Call center agents forced to return to work after quake?

Local

WHEN the ground stopped shaking, some Cebu call center agents said their ordeal was far from over.

Reports have surfaced that employees were allegedly ordered back to their desks just minutes after the deadly magnitude 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday night, Sept. 30.

The workers said they were threatened with being marked absent without leave if they refused to immediately return to their desks.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña has stepped in, vowing to stand with workers who may have been forced to choose between safety and keeping their jobs.

“This is unacceptable if this is true. If this happened to you, I would help. Text me directly with all the details you can provide—company name, who issued the order to return, as complete a timeline as you can,” Osmeña said in a statement Thursday, Oct. 2.

The vice mayor gave out his personal number and assured employees that only he would read their messages.

He also warned that if the allegations are proven, “we will do more than just file a complaint at DOLE. I will

personally contact every known local and overseas client that the company has to tell them what kind of company they hired. We will hit them where it hurts.”

The controversy followed the circulation of a company memo online that read: “Calls are piling up in the queue. Please go back inside and log in ASAP. Anyone who decides to go home will be tagged AWOL.”

Labor group BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN)-Cebu said this was not an isolated case.

In just two days after the quake, BIEN received hundreds of complaints from agents ordered back to the production floor within 30 minutes of evacuation, to those threatened with suspension, loss of bonuses, or administrative sanctions for prioritizing their families’ safety.

In some companies, employees were allegedly enticed with double pay to stay on shift. In others, gag orders were reportedly issued to prevent staff from speaking out.

BIEN also cited a case where a pregnant employee was left unaided during evacuation.

“Corporate greed combined with government inaction shows the complete disregard for BPO workers’ welfare and safety,” BIEN-Cebu said. “We strongly condemn these unacceptable labor practices and call for the immediate protection of BPO employees and their families.”

Labor advocates also criticized the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for passing the responsibility to private firms instead of declaring imminent danger and requiring building safety checks.

“If the government can suspend classes to inspect schools, they should also require BPO companies and building administrators to ensure work resumption does not threaten worker safety,” BIEN-Cebu stressed.(TGP)