PH call center employees rally for 100% WFH
Call center employees in the Philippines are saying that a 100% work-from-home (WFH) arrangement is “workable,” following the Fiscal Incentives Review Board’s (FIRB) hybrid work approval.
Alliance of Call Center Workers (ACW) Co-Convenor Emman David said that a full-time permanent WFH model “not only has a legal basis but a moral one, due to the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.”
ACW also insists that companies should be allowed to adopt flexible work arrangements for safety reasons.
The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry is required by tax law to conduct 100% of its work within the premises of economic zones if it is to enjoy tax incentives. However, this rule was relaxed during the pandemic.
FIRB’s newly-signed Resolution No. 017-22 temporarily authorized a 70:30 hybrid work ratio for BPO firms registered under investment promotion agencies (IPAs) until September 12 without any consequences on the company’s tax incentives.
For his part, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Officer-in-Charge Tereso Panga said that the agency would continue to partner with the industry to make hybrid work arrangements more permanent.
