A bill protecting Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) workers has been filed in Congress.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. acknowledged BPO workers by filing House Bill 8733, or the BPO Workers’ Welfare Protection Act, proposing measures to address the working conditions of the country’s BPO workers.
Villafuerte described workers in BPO firms as the country's "economic drivers," as they count more than 1.2 million in the country.
There are "gaps in existing labor laws such as access to relevant information, protection from understaffing or overloading, additional benefits to promote safety, health, and overall wellbeing of employees, among others," the explanatory note of the proposed bill read.
"Their working conditions are difficult because of impossibly high-performance standards, inadequate restroom breaks, and sudden changes in shift schedules," it noted.
The measure requires BPO companies to protect their employees' labor rights and benefits under the Labor Code.
"Abusive language, physical violence, or any act which debases the dignity of a person shall not be used against the employee," the bill stated.
The proposal will also outlaw understaffing or overloading by ensuring that the "ratio of BPO worker to client quota or quantitative targets shall be such as to reasonably effect a sustained quality of service at all times without overworking the workers."
The bill also mandates the regularization of BPO workers and upholds their rights to "self-organization and participation in democratic exercises," among others.
Additionally, the measure requires BPO workers to be regularized and protects their rights to "self-organization and participation in democratic exercises," among other things.
