Kabataan files House Bill 1180 "Call Center Bill" the 3rd time » YugaTech

Kabataan files House Bill 1180 “Call Center Bill” the 3rd time

Representative Terry Ridon of Kabataan Party list is hoping that third time’s the charm as he re-filed the House Bill 1180 or the BPO Workers’ Welfare and Protection Act of 2013 on Wednesday July 10.

BPO

The said bill was first filed on the 14th Congress by former Kabataan party list Representative Raymond Palatino. After his first failed attempt, Mr. Palatino re-files it in 15th Congress but failed to even get passed the committee level. Now it’s up to current Representative Ridon to continue the fight.

“As we file this bill for the third time, we are confident that it will muster the support, not only of the agents but of call center owners and managements as well. There is no reason for owners and managers to oppose this measure. Improving the agents’ welfare will also mean greater productivity and lower workforce attrition rate for them,”

For the benefit of those who are just reading about this bill for the first time, the House Bill 1180 “seeks to promote and protect the rights of Filipinos working in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies across the country.” Below are the key proponents of the bill:

• Regularization of all BPO workers upon the sixth month of employment as trainee or apprentice, or upon the completion of a maximum probationary training period of six months.
• Standardized restroom breaks not shorter than five minutes each, with intervals of two hours during their working hours.
• Entitlement to medical benefits upon entry in the BPO company and not merely upon regularization.
• Right to Self-Association, to engage in Collective Bargaining, and to participate in Democratic Exercises

With more than 770,000 (and still growing) BPO workers all over the country, it’s only logical for government officials to pass/implement laws that would improve the quality of work environment for call center employees. However, I can’t say that I totally agree with some the key provisions of this bill which I’ll explain in a separate article.

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Ronnie Bulaong

This article was written by Ronnie Bulaong, a special features contributor and correspondent for YugaTech. Follow him on Twitter @turonbulaong.

https://www.yugatech.com

17 Comments

Loki says:

11 years ago

I used to worked in the BPO industry at ngayon ko lang nalaman na meron palang mga BPO na di nag.reregularized ng mga employees nila o_O

“* Standardized restroom breaks not shorter than five minutes each, with intervals of two hours during their working hours.”

really?
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Nexus says:

11 years ago

Desperate attempt from the communist partylist to look relevant and get popular. The bill hardly looks well-crafted.

http://bit.ly/13Frlga

More like an unrealistic wishlist for me.
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KT says:

11 years ago

• Regularization of all BPO workers upon the sixth month of employment as trainee or apprentice, or upon the completion of a maximum probationary training period of six months.
-The sixth month rule is mandated by the Labor Law. If you do not receive regularization papers on or before your sixth month, regardless of your performance, you will automatically be considered a regular employee. (ART. 281. Probationary Employment. – Probationary employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working, unless it is covered by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer period.)

• Standardized restroom breaks not shorter than five minutes each, with intervals of two hours during their working hours.
-If this is on top of the regular snack/lunch break, then I support this part.

• Entitlement to medical benefits upon entry in the BPO company and not merely upon regularization.
-In all companies that I worked for, I have medical benefits on Day 1. I guess applicants should choose the companies they apply for before signing the employment contract.

• Right to Self-Association, to engage in Collective Bargaining, and to participate in Democratic Exercises
-This is in existence as well in all of the companies I worked for.

I think the best option for these congressmen is to consult or do focus group discussions by inviting employees from different call centers so that they would have solid structure before passing the bill. The bill looks half-baked and looks like it was done for compliance (just so they will not be dubbed as freeloaders in the House).
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Pao says:

11 years ago

*these were..
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teifwald says:

11 years ago

Jusko po, kawawa naman mga BPO’s pati mga empleyado kapag ganito ang pinatupad mo, sure ako hihigpit na ang mga call center at un regularization pahirapan na yan, unang una sa lahat, kung ako OM or may ari ng kumpanya, bakit ako magreregular ng indi performer? bakit ako magreregular ng release ng release ng calls? Pag ganito baka kahit 1absent lng indi ka na gawin regular? Baka umikli na un training? kasi kelangan bago mag 6months napakinabangan ka na,para kung tanggalin ka man sulit na?
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thecorrescode says:

11 years ago

*SECTION 6. Protection from Understaffing or Overloading
– Dapat lang kasi madaming kupal na employers. Tipong ayaw gumastos ng additional na resources kaya yung para sa dalawang tao na tasks ginagawa ng isang tao lang. Worst, kung makapagdemand sa deadline eh wagas.

Employees should also be protected from being fired due to overstaffing. For example, may mga kumpanya na nagpopool ng employees dahil in-expect nila na may project, pero kapag hindi nakuha yung project eh on-the-spot terminated yung employee.

*SECTION 22. Medical Examination and Treatment.
-Regarding medical benefits, dapat standard na upon entry eh meron na agad, additional perks na lang kung maregular.
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juntar says:

11 years ago

There’s enough reason to junk the bill.Everything is in the Labor Code. The useless Kabataan Partylist should do its homework. Are they saying those who work in the BPO can’t be regularized because it needs another law? Read the Labor Code.
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jherwynne says:

11 years ago

Risky talaga sa health ang graveyard shift. Dapat talaga pagpasok pa lang sa company, at least, meron na agad medical and life insurance. Upon regularization, then pwede na gawing dependent yung family members mo.
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Reader says:

11 years ago

Typical act of COMMUNISTS. Half-baked and rehashed. Try harder, Congress freeloaders.
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metre9dmt says:

11 years ago

this bill will never pass…3rd time this was filed by a party-list group…there was no mentioned that BPO management was consulted…pag-usapan, huwag kalimutan ang management else walang mangyayari sa bill na ito kundi matulog sa floor deliberations…how about creating a BPO cooperative? Just asking…
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Observer says:

11 years ago

Superficial, superfluous and impractical.

Superficial kasi it merely stats what should, not know how or why and what the implications are.

Superfluos kasi most of the sections are mere duplications found elsewhere.

Impractical kasi mahal yung mga proposals nyo. Like free transport service. Million yan araw araw hahahhaha.
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