a way to stop us,” said Malimata.
Malimata recounted their first two attempts at establishing a union failed because the management did everything to bribe and corrupt their leaders. In 2006, but they were again unsuccessful as the management persecuted all known leaders, harassing and giving them difficult assignments which forced them to resign. Those who were supportive of the plan to establish a union were warned that thet would lose their jobs and that the company would close down.
On October 27, 2007, workers successfully registered the Bleustar Workers Labor Union (BWLU) with the Bureau of Labor Relations of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-BLR). That same year, they filed a petition for Certification Election. The refused to appear in any conciliation meetings called for by DOLE, and so the certification election was set on July 25, 2008.
UNION BUSTING
Workers faced an uphill battle as the certification election approached. Management claimed they would close the factory down. Thirteen (13) days before the scheduled certification election, the workers were surprised when the factory operation was stopped and machines were shut down.
According to BWLU President Marlon Vizconde around 25 machines and other equipment vital to the factory’s operation were loaded in a container truck. “The stoppage of operation and bringing out of the machines are illegal attempts of the management to establish a runaway shop. We picketed the gate and lay on the passageway to keep the trucks and the machinery from leaving.”
The 58 workers involved in the blockade, including union officers were immediately suspended and dismissed Starting July 14, 2008, they were denied entry to the factory.
The workers pushed through with the certification election last July 25. Votes cast by the illegally dismissed workers were not counted and temporarily segregated. Elections are now at a standstill. Cases of illegal dismissal have been filed against the management. Workers continue to hold picket outside the Bleustar factory day after day, determined and unwavering.#
