Labella wants profiles of call center agents

CEBU, Philippines – Concerned over the health safety of the thousands of call center workers in the city, Councilor Edgardo Labella has asked both the government and non-government research organizations, including the schools, to come up with a statistics of profiles of such employees who allegedly suffered adverse health conditions because of their jobs.

There were strong beliefs that after having worked two or more years in call center companies, some call center workers have developed adverse health conditions such as insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms and similar other disorders.

With this, Labella has asked the Department of Labor and Employment to enforce and to make a follow-up on the occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for the health and safety of call center workers not only in Cebu City, but also in the whole region, so these workers may amply and ably continue such jobs, without having to risk their health so much.

Call center workers are required to work in 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to attend to the needs of the clients of their company.

The latest report of the World Health Organization showed that workers assigned to the graveyard shift, including those in call centers, are allegedly prone to serious ailments due to forcing day sleep patterns.

Labella said it has also been established by the said report that nocturnal jobs pose health risks due to the suppression of the production of the hormone melatonin and the disturbance of the genes that control tumor development.

“Night sleep lays the foundation of the sound health, as the human body is pre-programmed for sleep during the night when the light-sensitive retina sends sleep signals to the body’s SCN or Suprachiasmatic nucleus, also known as its “circadian biological clock,” Labella said in a resolution.

According to Labella, the Department of Labor and Employment had already issued a circular, which required the companies to come up its own occupational safety and health (OSH) programs to protect workers from life-threatening hazards in workplaces.

Labella explained that the call centers should see to it that their shifts of work would still give their employees the time to sleep at night or early dawn.

For instance, he said the 4 p.m. to midnight working schedule will still afford workers to get “night” sleep from 1 a.m. until daybreak, while a 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. work shift will afford the same a 5 p.m. to midnight “night” sleep. — Rene U. Borromeo/WAB(THE FREEMAN)