BPO employees to Aquino: Certify Magna Carta for Call Centers Workers as urgent bill

THE Business Process Outsourcing Industry Employees Network or BIEN Philippines hails Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago for refiling the Magna Carta for Call Center Workers Act.

BIEN calls on President Aquino to certify this bill urgent on his 3rd State of the Nation Address and compel legislators to pass the bill the soonest time possible. We challenge the Aquino administration to show its support to the employees of the country’s so-called sunshine industry.

The advancement of BPO worker’s interest and welfare , and the ir right to association and assem b ly is an urgent matter the government has to look at as there are about 600,000 BPO workers in the country, with more than 300,000 belonging to the call center or voice co ntact centers. The industry projects 1.3 million employment by 2016.

As of 2012, the revenue generated by the BPO industry has grown by 22% from Php 11 billion to Php 13.2 billion. But despite of the continuing growth of the BPO industry in the country attributed mainly to the skills and knowledge of the Filipino workforce, there is still yet a law that promotes and pro t ects the workers’ rights and welfare .

A major issue among call center employees is the occupational health and safety risks that they face in a very stressful environment. In most call center practices, an agent is required to be in phone time not less than eight hours a day. Going on break or even a CR break will be deducted on the number of hours that you adhere for your phone time; others will even have hard time going on breaks as this is limited by company policies on break schedule and adherence. That is why most cases of health issues on call center agents would either be urinary tract infection or UTI, among others.

Studies also show that workers working at night are more prone to have cancer.

Another concern of call center employees working at night is the lack of security and safety measures. A network of shuttle services provided by the government and companies will be a big help to ensure the safety of BPO employees working at night.

BIEN Philippines encourages Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago to conduct hearings and consultations among BPO employees to further refine the provisions of the bill .

BIEN Philippines is currently drafting a BPO labor standard that provides a list of minimum standards and best practices to safeguard employees’ job security, health and safety, among others.