Attention: Cebu BPO HR managers

As the former DOLE Undersecretary and a former national president of PMAP (People Management Association of the Philippines), and as a Cebuano, I have received too many reports about some Labor issues involving the way Human Resources managers and business owners are leading and managing their people, especially the women in the call centers in Cebu and Negros who work in graveyard shifts, in the wee hours of the night. May I request DOLE Regional Director Alvin Villamor to look into the work conditions of the thousands of Business Process Outsourcing personnel in these provinces and cities?

I do hope that BPO line and HR managers are complying with Title III, Book Three of the Labor Code, especially Chapter I on the Employment of Women, Articles 130 to 136, as amended by RA 10151. This is in relation to Chapter V of the same Book Three in the Labor Code, on Employment of Night Workers. The workers in the BPO firms have the right to undergo health assessment, without fee and to receive advice on how to reduce health problems arising from work. HR managers should make sure this is done.

These workers are entitled to be given facilities free of charge, including arrangements where such workers can be taken immediately for appropriate treatment. The employers are required to provide safe and healthful working conditions and adequate facilities, like sleeping quarters and transportation from place of work to residence. These workers can invoke health reasons in order to ask for transfer from the night shift to the day shift. Of course, we should also understand the nature of the BPO businesses which cater to clients in the western hemisphere.

The law states, among others, that pregnant and nursing women, cannot be compelled to work at the night shift except if their physician certifies to their fitness to work at night. Night shift schedules always require prior consultation with the workers or their union. And these consultations must be regularly conducted. I trust that HR managers are well-versed with the labor laws. Ignorance is not an option.

It is true that the BPO industry is giving a lot of employment opportunities to Cebu City workers. But such does not justify violation of the Labor Code. As a lawyer, I will help Cebu HR managers comply with Labor laws. But I will also help victims of exploitation, neglect, and injustice.