The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has called out BPO’s that have refused to let employees evacuate from buildings after the 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook western Luzon last April 22, 2019. The TUCP claims that after the earthquake ended, some BPO’s immediately resumed operations even without the necessary clearance issued by structural engineers.

Complaints Abound!

TUCP president, Raymond Mendoza, said that the labor group has received reports from BPO employees who claim that the leadership of their call centers, managers-supervisors, did not follow earthquake safety precautions. Mr. Raymond Mendoza even cited cases where BPO employees were instructed to keep working during the earthquake.

Raymond Mendoza, TUCP President “This company practice or policy is a form of abuse and it must be condemned because it imperils the lives of their employees and jeopardizes the safety and health of workers…”

But No Specific BPO’s Were Named…

Yes, TUCP got complaints, but it refused to name any specific contact center that was guilty of violating established earthquake safety procedures.

Evacuate!

The late afternoon earthquake last Monday led to the mass evacuation of government and private offices, and schools, which was followed by buildings inspections to check for damage.

Raymond Mendoza, TUCP President “It is possible that the (earthquake) damage may not be immediately obvious, but it already impacted the integrity of the workplace structure and may cause irreparable damage upon aftershocks and future earthquakes…”

Republic Act 11058

The TUCP also tried to raise awareness on Republic Act 11058 (An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards), where employees have the right to refuse going to work in unsafe environments – employers, contractors, sub-contractors, or work supervisors who violate this law will be fined P100K for each day that the violation is not remedied.

Raymond Mendoza, TUCP President “If workers were forced to work despite of the notice of unsafe workplace, employers, contractors and business-owners are administratively liable.”

BIEN Joins the Fight!

The BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN) corroborated TUCP statements, it too had received reports on unsafe BPO practices during and after the recent earthquake.

-BIEN Statement- “We are shocked and appalled upon receiving reports from BPO workers themselves that their companies did not evacuate them during the earthquake… Keeping business as usual in the midst of this life-threatening situation is not only illegal; it is utterly inhumane… We call on the government to enforce the new occupational safety and health standards law (RA1105) and penalize companies who have violated the safety standards putting workers’ lives at great risk… Given the risk of an aftershock and effect of quake on infrastructure, we urge the government and companies to consider suspending operations until buildings and offices are declared safe.”

BMP is Angry!

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), also added that, based from its social media scan, workers from malls and offices in Makati and Taguig reported the same case of earthquake safety negligence.

Leody de Guzman, BMP Chairman “This merely shows that they value private property than the lives of people. This is an extreme form of greed.”

DOLE Responds…

The Department of Labor and Employment may start verifying reports on the unsafe earthquake practices of some BPO’s… eventually.

Silvestre H. Bello III, DOLE “There is no official report to that effect yet…”

The good thing is that the labor department reminded the public that employers who do not follow worker safety precautions may face administrative charges and penalties.

But DOLE is not moving any one bit. Ever since the earthquake struck, the labor body has received messages that have been deemed as insufficient in terms of starting an investigation.

Again, Nothing Happens…

With all this, no BPO has been identified yet to have broken the law during and after the recent earthquake, no BPO employee is yet to formally lobby any charges, no labor group is yet to do anything concrete, outside of press statements. :0(