The New Help

The new helper arrived yesterday. His friend fetched him from the other town on our motorbike. Our neighbor recommended him when he learned we were looking for workers.

"He had to leave his current job because he isn't getting paid no matter how diligent he is. He had been there for seven months and had nothing to send to his wife, so sometimes I call them here when they are free. I pay them for the work they do," he said. "I thought of bringing them to you before, but you had your boys, so I recommended them to M," he shared.

"Our previous boss is very stingy and a con. I worked with him for eight cropping seasons, and he only paid me 30k," one of his companions narrated. That's roughly $500 for over 2 years!

"Why didn't you complain?" I inquired. "We did. He always said next time. Then it dragged on and on. That's why we abandoned him when we found a new boss," he continued. Three of them were hired by another neighbor, and the fourth one came to us. These young men all hailed from the Visayas.

But yeah, such a sad truth. Some farm owners do abuse their workers. Their previous boss wasn't the first. We have heard of others committing the same things (underpaying or delaying payments), especially in the nearby province. In fact, there was a recent incident where a farm owner was brutally murdered by his boys, and then they stole his money and fled. On hearing this, my FIL sternly reminded us not to trust easily. "Never be alone with any worker," he warned.

Understood.

But we always treat our helpers well. While other bosses let their workers sleep on straw mats or hard wooden beds, we provide ours with comfortable mattresses. Their housing has basic amenities. We even share what's on our pantry with them.

Anyway, Brandon and his friends giggled when they took a peek at his housing, which will be his new home very soon. Since he cannot do any work yet because of the rains, the neighbor contracted them to do something at his farm. Hopefully, the weather improves so he can start next week.