Cebu BPO workers decry ‘forced’ return to work right after quake
The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) is being asked to investigate alleged safety violations by business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Cebu after workers reported being forced back to their offices right after the Sept. 30 earthquake.
The call was made by a lawmaker on Thursday as an organization of BPO workers filed a formal complaint at a regional Dole office over the matter.
In a statement, Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña urged Dole to look into possible violations of the Labor Code and the occupational safety and health law and to impose sanctions on erring companies, which he did not name.
‘Gross insensitivity’
“By law, workers have the right not to return to work when there is a fear for their safety and life,” Cendaña said. “Dole should investigate this incident and, if possible, see if this is an isolated case or it’s also being experienced by employees in other BPO companies.”
Cebu province was rocked by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Tuesday, leaving at least 72 dead and hundreds injured.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the quake has affected 170,959 people, or 47,221 families, while 53 cities and municipalities have been placed under a state of calamity.
Cendaña cited social media reports that some BPO employees were ordered to return to work minutes after evacuating, with threats of being marked absent without official leave if they refused.
Others, meanwhile, claimed that the emergency exits of their offices were blocked.
The Akbayan lawmaker denounced it as “gross insensitivity … to force your employees to return to work just a few minutes after a massive earthquake.”
“In such situations, they should have prioritized the lives of their employees and not what their companies would earn that day,” he added.
Cendaña’s contention is bolstered by the announcement of a network of BPO employees that they were pressing charges against 30 call center firms based in Cebu province for labor and occupational safety violations.
BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN)-Cebu filed the complaint with the Dole-RO7 on Thursday.
‘Blatant disregard’
“BIEN-Cebu rejects this ‘business-as-usual’ approach of BPO companies, and government neglect during this time of crisis. We call on all BPO workers to unite and fight back against this blatant disregard of workers’ rights,” the group’s spokesperson John Kyle Enero said in a statement.
According to the group, they have received more than a hundred reports of agents being forced to report to work, despite their pleas to be allowed to ensure their safety and that of their families for just two days.
Among these were agents who were allegedly forced back onto the production floor, or, as in one company, faced blocked emergency exits.
Others reported that they were offered double pay to continue working after the earthquake, disregarding safety concerns.
Retaliatory actions
In another company, employees were ordered to resume work immediately after the quake, with some returning as early as 30 minutes post-event, without any safety memorandum or clearance.
BIEN-Cebu said it has received multiple reports of employees who decided on not reporting for work being met with notices to explain, administrative sanctions, and loss of attendance incentives and benefits, among many retaliatory actions.
There were also reports of verbal threats, and companies downplaying the workers’ concerns.
Safety report
Employees who went home after the Sept. 30 earthquake were marked as unpaid, lost attendance bonuses, and were suspended from work. Workers who did not return the following day were marked as unauthorized absences.
Some employees were also forced to sign memos prohibiting them from speaking about the situation on social media.
The group urged Dole to investigate the allegations and hold negligent employers accountable under Republic Act No. 11058, or the Occupational Safety and Health Standards law, and related labor issuances.
BIEN-Cebu also criticized the government for not declaring imminent danger in workplaces in the province, instead passing the decision on how to handle the emergency situation to private companies.
“This decision not only affects BPO workers at large, but thousands of families and loved ones,” Enero said.
“If the government can suspend classes due to the need to inspect school buildings, they should also rightfully require BPO companies and their building administrators to provide a detailed inspection and safety report to ensure that resumption of work does not threaten worker safety,” he added.
Mayor’s call
Meanwhile, Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña urged employees who experienced workplace abuse to submit a report to him, by texting him at 0917-3299999 and providing all the details of the incident.
He assured complainants that they should not fear retribution from their employers as he would be the only one reading their text messages.
“I need to be sure that this is true, but if this is true, we will do more than just file a complaint at Dole,” he said in his official Facebook account.
“I will personally contact every known local and overseas client that company has to tell them what kind of company they hired. We will hit them where it hurts,” Osmeña said.
