Ka-Blog!

This just in:

Firm Sacks Employee for Using Water in Toilet

An Australia-based engineering firm has reportedly sacked an employee for using water instead of toilet paper in the washroom.

While the company denied firing the employee, its manager Byron Carter said Filipino worker Amador Bernabe’s toilet habits posed a ’serious health risk’ to his other employees and he had been counselled a number of times about the issue.

The 43-year-old machine operator was working for Townsville Engineering Industries (TEI) Bohle on a working visa from The Philippines and used water to clean himself instead of toilet paper, a local newspaper ‘The Townsville Bulletin’ reported.

Carter said health and hygiene issues had been raised by other staff members. “The issue concerning Bernabe is not about toilet etiquette, it is about hygiene and the health of other employees.” “Bernabe’s technique to cleanse himself with water after his toiletry visits leaves the toilet cubical splashed with water suspected to be contaminated with faeces and wet soggy toilet paper lying on the floor,” Carter said.

“Other employees complain about the mess and the possible spread of disease and will not use the cubicles until they are cleaned and disinfected” he added.

This brings to mind the Pinoy kid who was suspended by his school in Canada for using  spoon in eating instead of a fork.

Now, why am I concerned?  A few things:

1. Is using water in the toilet instead of paper, and for that matter a spoon instead of a fork, enough reason to sack a worker or to suspend a student?

2. Is it no longer true that Australia, and for that matter Canada, are more tolerant countries—given the fact that they are emigrant societies and are therefore inherently diverse (in everything, including toilet and eating habits)?

3. Regarding the Pinoys’ preference for spoons over forks, one should only see a person eating rice with a fork like most occidentals do.  Many mess things badly.  They eat fifty percent of the actual food on their plate and the rest are scattered on the table and on their chins.

4. Regarding the Pinoys’ preference for water over toilet paper, I only have this to say: NO SKID MARKS!

In the last, this is in perfect conjunction with the Pinoys’ predilection to take a bath everyday while other cultures hardly do it once a week.  And if they do, they wallow in the bath water along with all their libag and balakubak.