DOLE asked to probe removal of assets in closed call center

Call center workers in an ICCAW press conference

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is being called upon by the workers of Eziconnect Philippines to investigate the furtive removal of computers from their call center which had shutdown without due notice. They revealed that on December 24 several men took out six computers, a day after the DOLE made a site visit. Fifteen employees filed a complaint for illegal closure one day after Eziconnect suddenly shuttered on December 21.

Gerard Escubido, one of the 15 Eziconnect employees, exclaimed that “Instead of a Santa Claus bearing gifts on Christmas eve, here we have Ebenezer Scrooges stealing assets that can be used to defray out claims for unpaid wages and separation benefits. We have identified the perpetrators who removed the Eziconnect computers and we also have a suspect who masterminded it.”

“We call on Eziconnect owner Rodney Kafer to honor obligations to his workers who have loyally served the company for the past several years,” added Escubido. Kafer is a former Australian rugby player and Fox Sports commentator.

Dennis Derige, spokesperson of the Cebu chapter of Partido Manggagawa (PM) which is assisting the Eziconnect employees, stated that “We are asking DOLE-7 for prompt and appropriate action. It seems Eziconnect did not just shutdown illegally but is also a runaway shop.”

Aside from half a month of salaries and separation pay, the Eziconnect workers are demanding financial assistance and damages.

Derige insisted on speedy response from the government as the illegal shutdown of Eziconnect was the fifth case in Metro Cebu that they have encountered in the last four years. He cited the earlier cases of Direct Access, Cordia, Leadamorphosis and Blue Connect in which a total of about one thousand workers were adversely affected by sudden closures.

“Through the help of PM partylist, the workers of the four call centers got favorable settlements or awards from the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). Although in the case of Leadamorphosis workers, they have yet to receive a cent of the P36 million NLRC decision because the owners are in the USA,” Derige elaborated.

The partylist group reiterated its request that government require BPO’s to put up a bond to compensate workers’ money claims in case of sudden or illegal closure. “Call centers should set aside two months’ worth of salaries of all workers they intend to hire which will be used to defray unpaid salaries, benefits and separation pay,” Derige explained.

January 2, 2016

Workers decry removal of assets in closed call center

Press conference of call center workers organized by ICCAW

The workers of Eziconnect Philippines decried the furtive removal of computers from their call center which had shutdown without due notice. They revealed that on December 24 several men took out six computers, a day after the Department of Labor and Emploment (DOLE) made a site visit. Fifteen employees filed a complaint for illegal closure one day after Eziconnect suddenly shuttered on December 21.

Gerard Escubido, one of the 15 Eziconnect employees, exclaimed that “Instead of a Santa Claus bearing gifts on Christmas eve, here we have Ebenezer Scrooges stealing assets that can be used to defray out claims for unpaid wages and separation benefits. We have identified the perpetrators who removed the Eziconnect computers and we also have a suspect who masterminded it.”

“We call on Eziconnect owner Rodney Kafer to honor obligations to his workers who have loyally served the company for the past several years,” added Escubido. Kafer is a former Australian rugby player and Fox Sports commentator.

Dennis Derige, Partido Manggagawa-Cebu spokesperson who is assisting the Eziconnect employees, stated that “We will duly notify DOLE-7 of the incident and demand appropriate action once the government offices open after New Year’s day. It seems Eziconnect did not just shutdown illegally but is also a runaway shop.”

Aside from half a month of salaries and separation pay, the Eziconnect workers are demanding financial assistance and damages.

Derige insisted on prompt action from the government as the illegal shutdown of Eziconnect was the fifth case in Metro Cebu that they have encountered in the last four years. He cited the earlier cases of Direct Access, Cordia, Leadamorphosis and Blue Connect in which a total of about one thousand workers were adversely affected by sudden cloures.

“Through the help of PM partylist, the workers of the four call centers got favorable settlements or awards from the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). Although in the case of Leadamorphosis workers, they have yet to receive a cent of the P36 million NLRC decision because the owners are in the USA,” Derige elaborated.

The partylist group reiterated its request that government require BPO’s to put up a bond to compensate workers’ money claims in case of sudden or illegal closure. “Call centers should set aside two months worth of salaries of all workers they intend to hire which will be used to defray unpaid salaries, benefits and separation pay,” Derige explained.

December 30, 2015

PM asks candidates for their agenda on BPO workers

Leadamorphosis workers picketing their cal center in 2014

The labor partylist Partido Manggagawa (PM) today asked presidentiables to spell out an agenda for BPO workers in the context of the sudden closure of a call center in Metro Cebu. PM and the group Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) disclosed that it has come across five call centers with more than a thousand workers in total that illegally shutdown in the last four years, including the latest, Eziconnect Philippines.

“It is not all sunshine in the BPO industry. There is a dark side to the call center sector. The government must use its ‘Force’ to ensure protection for workers in the BPO industry,” insisted Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson.

He added that “Is there a presidentiable brave enough to be a jedi to safeguard peace and justice for call center workers?”

PM is advocating strict government regulation of the BPO industry to weed out fly by night companies that are not financially equipped to run the business and does not respect labor rights. The partylist group is also calling for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits and entitlements that must be well above the minimum mandated by law and commensurate to the profitable dollar-earning nature of the call center industry.

ICCAW meanwhile aims to be a voice and advocate for call center and BPO workers so that the almost a million  employees in the industry who are entirely unorganized can enjoy protection.

Earlier, PM called for government to require BPO’s to put up a bond for workers claims in case of sudden or illegal closure. The partylist group is demanding that call centers set up a bond equivalent to two months wages of all employees they intend to hire to defray unpaid salaries, benefits and separation pay.

Gerard Escubido, one of the Eziconnect workers, revealed that the company shutdown last December 21 without due notice, leaving its 30 employees with unpaid wages, 13^th month pay and separation benefits. Its owner, Australian rugby player and Fox Sports commentator, Rodney Kafer, has not communicated with its workers about the company’s obligations.

Fortaleza disclosed that some 120 workers of another call center, Leadamorphosis, that illegally shutdown a week after New Year’s day of 2014 in Metro Cebu, won a Php 36 million award from the National Labor Relations Commission but has yet to receive a centavo as its owner is in the USA.

“Eziconnect must not become another Leadamorhosis. Thus we reiterate, who among the presidentiables has a platform to cater to the rights and welfare of BPO employees?,” Fortaleza exclaimed.

December 28, 2015

Partylist calls for BPO’s to put mandatory bond for workers claims as another call center illegally closes in Cebu:

Eziconnect wokers face off with their manager at DOLE-7 mediation meeting

The labor partylist group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the government to require BPO companies companies to put up a bond that will be used to pay workers claims as another call center illegally shuts down in Cebu. Eziconnect Philippines Inc. of Mandaue City closed abruptly last December 21 leaving its 30 employees jobless this christmas season with unpaid salaries and separation pay.

“Unfortunately Ebenezer Scrooge is alive and he is an Australian. The irresponsible owners of Eziconnect have stolen christmas from their hardworking workers,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM chair and one of its partylist bets. Eziconnect is owned by Australian Rodney Kafer, a former rugby player and present Fox Sports commentator.

According to the group Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW), which is assisting the Eziconnect workers together with PM, this latest illegal closure is the fifth in the last four years that it has encountered.

A day after the closure, Eziconnect workers filed a complaint at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 7 office. Yesterday a meeting was called by DOLE-7 where the workers faced off with their Filipino manager. The Eziconnect workers are demanding one month of unpaid salaries, 13^th month pay, separation benefits and financial assistance.

Gerard Escobido, one of the Eziconnect employees, said that “We had loyally worked for the company for the last several years and we feel betrayed that its owners, Kafer among others, would run away from its obligations to us.”

Magtubo called on the government to require BPO's to put up a bond equivalent to two months salaries of all workers they intend to hire which will be used to defray wages, benefits and separation pay in case of sudden or illegal closure.

ICCAW and PM had earlier helped workers of call centers Direct Access, Cordia, Leadamorphosis and Blue Connect, all based in Cebu, in their fight for unpaid money claims. In all cases, workers had won awards or settlement.

When Direct Access illegally shutdown in 2012, its workers fought to get their separation pay and were also granted employment in a new call center. ICCAW was formed as a result of the pioneering fight of Direct Access workers. Meanwhile in the case of Leadamorphosis, workers won a P36 million award two years ago.

“The BPO is sunshine industry according to the government but it must do more to ensure workers rights and welfare are protected. Since it is a profitable dollar earning industry, employers must provide its workers with above average wages and benefits,” argued Magtubo.

December 24, 2015

BPO workers group challenges candidates on issues

Press Release

August 14, 2015

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

A BPO workers group today challenged presidential candidates to commit to a platform of demands and issues of employees in the sector. The challenge came a day after news came out on an hour-long meeting that Mar Roxas had with some BPO workers in Cebu City.

“We hope that candidates Mar Roxas, Jojo Binay and Grace Poe, even if she had not yet announced formally, will seriously engage with BPO workers on their demands and not be content with shallow photo-ops. And the dialogue with BPO workers should lead to a firm commitment to concrete policy and executive actions, rather than end in vague promises that will be easily forgotten once the elections are over,” argued Rosie Hong, Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) president.

ICCAW is one of only a few workers associations in the BPO industry. It was founded in Cebu in late 2012 as a result of the fight of workers of Direct Access, a call center that unceremoniously shutdown and left its 600 employees without jobs and with unpaid wages and benefits. ICCAW has since expanded nationwide with organizing groups in Metro Manila, Iloilo City and Bacolod. With a full-pledged chapter in Cebu, ICCAW sits as the labor representative in the Cebu City tripartite body on the ICT industry.

“A case in point is candidate Mar’s ‘charm offensive’ with BPO workers in Cebu City’s IT Park. He was very concrete in promising a ‘caravan’ of government offices for faster processing of work-related requirements but in contrast he was obviously ambiguous and non-committal on the issue of workers security of tenure,” Hong elaborated.

“Security of tenure is not contradictory to the volatile nature of outsourced accounts. Contracts with overseas clients may come and go but the BPO company remains so it cannot deny security of tenure to its employees whose skills are portable and usable to different accounts,” Hong insisted.

Among ICCAW’s platform is the demand for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits and entitlements that must be well above the minimum mandated by law and commensurate to profitable dollar-earning nature of the BPO industry. ICCAW seeks to be an industry-wide organization for employees in the call center and business process outsourcing sector, and be a voice for industry workers’ concerns, grievances, demands and interests.

Hong ended with “Instead of a charm offensive and photo-ops, we prefer to engage with candidates on a policy debate and issue discussions. For example, we are interested to hear if any of them believe that contractualization is good for the BPO sector and we are more than willing to discourse with them on such issues.”

State of Negros: The rise of ‘new sacadas’ belies SONA claim of PNoy on labor

NEWS RELEASE

Partido Manggagawa-Negros

28 July 2015

The rise of ‘new sacadas’ in Negros belie the claim of President Aquino during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday that the country is now moving from cheap labor to high-tech producer.

Fresh from the joint consultation-workshop on the state of sugar workers held in Bacolod City last Sunday, the Negros chapter of Partido Manggagawa (PM-Negros) and the Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa (Sentro) described as ‘first world falsehood’ the assertion of the President that high-tech production is taking over cheap labor that for a long time characterized the Philippine labor force.

“What country are you talking about, Mr. President?  Negros is now home to BPOs yet the island remains a country of sacadas,” said the two groups in a statement.

It is clear, according to PNoy, “The Filipino can now compete.  Previously our only selling point was cheap labor.  Now factories for high-tech equipment are coming here, from airplane parts, electrical tricycles, printers, and other digital media products to high-quality medical devices.”

During their Sunday consultation, PM-Negros presented a study that pointed to the rise of ‘new sacadas’ in Negros resulting from the dismal failure of agrarian reform in the island as well as the massive contractualization of farm works in the Sugarlandia.

“The old dumaans (regular workers) were replaced by tens of thousands and contractual workers. And the migrant sacadas that mainly came from Panay and other neighboring provinces before are now replaced by inland sacadas -- a phenomenon that suggests a downside shift in labor relations in the island,” explained the group.

According to PM-Negros, the ‘new sacadas’ of Negros is represented now by tens of thousands of contractual farm workers who comprise at least 80% of the total workforce in sugar plantations in the island.  They receive not more than P150 per day working as planters, weeders, fertilizer applicators, harvesters and haulers.

“Until the late 90s, Negros sourced its shortage of sacadas from outside of the island but now the internal labor market is heavily populated with contractual, seasonal and mobile workers who perform work previously done by regular workers or the dumaans,” said the two groups.

For PM and Sentro, the combination of failed agrarian reform and the onslaught of contractualization schemes created this phenomenon as workers who were displaced due to massive retrenchments lost their employee-employer relationship (EER) and eventually their right to become land reform beneficiaries. 

“This condition left at least 100,000 hectares with no more agrarian reform beneficiaries to claim the lands, creating in effect an army of sacadas that hop from one hacienda to another around the island to find work,” explained the group.

This state of sugar workers in Negros, added the groups, is further threatened by the expected adverse impact of Asean integration on Philippine agriculture once the zero tariff regime begins to be implemented this year.

“We expect massive job loss once the country’s sugar industry fails to survive the intense competition with Thai and Vietnamese sugar,” said PM.

The saddest point, said PM and Sentro, is to hear the SONAs of the past and present Presidents, without any mention of the pressing problems in Negros, specifically the life of sugar workers.

“Ang problema namon, amon lang gid problema. Isa kami sa halimbawa sang SONA nga indi matalupangdan,” concluded the group.

BPO’s asked to provide work-life balance for women workers

Press Release

March 23, 2015

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

With women’s month about to end, the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) called on the BPO industry to provide “women-friendly benefits in furtherance of work-life balance.” Rhejay Eusebio, ICCAW-NCR spokesperson, asserted that “BPO jobs are characterized by monotonous tasks, intense work and strict metrics. The competitive culture promoted in the BPO industry has led to work-life imbalance. This imbalance disproportionately impacts women employees who are breadwinners and with children.”

Specifically the group is asking BPO companies to provide child care facilities where employees can leave their children while at work. Also ICCAW is demanding that the industry take the lead in providing 120 days of pregnancy leave for women workers.

“My personal experience as a BPO worker for several years shows how family life is frequently sacrificed at the altar of work productivity,” Eusebio elaborated. She has a pending case at the National Labor Relations Commission for illegal dismissal. Eusebio is alleging she was fired without valid cause and due process after taking an emergency leave to take care of her sick daughter.

She insisted that “For sure, BPO companies will argue that these are costly benefits to provide. Yet BPO’s can very well afford these measures since it is a dollar-earning industry. BPO’s do not deserve to be called a sunshine industry if it cannot provide for above-average working conditions and labor standards.”

The BPO industry earns around USD 20 billion or almost PhP 1 trillion in revenues. Also it is estimated that there are more than a million BPO workers in the country. A survey in 2010 by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics found that some 54% of BPO workers are women. “I believe that many of these women BPO workers are either breadwinners for their families or with children to take care of. Thus women-friendly benefits are an imperative for the BPO industry,” Eusebio emphasized.

ICCAW was founded in Cebu in late 2012 as a result of the fight of workers of Direct Access, a call center that unceremoniously shutdown leaving its 600 employees without jobs and with unpaid wages and benefits. It has since then expanded its membership nationwide even as it sits as the labor representative in the Cebu City tripartite body on the ICT industry.

ICCAW seeks to be an industry-wide organization for employees in the call center and business process outsourcing sector (BPO), and be a voice for industry workers’ concerns, grievances, demands and interests. Among ICCAW’s platform is the call for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits and entitlements that must be well above the minimum mandated by law and commensurate to the profitable dollar-earning nature of the call center industry.

BPO workers decry MRT rate hike for negating tax exemption

PRESS RELEASE

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

January 7, 2015

A BPO workers association added its voice to groups opposing the MRT and LRT fare hikes and avers that the rate increase will negate the expected benefit coming from tax exemption of de minimis benefits.

According to the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW), ordinary workers, BPO employees included, who make up the bulk of regular train riders in the MRT and LRT systems in Metro Manila will bear the brunt of the onerous rate.

“The new tax exemption on de minimis is welcome news to millions of low-waged workers.  But the impending MRT rate hike is definitely a spoiler,” said ICCAW-NCR spokesman Bryan Nadua.

He also lamented the fact that Malacanang has yet to sign the measure although it has already been announced. “The government is fast in imposing burdens on the workers but slow to act on benefits for the employees,” Nadua added.

An additional exemption of up to P10,000 can be availed by workers who enjoy extra economic benefits coming from collective bargaining agreements and productivity schemes.  The de minimis tax exemption has been a demand of labor groups grouped under Nagkaisa in dialogues with Malacanang.

Nadua said the amount of exemption is almost equivalent to the fare hike that will be imposed by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) upon train riders beginning January 4.

A two-way adjusted rate of P28 per day in the MRT is equivalent to more or less P10,000 in one year, ICCAW stated, lamenting that the fare hike is cancelling out the benefits of the new tax exemption.

“Kung ano ang ibibigay ni Kim Henares sa kabilang bulsa, kukunin ni Joseph Abaya sa kabila,” insisted Nadua.

Labor groups like Nagkaisa are opposed to the planned rate increases in MRT and LRT, saying the railway system which is being enjoyed by millions of low-waged workers should remain subsidized by the State.

ICCAW, which was first organized in Cebu City in 2012, is calling for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits, and entitlements that must be well above the minimum mandated by law and commensurate to the profitable dollar-earning nature of the call center industry.

ICCAW: 8 Steps to Protect BPO Workers' Rights

Protection of Workers’ Jobs and Rights, and Promotion of Just Labor Practices

in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) business is one of the top industries in the country with the Philippines now positioned as the number one call center destination. However, just labor practices have not been widely practiced or observed, especially for small and medium scale enterprises and even the mid-size ones. The Philippines has no strict regulation when it comes to putting up a call center business, no government agency that acts for quick intervention and there are not enough programs designed to protect call center workers’ interests.

Thus we, the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW), advocates for strict regulation to protect workers in the BPO industry. Specifically we call for an end to business tactics used by some employers meant to avoid liabilities to their workers such as illegally closing down and forming another company with the same operations and accounts.

We will cite some violations of labor standards and unjust labor practices happening in the BPO industry based on our first hand experiences. Unfortunately there may be other illegal practices still occurring which we just have not come across.

1.      Sudden closure of operations without prior notice

2.      Creating a new company with the same operations and accounts/campaigns after the closure of old business

3.      Avoiding liabilities and responsibilities to workers after the closure of the business

4.      Non-regular employees are not covered with hospitalization and insurance

5.      Employees are forced to go overtime

6.      Sudden cancellation of planned leaves

7.      Paying minimal allowances (P150 for example) during the training period

8.      Salary often delayed with no sound reasons

9.      Overtime is not paid

10.   Terminating employees without due process

Advocacy for Change

To protect workers’ interests there should be standardization of practices and strict regulation of employers who will be putting up business-related BPO operations. This will avoid fly-by-night operations which are ill prepared to run a business.

Priority Demands for Standardization in the BPO Industry

1.      A bond should be imposed to pre-qualify a call center operation and should be a requirement in putting up such a business. The bond will be used in case of sudden closure and should amount to one (1) month basic salary of the total number of employees hired. This is highly applicable for outbound operation BPO companies.

2.      Non-regular employees should be covered with basic hospitalization and insurance since they are prone to sicknesses as they work most the graveyard shift.

3.      Above minimum salary standards should be set given the dollar earning nature of the BPO industry. We demand a basic wage of P12,000, and a transportation and meal allowance of P2,500. This proposal is lower compared to those offered by the existing top call center companies in Cebu. This is exclusive of health benefits and insurance. Establishing minimum wage and allowances in the BPO industry will advance workers’ rights and interests.

4.      Regular labor inspection of BPO/call center sites in accordance with the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Labor Standards Enforcement Framework, and in coordination with ICCAW representatives. DOLE should train and deputize ICCAW representatives as labor inspectors to augment the meager number of government inspectors.

5.      Immediate activation of DOLE quick reaction team in response to sudden and illegal closures of BPO companies. This should be done in coordination with ICCAW representatives.

6.      Yearly tax break equivalent to two (2) months.  Exemption from income taxes of wages below P25,000, which is the cost of living in Cebu.

7.      Election of employee representatives within BPO companies with the mandate to negotiate with management on workplace grievances and complaints of workers.

8.      Regularize employees after maximum probationary period of six (6) months. Making employees contractual on basis of volatile accounts is a disguised form of employment. Moreover the Labor Code does not recognize account-based employees. Call center workers are also not project-based employees since such is time-bound depending on project duration. Regular call center workers with closed accounts can and should be redeployed to new accounts unless terminated with separation pay.

VAW victim calls for respect for women’s rights in BPO’s

Press Release

March 7, 2014

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

On the eve of International Women’s Day (IWD), a VAW (violence against women) victim is calling on the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry for respect for women’s rights. Cheryl Anne Francia, a call center agent, was dismissed from her previous job due to absence from work after suffering physical abuse from her husband. “BPO’s should be a modern workplace not because of the hi-tech gadgets but because of regard for working women’s dignity,” she said.

Francia was on her way to work last 24 August 2013 when she had an argument with her spouse and was beaten. After recovering from the abuse, she reported for work after five days but was unceremoniously retrenched despite her appeals. She has since then filed a case against her former BPO employer for illegal dismissal and moved on to another call center company.

“I commemorate women’s day by coming out to appeal to my sisters that we should not suffer in silence but stand up for our rights,” Francia averred. She is optimistic of a favorable decision in her illegal dismissal case at the National Labor Relations Commission. Francia also has a pending VAW case against her husband at the regional trial court level. At 30 years old, she has worked at four call center companies in the last four years.

Francia was assisted in her labor and criminal cases by the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW), an industry-wide organization for the rights and welfare of BPO employees. Rosie Hong, a Cebu-based call center agent and spokesperson for ICCAW, asserted that “If BPO’s are truly empowered workplaces then concern for labor and women’s welfare should be a priority. Sadly reality still falls short of the ideal as Francia’s case reveals.” Hong also has a pending illegal dismissal case against a call center company in Cebu.

A National Statistics Office census in 2010 found that females comprise 55% of BPO workers. Hong, a single mother, cites from experience that while sleep disorders are common in BPO workers in general, women workers are especially burdened because they have household and parenting duties during daytime.

ICCAW is celebrating IWD with a round table discussion on the afternoon of March 29 at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP Solair). The UP Solair dean and a female professor will interact with a group of BPO workers. “I invite fellow BPO workers to join us at the UP Solair forum and let us inspire change in our workplaces, homes and society,” Francia stated as she echoed the theme of this year’s IWD.

Call center workers demand reforms in BPO industry

Press Release

January 15, 2014

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

Amidst the closure of a BPO company in Cebu City, an association of call center workers today demanded reforms in the industry to protect labor rights. Rosie Hong of the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) declared that “We are for a stable BPO industry so that we can have regular jobs that provide decent salaries and benefits but this cannot happen if the requirements and criteria for operating a call center company are so relaxed.”

Last Monday some one hundred employees of Leadamorphosis picketed their office building in downtown Cebu in protest at illegal closure and non-payment of salaries. Workers then trooped to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) to file cases against management.

Tomorrow ICCAW will attend an industrial tripartite council meeting together with representatives of the DOLE and BPO employers to demand a swift resolution to the Leadamorphosis labor dispute.

Hong averred “ICCAW is in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Leadamorphosis. We are enraged that a call center company closes down then runs away from its obligations. We attribute this problem due to lack of strong state regulation in BPO industry. For a start, we demand that BPO companies be required to post cash bonds equivalent to one month of salaries and benefits of its total workforce.”

The bond requirement was proposed but was not enacted at the height of the hasty shutdown of another the Cebu City-based BPO company called Direct Access that left some 600 employees with unpaid wages, commissions, overtime pay and separation benefits.

A priority agenda of ICCAW is stricter government regulation of the BPO industry. It is proposing guidelines on requirements to set up call centers must be put in place and strictly implemented. This will reduce fly by night centers that are not financially equipped to run the business and does not respect labor rights, according to the group.

“We want a BPO company to be a better place to work with but if the occupational health of employees are compromised this industry will instead be a time bomb just waiting to explode. ICCAW aim to be a voice and advocate for call center and BPO workers so that the 600,000 employees in the industry who are entirely unorganized can enjoy protection,” Hong insisted.

ICCAW is also calling for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits and entitlements that must be well above the minimum mandated by law and commensurate to the profitable dollar-earning nature of the call center industry.

BPO workers protest illegal closure

Press Release

January 13, 2014

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

Some one hundred employees of a BPO company in Cebu City held a mass action at their office building today in protest at illegal closure and non-payment of salaries. Workers of Leadamorphosis picketed the Dakay Building along Escario St. in downtown Cebu before trooping to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to file cases against management.

“Leadamorphosis management took away the joy from Christmas and the hope for the new year. Fly-by-night BPO companies like Leadamorphosis are a scourge on young workers and breadwinners,” asserted Marnick Unabia, one of some 120 affected employees.

Leadamporphosis workers only received 30% of their wages due for December 15 to 31, 2013 while none of the mandatory deductions for the last quarter of last year have been remitted. Leadamorphosis also did not submit any required notices with DOLE for bankruptcy, insolvency, redundancy or closure before abruptly shutting down last January 8.

The Leadamorphosis workers are expecting to hold a dialogue with DOLE Region 7 officials for the resolution of their grievances after the formal filing of complaints. Meanwhile their call for Leadamorphosis management to meet with them has fallen on deaf ears. They have been on vigil outside their office since last Friday to stop management from running away with company assets.

Rosie Hong of the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) criticized DOLE for its inability to require BPO companies to put up cash bonds to defray employees for their money claims. ICCAW is an industry-wide association of BPO workers and has a chapter among Leadamorphosis employees. “In the parlance of the BPO industry, the DOLE is a bottom performer for failing to meet its metrics,” Hong claimed.

The DOLE was supposed to compel BPO companies to put up cash bonds equivalent to one month of salaries and benefits of its total workforce. The bond requirement was proposed at the height of the hasty shutdown of another the Cebu City-based BPO company called Direct Access that left some 600 employees with unpaid wages, commissions, overtime pay and separation benefits.

“The DOLE has been found sleeping once more on the job. Where can Leadamorphosis workers now get their unpaid wages and unremitted deductions in the absence of a bond? Does the DOLE want a dozen more BPO companies to run away from its obligations to thousands of workers before it acts on its responsibilities?,” Hong added.

Leadamarphosis handles voice and non-voice outbound calls for US clients. The company was formerly called Vector whose corporate officers still comprise Leadamorphosis. In June of 2013 it merged with another BPO company called Sasnet which handled non-voice marketing for home security gadgets.

(Photos of vigil @ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=774160375944928&set=pcb.774160479278251&type=1&theater)

Group calls on gov’t to aid laidoff BPO workers

BPO workers hold vigil vs illegal closure

Press Release

January 12, 2014

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

A BPO workers association called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to assist some 120 call center workers who have been laid off after the abrupt and alleged illegal closure of their company. Workers of Leadamorphosis, a BPO company in Cebu City, have been on vigil outside their office since Friday to stop management from running away with company assets. Tomorrow the BPO workers are planning a protest action to highlight their plight and demands.

“The DOLE should immediately come to the aid of Leadamorphosis workers and resolve their grievances. DOLE should hold Leadamorphosis management accountable for its violations including illegal shutdown and runaway shop. Also the bond put up by Leadamorphosis must be disbursed ASAP to defray the unpaid salaries of its workers,” asserted Rosie Hong, an officer of the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW). ICCAW is an industry-wide association of BPO workers and has a chapter among Leadamorphosis employees.

Leadamporphosis workers only received 30% of their wages due for December 15 to 31, 2013 while none of the mandatory deductions for the last quarter of last year have been remitted. Leadamorphosis also did not submit any required notices with DOLE for bankruptcy, insolvency, redundancy or closure.

The DOLE required BPO companies to put up cash bonds equivalent to one month of salaries and benefits of its total workforce. The regulation was set up after the experience of the hasty shutdown of the Cebu City-based BPO company Direct Access that left some 600 employees with unpaid wages, commissions, overtime pay and separation benefits.

Marnick Unabia, one of the Leadamorphosis workers, explained that “We will hold a vigil outside Leadmorphosis until management dialogues with us in good faith and resolve our grievances. In particular we ask CEO and owner Paul Steven Flannery and vice president Kirk Nethercott to explain the true situation of the company.”

Hong also appealed to the Call Center Association of the Philippines and the BPO Association of the Philippines to exert moral suasion on Leadamorphosis management to heed the demands of their workers.

Leadamarphosis handles voice and non-voice outbound calls for US clients. The company was formerly called Vector whose corporate officers still comprise Leadamorphosis. In June of 2013 it merged with another BPO company called Sasnet which handled non-voice marketing for home security gadgets.

Cebu BPO workers hold vigil to stop runaway shop

Press Release

January 11, 2014

Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)

Workers of a BPO company in Cebu are now holding a vigil outside their office in a bid to stop management from carting away company equipment and assets. “We are victims of illegal closure and runaway shop. But we will fight against our employer’s attempt to take away our livelihood,” asserted Marnick Unabia, one of the affected BPO workers.

Some 40 Leadamorphosis employees starting camping out yesterday at the Dakay Building along Escario St. in Cebu City after some 20 computer units were taken out of the 6^th floor office of the company. The BPO workers vowed to sustain the stakeout until management dialogues with them in good faith. Workers presume more than a hundred computers and the server are still at the company offices.

In the early morning of January 8, Leadamorphosis management announced to its 120-strong workforce that it will shutdown temporarily due earthquake-induced structural damage. The workers though checked with city hall officials and found no truth to the claim that Dakay Building is unsafe.

“Leadamorphosis also did not submit any required notices at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for bankruptcy, insolvency, redundancy or closure,” reported Unabia. He and other Leadamporphosis workers also did not receive their last paycheck covering the period Dec 15 to 31, 2013 and the mandatory deductions for the last quarter of last year have not been remitted.

Rosie Hong, an officer of the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW), called on the DOLE and the BPO industry employers association to facilitate the resolution of the grievances of Leadamorphosis employees. ICCAW is an industry-wide association of BPO workers and has a chapter among Leadamorphosis employees.

Unabia declared that “We call on Leadamorphosis CEO and owner Paul Steven Flannery and vice president Kirk Nethercott to face us and tell us the real score about the company. No more lies and maneuvers. You owe your employees who have served you for several years the truth.”

Leadamarphosis handles voice and non-voice outbound calls for US clients. The company was formerly called Vector whose corporate officers still comprise Leadamorphosis. In June of 2013 it merged with another BPO company called Sasnet which handled non-voice marketing for home security gadgets.

Fact Sheet: DirectAccess Corporation (DAC) in Cebu

Direct Access workers assembly at Cebu City public library

Rampant Labor Standard Violations

1.      DirectAccess Corporation – a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) or in layman’s term “Call Center” which is a corporation owned by several Filipinos through with the main support of the foreign company in Salt Lake City, Utah namely “Revocalize”. The way DAC operates is considered as a telemarketing company because it solicits interest of customers from different states in America with the product/services we have. There are non-voice accounts and voice accounts. Either voice or non-voice agents, both are required to provide leads daily to its client and every lead DAC will produce it is always convertible into specific amount of dollars. Roland del Rosario is one of the owners of DirectAccess Corporation. While Jeffry Newman is the COO/Chief Operating Officer of DirectAccess and the bosses of Mr. Newman are Ben George-President and Jody Rokstool-CEO of Revocalize in Utah.

  

·        Employees were not informed ahead of time that the company will undergo temporary closure last July 30, 2012.

·        Employees did not received the ff:

A.     Total overtime pay including RDOT or rest day OT from June20-July5, 2012 cutoff which was scheduled to be released on the 15^th of July. But then Mr. Newman appealed and announced that instead it will be paid out on the 23^rd of July or within that week but still unpaid.

B.     Basic pay, allowance and cash incentives as well as the overtime pays covering the 16-day working period (July 6-20) and from July 21-30,2012.

·        Government benefits deducted from the salary that were not completely remitted which includes the following:
a. tax remittances
b. Social Security System (SSS)
c. PAG IBIG
d. PhilHealth

·        Leave credits convertible to cash

·        Separation pay

·   Money claims total PhP 6.4 million for 638 employees left jobless

Heads and their Designations:

Ben George-President, Revocalize

Jody Rokstool-CE0, Revocalize

Jeffry Newman- COO/chief operating officer

Roland del Rosario- IT Manager

Atty Beryl Dyesabelle- company lawyer

From Zylun Staffing to DirectAccess -transfer- September 1, 2011.

Mr. Kit Quiseo- HR Head of Zylun

Started cutting down benefits July 15, 2012-July31,2012.

Why shutdown: company declared temporary closure due to bankrupty.

Why not losing: DAC has multiple clients and campaign/accounts that were running.

Labor party calls for strict regulation of labor standards in BPO industry

Press Release

August 2, 2012

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today called on the government to strictly monitor and enforce labor standards in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the wake of the abrupt closure of a call center in Cebu City which left more than 600 workers without jobs and with unpaid wages, benefits and unremitted social security contributions.

“In the SONA of President Benigno Aquino III he applauded the BPO industry but behind this so-called sunrise industry lurks storm clouds that batter workers’ working conditions. Within an industry which prides itself with above-standard systems are substandard practices that are common in other businesses. The Labor Department and other agencies cannot be complacent that all is well for workers in the BPO industry. But the best regulator of labor standards are empowered workers and so we call for representatives to be elected by workers with the mandate to talk with management regarding working conditions, terms of employment, employee benefits and work load including setting of quotas, metrics and performance indexes,” said Renato Magtubo, PM national chairperson.

PM is assisting the employees of Direct Access Corporation, a locator in the Asiatown IT Park in Cebu City, which shutdown without due notice last July 30 to the surprise of its workforce. In arguably the first such protest among BPO workers, hundreds of Direct Access employees spontaneously held a rally last Monday in the prestigious ecozone.

Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson, announced that the scheduled teleconference today between leaders of the Direct Access workers and the US-based owner was postponed for tomorrow. He also explained that no agreement was reached yesterday at mediation called by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, and a meeting with the Cebu tripartite industrial peace council. “Direct Access workers welcome the offer of employment at other BPO companies even as they press for their demands with the different institutions that are intervening. They demand justice for workers, the payment of some PhP 6.4 million in wages and other emoluments, and the company’s culpability for violations of labor laws,” Derige insisted.

Magtubo recognized that numerous studies have called attention to health and safety concerns specific to the BPO industry, especially due to the graveyard working shift prevalent in call centers. “BPO companies must provide health insurance that is on top of the mandatory Philhealth membership and guarantees wider coverage and better benefits that especially address call center-specific health issues and afflictions.”

“Further, government must push for industry-wide standards for wages, benefits and entitlements that is well above the minimum set by law and commensurate to the dollar-earning nature of the BPO sector.” Magtubo argued. In the SONA, President Aquino mentioned that the BPO industry already employs more than 600,000 workers and earns revenues of some PhP 11 billion, equivalent to 5% of the country’s GDP.