With two days to go before the April 8
deadline by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for BPO companies to
apply for exemption from the Return-To-Office (RTO) order, an industry workers
group proposed several alternatives to full on-site work. The Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW)
called on the Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to convene a social dialogue so
that the options they are presenting can be discussed.
“BPO workers are appealing to
the government that our voices be heard and that we be given a seat at the
table since this concerns the safety and well-being of employees. BPO workers
are the ones who will get sick in case of infections, will endure hours in
traffic even as public transportation remains broken, and will have their lives
disrupted as they relocate back to cities and business districts from the provinces,”
stated Bryan Nadua, ICCAW spokesperson and works in a BPO in Metro Manila.
ICCAW also expressed its
support for the groups BPO Employees for Leni and Kiko and the Coalition of IT-BPO
for Leni-Kiko which are having a press conference tomorrow to air their
grievances over the implementation of the RTO. The RTO order took effect last Friday,
April 1, as the Department of Finance and the Fiscal
Incentives Review Board insisted that BPOs as economic zones must be “exclusively
conducted or operated within the geographical boundaries of the zone or
freeport.” In a press conference attended
by several BPO workers last March 27, ICCAW called the RTO an “April Fools’
prank on BPO workers.”
ICCAW is proposing the
following alternatives to the RTO or full on-site work:
1. Hybrid setup where workers
are 3 days on-site (workplace) and 2 days off-site (home)
2. 50/50 ratio: 50% of the workforce
are on-site and 50% are working from home
3. Compressed work week: 4
days on-site on 11 hours shift (which includes 1-hour lunch and three 15-minute
breaks)
4. Conversion of existing benefits
like internet or electric allowance to transportation allowance once workers go
on-site
5. 70/30 ratio as proposed by
PEZA but the 70% of the workforce should be on hybrid set-up (3 days on-site at
2 days off-site)
Nadua emphasized that “Dialogue
is key and workers participation is imperative. At the national level, BPO workers
seek a meeting with Secretary Bello. At the sectoral level, the IT-BPO industry
tripartite council must table options presented by workers. And at the firm
level, management must hear the concerns of employees and their representatives.”
The Inter-Call
Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) is a DOLE-registered workers’ association
that was formed in 2012 out of the struggle of 667 employees of a call center
in Cebu City which unceremoniously closed down. ICCAW has core groups in Metro
Manila, Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo. ICCAW FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/Inter-Call-Center-Association-of-Workers-ICCAW-649423938410656
Inter-Call Center Association of Workers
April 6, 2022
