Sexual abuses and inhuman working conditions in Bleutar Manufacturing and Marketing Corp.
THE militant Kilusang Mayo uno (KMU) today urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Senate and House of Representatives to conduct separate investigations on alleged sexual abuses and inhuman working conditions suffered by female workers of the Bleustar Manufacturing and Marketing Corporation (BMMC).
After years of endurance and torment, the female workers of Bleustar Manufacturing and Marketing Corporation (BMMC) finally revealed the verbal and physical sexual molestations they suffered from their Filipino-Chinese employer Jimmy Ong.
In a recent investigative report done by Center for Trade Union Human Rights (CTUHR), BMMC workers narrated how Mr. Ong has been sexually harassing some of them since 1993.
“Mr. Ong often arrives at the workplace drunk and calls his female workers, who at that time were between 17-22 years old, and started touching their breasts, genitals, and butt. He also forcibly kisses them on the lips, asks them to sit on his lap, while showing off his manhood.
The Report notes, “there were occasions where some of the worker-victims complained to their supervisors and manager. However, the latter simply apologized and advised them to just keep quiet, because Mr. Ong was just drunk, and flatly told them to ‘hilamos o iligo mo lang ‘yan, tanggal yan! ‘ (wash your face or take a bath to make you feel clean again).”
When asked by the CTUHR interviewee why it took them 14 years to make this known, the workers replied that they had tolerated these traumatic and degrading experiences for long years “due to lack of choice and fear of getting dismissed”.
“These experiences prompted them to organize a union as protection not only against sexual harassments and abuses but also to improve their economic conditions. They are still paid the minimum wage of P382 per day after 18 years of service plus a P2 seniority pay given every three years,” added the CTUHR report.
“Bleustar Manufacturing has clearly placed women workers in a situation of modern day slaves. After 18 years of service, they still receive minimum wages and instead of receiving job advances they endure abusive sexual advances from no less than the owner-employer. We, therefore, urgently ask Labor Secretary Marianito Roque to immediately initiate an investigation based on the subject interview made public by CTUHR,” declared Elmer ‘Ka Bong’ Labog, KMU Chairperson.
“Moreover, since DoLE as an executive department is under Malacanang we also urge the President to push for the speedy investigation for the sake of her fellow women,” added Labog.
“As if the havoc of contractualization in the labor sector and the dismal economic situation and current crisis in the country are not enough, our women workers have even to submit to ‘lay down or lay-off’ abuses in work places. Due to severe lack of job opportunities and loss of hope with toothless govertment agencies, our female workers opted to suffer with offensive, obscene and degrading working conditions. We now call on our senators and congressmen to launch an immediate congressional hearing and put an end to the deplorable harem-like situation suffered by women workers in Bleustar Manufacturing. Such congressional hearings coupled by decisive interventions from DoLE and Malacanang should serve as a warning to similar violations obtaining in other companies,” concluded Labog.
Bluestar Workers Labor Union (BWLU-Independent) representing 205 rank-and-file employees was registered on October 2, 2007 and is now preparing for the Certification Election scheduled on July 25, 2008. CE is an election where workers will vote for BWLU or No Union.
“The management does not want us to form a union, and BWLU is our fourth attempt to unionize. Since the management learned of our organizing, Mr. Ong’s sexual advances came infrequently though it did not stop,” a harassment victim added.