Cebu BPO workers file complaint over order to return to work after strong quake

Metro Manila, Philippines - Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) workers in Cebu filed a complaint on Thursday, Oct. 2, against a return-to-work order from their companies with the province still recovering from a devastating magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

They filed the complaint with the Department of Labor and Employment - Central Visayas office.

The BPO Industry Employees' Network (BIEN) Cebu said it received reports of violations of Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) in at least 10 companies in Cebu City.

The violations include blocking of emergency exits, ordering employees to resume work immediately after the earthquake, and threatening to issue a notice to explain to those who would go home.

“Workers must have the right to ensure the safety of themselves and their families, especially during disasters. No employee should be forced to return onsite without proper safety clearance and building inspections,” it said on social media.

BIEN Cebu also criticized the government for “its prioritization of corporate interest over employee well-being in their decision to not declare imminent danger, instead passing the decision of how to handle the emergency situation to private companies.”

Some House of Representatives members condemned the employers.

“Napakamanhid naman nila para pilitin yung mga empleyado nila na bumalik sa trabaho just a few minutes after a massive earthquake. Sa ganyang sitwasyon dapat buhay ng tao yung pangunahing konsiderasyon, hindi yung kikitain ng kumpanya,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendana said.

[Translation: They are too numb to force their employees to go back to work just a few minutes after a massive earthquake. In that situation, the lives of the people should be the primary consideration, not the companies’ profits.]

“The right to refuse unsafe work is enshrined in law. Forcing BPO workers back to work amid aftershocks and without safety clearance is exploitation, plain and simple,” Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago said, pushing to strengthen the OSHS.

Government data showed the tremor killed 72 people while 300 others were injured.

The province is under a state of calamity.