BPO industry giving agents 30% extra pay to work on rainy day

The business process outsourcing industry (BPO) is not suspending operations on Tuesday despite a Malacañang memo canceling work in the private sector because of inclement weather, an official of Business Processing Association of the Philippine said Tuesday.

 

“We have a commitment to our global clients to operate 24/7, and because of that we cannot suspend operations,” BPAP executive director for external affairs Genny Marcial told GMA News Online.

 

Call center agents and other BPO workers who will report for work will get premium compensation of 30 percent over their basic pay, said Marcial.

 

In a separate interview with GMA News Online, BPAP president and CEO Benedict Hernandez said some BPO centers could operate even with a high level of absenteeism while other agents work at home.

 

Employee safety is a “priority” for BPAP even if the outsourcing contract calls for a 24-hour operation, Hernandez noted.

 

 “Nobody can force (agents) to go to work just because we have a contract,” he added.

 

The BPAP president said he has not encountered a situation where BPO workers did not report for work due to bad weather.

 

BPAP’s member-companies will comply with the rule on premium pay and safety standards for their employees including office food and shuttle service, Hernandez said.

 

BPO agents who are already at work “should better stay put” in their respective offices, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told GMA News Online.

 

Confusion in BPAP

 

Marcial said there was confusion earlier Tuesday within the BPAP on the supposed exemption of the BPO industry from the no-work memo.

 

“Some were saying we’re exempted (from the Palace directive), some were saying we’re not,” said Marcial.

 

The association was “caught by surprise” when Malacañang issued the no-work order, she noted.

 

 Thus, BPAP tried to clarify with Malacañang what the Palace memo “meant for us,” said Hernandez. 

 

“We were requesting for a clarification…” said Marcial. “Are we really included? This is the first time… We were caught in a dilemma,” she added. — VS/HS, GMA News