Is a new law needed to protect BPO workers' rights?

Lured by better pay, Jayson Amper is one of thousands of young Filipinos who find their way to any of the country's increasing number of business process outsourcing (BPO) or contact center firms every year.

“Okay naman yung salary, yung benefits din—health benefits, SSS [social security]. Lahat ng benefits nakukuha naman,” Amper, a call center trainee, said in a report by Lei Alviz on GMA News TV 11's  “News to Go.”

“I think it's well known na mas malaki ang sweldo sa BPO compared to other companies,” said Paul Perez, a full-time call center worker for seven years now.

But Kabataan Partylist Rep. Teri Ridon claimed not everyone is as lucky as Amper and Perez.

Ridon said in Alviz's report that the bulk of the country's over 700,000 BPO and contact center workers are subject to contractualization.

“Ibig sabihin walang assurance ng tenure in terms of jobs security, assurance in terms of health care at benefits 'tsaka social security,” he said.

Ridon re-filed House Bill (HB) 1108, the proposed BPO Workers Welfare & Protection Act, before the 16th Congress. This is third time the bill will face Congress after failing to hurdle the 14th and 15th Congresses.

The proposed measure seeks to ban contractualization in the BPO industry and allow collective bargaining.

It also aims to compel BPO firms to provide health benefits for workers from the time of hiring and mandates increased restroom breaks.

“Isa sa mga talamak na sakit ng mga nasa BPO industry ay yung urinary tract infection kasi nga hindi sila nakakapagbanyo as they please,” Ridon said.

Policing is key

Despite saying they are open to initiatives that will guide the BPO sector, industry groups maintain that the key is policing 840 firms.

“What is needed is for the government to police companies who are operating in the BPO industry but are not members of any industry organizations and do not comply with existing labor laws,”  Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) executive director Joselito “Jojo” Uligan said in a telephone interview with GMA News Online.

Contact centers – essentially BPOs – are facilities used by companies to manage offshore work through mediums like e-mail, online live chats and telephone.

Uligan claimed all companies under CCAP's helm provide healthcare, enough break time and salaries that are double the minimum wage.

“These are already mandated under the Labor Code. We put a premium [on the] wellness of our workers, as our industry is reliant on them,” he said.

Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (I-BPAP) senior executive director Gillian Joyce Virata echoed Uligan's observations.

“We actually welcome the bill or any effort to institutionalize what the companies have been practicing.  Best efforts, of course, we have been compliant with the Labor Code,” she said in Alviz's report. — BM, GMA News