
Amazon contractors enduring ‘subhuman’ conditions in Philippines - chewz
https://www.ft.com/content/8b7bc787-4f33-4909-85f0-8df36d165b69
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godzillabrennus
Philippinos are some of the best people I’ve met. So happy.

They work insanely hard when given opportunities.

Cruise ships, middle eastern governments, and others have abused them for
years.

Wish they hadn’t pushed for independence. As an American state they would have
prospered so much more.

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dntbnmpls
> Wish they hadn’t pushed for independence.

Why? They are their own people/nation? They deserve independence.

> As an American state they would have prospered so much more.

There was a racial requirement for statehood ( majority white ). It was one of
the sad reasons for the extermination of the native americans. If the
philippines were to become a US state, it would probably mean that most
filipinos would have been killed off or pushed out of the philippines. Do you
really think the filipinos would have prospered in that environment? Not to
mention, they are catholics and the US historically didn't treat catholics too
well.

You might want to read up on the history of the US and the US history in the
philippines/pacific. It isn't pretty.

You do realize that their first attempt at independence was crushed by the US
right? And for 60 years, philippines was a poor colony of the US?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_Wa...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War)

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gentleman11
Paywall. Can anyone provide a summary?

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chewz
> Video footage and stills, taken at the weekend and provided to the Financial
> Times, appear to show several employees sleeping on the floor at a facility
> in Cebu City. One employee appears to have set up a bed on a treadmill.

> The Amazon-contracted workers at the site, which is managed by French
> outsourcing company Teleperformance, provide support to customers who have
> bought the US tech giant’s internet-connected Ring camera systems.

> While it is typical for some Filipino call centre workers to sleep on-site
> to avoid long commutes, workers said lockdown restrictions meant the
> facility had been overwhelmed. Employees said they were only able to leave
> the site to buy groceries or use showers at a nearby hotel.

> In a letter to their bosses, the workers say promises of adequate sleeping
> arrangements have not materialised, which has led to “hundreds” of workers
> sleeping in the facility, including on the call centre floor itself and in a
> small gym.

> Teleperformance employees face severe penalties for talking to the media or
> sharing information about their work in any way. A contract seen by the FT
> suggested that workers would be considered liable for “damages” of “at
> least” 500,000 pesos — roughly two years’ salary — for breaking
> confidentiality agreements, on top of losing their job.

~~~
gentleman11
What a weird situation. What causes that?

