BPO workers urge legislators to pass law regulating industry safety, permanent employment, pay levels

SENATE BILL (SB) NO. 1493, or the proposed BPO Workers’ Welfare and Protection Act, represents the latest effort to ensure that industry employees are protected, a business process outsourcing (BPO) employee association said.

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Mylene Cabalona, president of the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN), said the industry is beset by limited safeguards, weak labor standards, meager pay, and unsafe work hours.

The Cebu earthquake raised questions about the 1.8 million-worker strong industry’s labor practices, with employees allegedly refused permission to leave their workstations after the quake struck in the evening Cebu time, which coincided with the period during which BPO workers were servicing key Western markets.

“We'vebeen pushing this in Congress since 2013. The BPO industry has been largely self-regulating,” Ms. Cabalona said by telephone.