A few days ago, a series of videos showing two unconscious caddies being carried off to seek medical attention and scuffles in the caddie locker room after one caddie was allegedly physically abused by the Korean supervisor at Clark Sun Valley were shared on the Pinoygolfer Facebook group.
The outrage the videos sparked was intense. BusinessMirror Golf reached out to the caddie that took and posted the videos to find out exactly what happened.
Riri Lyn (the caddie’s Facebook account name) painted a bleak picture of how caddies at the 36-hole golf resort were being maltreated. Caddies were penalized for missing a day of work, whether with or without having filed for a leave of absence, with a week of fixing divots on the golf course. If they missed one day for whatever reason, another five straight days fixing divots was added to the penalty.
In the middle of tourist season, caddies are put back into rotation after coming back from assisting a player without a break to rest and get something to eat. They are allegedly being penalized if their players’ slow play by more time cleaning up the golf course.
Although they are considered independent contractors, an agency withholds a percentage of their caddie fees and the club confiscates their tips since it feels they are being overpaid. Since peak season arrived, they don’t have days off and are verbally abused when addressed by their Korean superiors. When they complain, they are told that they have no right to complain since they aren’t technically employees of the club.
The caddie master allegedly took a pair of scissors and summarily cut the hair of a caddie that didn’t have her hair on a braid as required by the club. If a player is upset by a caddie’s performance, the club instantly berates the caddie without bothering to investigate to determine the actual circumstances of the incident.
The unconscious caddie in the video collapsed from fatigue and hunger because she wasn’t allowed to eat in between her two rounds on the course. The scuffle in the caddies’ locker room allegedly happened after 10 of the caddies filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and presented their superior with the summons. The Korean caddie master allegedly pulled the caddie’s hair and slammed her head into the metal locker.
Now, on the club’s behalf, having the caddies fix divots on the golf course is standard practice at most, if not all, golf courses in the country. Most golf courses pay a minimal fee for the work, but we understand that Clark Sun Valley does not. We made some cursory inquiries about the goings on at Clark Sun Valley and were told that the caddies that posted the videos were “the rebellious ones” and that they might even be working for labor unions trying to infiltrate the golf club.
We sent messages to Clark Sun Valley’s Facebook account but those went unanswered. We have continued to reach out to the club but have been ignored. In the meanwhile, the 10 caddies that filed the complaint have been dismissed by the club. The caddies have retained a lawyer and filed another complaint of illegal dismissal with the NLRC. The hearing is set for the 23rd of this month and despite the sympathy that they’ve gained on social media, many of them are fearful of their safety.
Although things look bad for Clark Sun Valley, BusinessMirror Golf will continue to follow the events to see this matter to its conclusion.