Call center group opposes on-site return, pushes for dialogues with DOLE
The Inter-Call Center Association of Workers (ICCAW) expressed their disapproval of the government’s return-to-office mandate for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms.
Citing health and safety risks, the group said that decision makers should consider a “gradual return” instead of requiring everyone to go back to their offices all at once.
In a statement, the group stated that “Even before the pandemic, if one BPO employee gets a cough or cold, in a day or two, someone else will show similar symptoms due to infection,”
“Headsets too are sometimes shared among employees and are another way by which COVID-19 might be easily transmitted in a 100% fully operational scenario,”
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) earlier rejected requests to extend remote work until September this year, and reiterated the March 31 deadline of WFH arrangements..
ICCAW is calling for a dialogue between BPO employees and the Department of Labor and Employment.
They believe that “that safety committees, with employee representation, are in the best position to evaluate safety in our workplaces and recommend a safe full [return to office] or to maintain the present hybrid setup — not a government that ignores real-life conditions.”
