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HRD Attack

Mylene Cabalona - BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN)

Incident date
1 Apr 2021
Date accuracy
Year and Month Correct
Mylene Cabalona
Female
BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN)
Workers
Intimidation & threats
Target: Individual
Location of Incident: Philippines
Téléperformance France Technology: Electronics, Internet and telecom providers, Call centre
Amazon.com United States of America Clothing & textile, Retail, Technology: Information, communication and social media platforms, Technology: Other, Express delivery, Technology: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Entertainment
Meta (formerly Facebook) United States of America Technology: Information, communication and social media platforms, Advertising & marketing, Technology: Other
AT&T United States of America Technology: Electronics, Internet and telecom providers
Verizon United States of America Technology: Electronics, Internet and telecom providers, Entertainment
Other actors

Sources

Since April 2021 Mylene Cabalona, a call center worker and the president of the Business Process Outsourcing Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN), a workers’ association, has been afraid to stay in one place for more than a few days and has been moving around in a rented van, along with other members of the organization’s leadership team. Cabalona was forced into hiding by an onslaught of online threats and abuse, after she and her fellow BIEN executives were accused, reportedly by pro-government trolls, of being terrorists or recruiters for the country’s armed communist insurgency. Local group allege that this practice, known as “red-tagging,” is a common tactic that is used by supporters of the government to discredit civil society leaders. Although BIEN is not a formal union, it is a network of employees spread out across companies and subsectors, its more than 5,000 members run the gamut from traditional call center workers to content moderators for social media companies, and employees at outsourcing companies that work with U.S. banks, airlines, telcos, and consumer technology companies. The organization has been vocal in advocating for secure contracts, fair pay, and safe working conditions during the pandemic. The BPO sector is one of the Philippines’ largest employers, and its biggest companies, such as Teleperformance and Alorica, serve major U.S. clients, including Amazon, Facebook, AT&T, and Verizon.