A union for call centre workers in the Philippines claims skeleton crews are sleeping in the office in potentially unsafe conditions to help Australian customers, despite the risk of the coronavirus.

Key points: Staff have allegedly been sleeping in the office at call centres that handle customer service work for Telstra and Optus in the Philippines

Staff have allegedly been sleeping in the office at call centres that handle customer service work for Telstra and Optus in the Philippines Telstra has instructed company Teleperformance to remove all workers on its accounts from on-site accommodation

Telstra has instructed company Teleperformance to remove all workers on its accounts from on-site accommodation Optus has set up worksites that allow for greater social distancing and provided hotel accommodation for some staff

7.30 can reveal the allegations involve worker complaints about two companies that handle accounts for Telstra and Optus.

But Telstra has said that on its instructions all workers on its accounts have been shifted to alternative accommodation.

The claims come several weeks after the Financial Times exposed poor conditions for workers employed by French multinational outsourcing company, Teleperformance.

Images show Filipino workers in Cebu sleeping closely together on mattresses on the office floor where they are contracted to do work for Amazon.

Mylene Cabalona, president of local union BPO Industry Employees Network, has received a complaint about a Teleperformance office in Manila where customer service work is done for Telstra.

The complaint alleges workers were sleeping in a training room and have only just been moved to another office and provided with hotel accommodation following outrage about conditions shown in the Cebu footage.

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"Teleperformance is one of the biggest companies here in the Philippines. And yes, they have Telstra [as a client]," Ms Cabalona told 7.30.

"It's not an isolated case, the issue which came out in Cebu, that a Teleperformance company did not provide proper accommodation and it was exposed."

Mylene Cabalona, president of the BPO Industry Employees Network. ( Supplied: Mylene Cabalona )

7.30 can reveal that after the Cebu incident was made public, Telstra sought additional assurances from Teleperformance about the precautions being taken at its Manila workplace.

Telstra then instructed Teleperformance to remove all workers on its accounts from onsite accommodation.

In a statement, Telstra told 7.30, "There are no longer any partner employees operating on Telstra accounts being housed in onsite accommodation in the Philippines.

"Workers are now either back in their homes and commuting to work via shuttle bus or private transport, or they are being housed in hotel accommodation near offices."

Teleperformance has rejected the union's claim that there was not sufficient social distancing at its office and said staff were being paid additional money to be there.

'Some choose to come and stay at the office'

[24]7.ai says on its website there are currently "massive call center volumes". ( Supplied )

Ms Cabalona has also received allegations about a lack of physical distancing inside another company, [24]7.ai in Manila, which does work for Optus.

She claims staff are sleeping in the training and recruitment room and only have access to one shower.

In a statement, [24]7.ai did not respond to the specifics of the allegations made by Ms Cabalona, but maintained it is complying with government regulators and ensuring safe social distancing.

It also said staff who were living in the office are choosing to do so.

"Some choose to come and stay at the office either because of the convenience and amenities being offered, or because they have elderly relatives at home," the statement said.

"We are not mandating anyone to come to work or to stay in the contact centre, nor is anyone is being penalised for not coming in."

[24]7.ai also said it was sanitising the office daily, screening employees' temperatures and mandating the use of face masks.

Optus confident its workers are safe

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Andrew Sheridan, vice president of regulatory and public affairs at Optus, said in a statement that his company prioritises safety, including that of its contractors who are employed by the four partners it uses in the Philippines.

"Each of our partners has provided us with their protocols for ensuring the safety of workers in the current scenario," Mr Sheridan's statement said.

"We are confident that our workers' safety should be robustly addressed by the protocols."

Optus has also set up smaller worksites that allow for greater social distancing closer to where some staff live, allowing them to walk to work, and accommodation including hotels have been provided to staff not within walking distance.

Telstra and Optus have both said they plan to increase their domestic workforce in response to the pandemic.

Call centres allowed to operate during lockdown

The Duterte Government has allowed call centres to remain open. ( AP )

According to the World Health Organisation, the Philippines has had more than 7,000 cases and 494 deaths due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The country is under a tight lockdown, with severe restrictions on movement enforced by the police and the military.

However, the Duterte Government has allowed call centres and companies providing other outsourcing functions like tech support, accounting and data processing, known as business process outsourcing (BPO), to continue operating.

Ms Cabalona alleges staff are reporting claims of unacceptable conditions to her because they cannot go public themselves for fear of losing their jobs.

She is concerned workers are being forced to choose between unsafe conditions or staying at home and not being paid, and she is calling for all onsite work to be suspended.

"It's very risky. Any time the virus could enter. It's like a time bomb," Ms Cabalona said.

"There are companies who actually offer accommodation [onsite] but these are like offices converted into a sleeping lounge.

"They just bought mattress and they just lay it on the floor. These are production floors converted into sleeping quarters."

Teleperformance says it's working to provide safe workplace

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Teleperformance has conceded it has made mistakes since the Philippines' lockdown came into place.

On social media, the company is showing its efforts to keep staff free of coronavirus, including providing face masks, temperature checks, social distancing and increased cleaning.

In a statement, Teleperformance Philippines said its entire operation was currently at under 30 per cent capacity, allowing more space per worker onsite. It employs more than 40,000 staff.

The statement also said workers living onsite are being paid a 20-30 per cent pay premium and are "strictly adhering to social distancing", and it was providing "pillows, blankets, disinfectant alcohol and hygiene kits".

It added that government inspectors had visited its Cebu operation and no sanctions were imposed, though inspectors did make suggestions for improvements.

Teleperformance has now secured some hotel accommodation, which is in limited supply, and is increasing work-at-home arrangements already being performed by about 8,000 of its agents.

Following the allegations about poor conditions in Cebu, Teleperformance employees that do work for an Amazon subsidiary company called Ring have been moved and are no longer sleeping in the workplace.

In a statement a spokesperson said, "Ring does not tolerate violations of our vendor Code of Conduct, and we expect our vendors to follow local laws and government orders, including guidelines for social distancing. We regularly monitor their continued compliance and, if we find violations, take appropriate steps including immediate corrective action."

The ABC has contacted the office of Silverstre Bello, the Secretary of the Philippines' Department of Labor and Employment, but is yet to receive a response.

Editor's note:

7.30 has updated the media used in this story when showing conditions inside the Teleperformance Cebu office.

An earlier version of the story showed vision of a different office and its placement in the story made it purportedly located in the Teleperformance Cebu office.

7.30 has updated the story with a photo of the Teleperformance Cebu office.