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Call centers, as part of the business-process outsourcing (BPO)
industry, must follow guidelines set by the Occupational Safety and
Health Center (OSHC) of the Department of Labor and Employment to
promote the health and well-being of thousands of call-center agents
in the country.
The call was made over the weekend by former
Labor Undersecretary Susan Ople
“The BPO sector is the leading star of the
economy and it should now illuminate the path toward better safety
and health standards in the workplace,” the daughter of the late
Labor and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said in a statement.
The OSHC has asked call-center firms to
formulate policies that will indicate management’s commitment to a
safe and healthful workplace.
Under a Labor department circular issued on
March, the employer must implement an appropriate an occupational
safety and health program in accordance with the government’s
Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS).
The circular also mandates employers to organize
Safety and Health committees in their workplace, under Rule 1040 of
the OSHS.
“Many call-center agents are new entrants to
the workforce and may not be sufficiently aware of their rights and
obligations as employees that they have a right to a safe and
healthy workplace and to humane conditions at work,” Ople
stressed.
She said employees in the BPO sector are prone
to work-related musculoskeletal disorders, eye fatigue, and physical
stress due to long and irregular hours at work, aside from security
threats and harassments experienced by night-shift workers to and
from their place of work.
“The Labor department has relaxed its rules to
allow call-center companies to employ woman workers for night-shift
duties, but such exemptions must be matched with appropriate safety
and health benefits such as free shuttle services for night shift
workers,” Ople added.
She pointed to “high emotional and
physical burdens attached to this line of work and it is best if the
industry itself sets the example in addressing the welfare of their
employees.”
Ople said the country’s successful business
processing and outsourcing industry must also lead the way in
providing non-wage benefits to its employees.
According to industry reports, the BPO sector,
led by call centers, posted $4.8 billion to $5 billion in revenues
in 2007, compared to the $3.4 billion in 2006.
It also generated 320,000 full-time jobs in
2007, from 237,000 in 2006.
Despite the growth of the call-center industry,
it continues to have a high turnover rate among employees.
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