SAFETY OF BPO INDUSTRY. Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said on Wednesday (Aug. 12, 2020) that the health and safety of workers in the call center industry should be a priority, considering the vital role business process outsourcing firms play in the local economy. During their meeting, the BPO representatives said they have been conducting regular onsite disinfection and also have physicians and nurses on-duty. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO)
BACOLOD CITY – The city government is deploying a team to conduct random visits to the workplaces of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies to ensure their compliance with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) health protocols.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said on Wednesday the health and safety of workers in the call industry should be a priority considering the vital role the BPO firms play in the local economy.
“Over the years, we know how valuable you are. We know how much you contributed to Bacolod as a whole. You have made a very great impact on our local economy. While we focused on economics before, what is now primordial is the health and safety of those in the industry. We want you safe over anything else,” he added.
In Bacolod, a call center employee recently succumbed to Covid-19 while another was also infected by the virus.
On Monday night, Leonardia, with other city officials, held a virtual meeting with the representatives of 13 BPO companies in the city to assess their compliance with the health protocols to contain the spread of Covid-19.
“I hope that you are all strict enough to see to it that health protocols are properly followed,” Leonardia told them.
He said that aside from ensuring their compliance, the team from the city government will also conduct assessments on how to improve their working arrangements amid the health crisis.
Almost all BPO firms in the city, particularly those which have more than 1,000 employees, have adopted a 50 percent to 80 percent work-from-home arrangement.
Small companies, or those with only 80 to 90 employees, have not adopted a work-from-home arrangement, but are observing a one-seat-apart workplace set-up instead.
During the meeting, the BPO representatives said that they have been conducting regular enhanced onsite disinfection and also have physicians and nurses on-duty.
They also requested the city government to provide them a list of areas under lockdown so they can arrange a work set-up for employees living in these areas.
Among the largest BPO firms operating in Bacolod are TelePerformance, TeleTech, ConCentrix, and PanAsiatic.
On Tuesday, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of Bacolod City Inter-Agency Task Force against Covid-19, told residents here not to discriminate against call center workers.
“With the recent Covid-19 case in one of the BPO firms here in the city, the task force appeals to the public to stop stigmatizing or discriminating against call center agents,” he said. (PNA)
