IT-BPO Workers Unite Against Government Return-to-Office Order effective April 1

Our ability to work from home or work from anywhere (WFH / WFX) helps keep us and our families safe. We denounce the decision of the Duterte administration, acting through the Fiscal Incentives Review Board, toe nforce on-site working requirements for PEZA-registered BPOs despite current pandemic conditions, effectively ordering 1.4 million BPO workers to return to office starting on April 1.

Rejecting appeals from the industry to extend flexible working arrangements until September 2022, FIRB reaffirms the implementing rules of CREATE Law, which was enacted under the Duterte administration. CREATE mandates that activities of PEZA-registered BPO companies must be “exclusively conducted or operated within the geographical boundaries of the zone or freeport” and that “any project or activity conducted or performed outside the geographical boundaries of the zone or freeport shall not be entitled to the incentives” [CREATE Law, Sec. 309; Rule 19 of IRR].

This is inconsiderate, insensitive and inhumane—and certainly not how you treat the new economic front-liners of the country.

We are not completely out of the woods of this pandemic. Even with more people vaccinated, the environment remains volatile: Covid surges are expected, new corona virus variants may emerge, vaccine and booster effectiveness will eventually wear off. The occupational safety and health committees, with employee representation, are in the best position to evaluate safety in our workplaces and recommend a safe full RTO or to maintain the present hybrid setup - not a government that ignores real-life conditions.

What are the long-term plans of government for testing and vaccination in the workplace, health insurance, and other measures to protect on-site workers and public commuters?

Sending us to work on-site without safety nets or a strategic plan is irresponsible and dangerous.

We have thrived in the hybrid work model. We quickly pivoted to full remote workingin order to continue operations, even as a significant number of our BPO workforce returned to our provincial hometowns at the start of the pandemic. The model has worked well despite chronic internet connectivity issues and digital infrastructure limitations. As a result, we contributed positively to the country’s economy in the past 2 years—generating new jobs and expanding our business—while other sectors suffered extensive job losses.

Without hybrid working, we will endanger our hard-fought jobs. Around the world, companies and countries recognize that the hybrid model is the future of work.

Companies in more BPO-friendly countries like India, Malaysia and Costa Rica are already competing with us and luring jobs away from the Philippines. Forcing us to return to our physical offices would erode our competitive advantage. It may just kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

And how will we get to work? Our public transport systems remain inadequate and unsafe for our return-to-work and pandemic realities. How can we show up at work and give our very best when the punishing commute to and from the office regularly saps our energy—reducing our overall productivity and affecting our mental health and physical wellbeing?

By the way, we have not forgotten. That this government mindlessly dismissed the Covid situation and subserviently kept our borders open to potentially infected travelers, while other countries locked down to protect their citizens. That several BPO employees, including those who were exposed to POGO and other foreign workers allowed unfettered access to the country, were among the first wave of Covid-infected patients and deaths. That this administration scrambled to put together a cohesive pandemic response. That government’s inaction and ineptitude prompted our own employers to launch private programs for proactive Covid testing and vaccination for us and our family members. That we raised money for healthcare workers’ PPEs and put up community pantries to help the jobless and more vulnerable. That our taxes were siphoned off by corrupt officials instead of helping us survive this pandemic.

We know who has fought for us, and we will remember when we vote for national leaders in May. The Covid response programs of Vice-President Leni Robredo are of public record. To that, we add: she is the first and only candidate to categorically and fully declare her support for us to work remotely, not just as a stop-gap measure, but as a long-term strategy for Filipino workers. Vice-President Leni Robredo supports BPO upskilling programs, making government services and safe public transportation more accessible to us, and generally ensuring that government provides the infrastructure so that our talents are harnessed to the fullest.

In the past two years, we’ve kept our chin up, worn our smiles, and continued showing the world that the Filipino is the best. Now, it’s time our voices are heard.

We will no longer be silent.

Signed:

IT-BPO Coalition for Leni and Kiko (CLIK)

IT&BPO Professionals for Leni and Kiko

BPO Employees for Leni-Kiko 

BPO Industry Employees Network 

Federation of Free Workers