Senatorial candidate Gen. Guillermo Eleazar during one of his campaign sorties. Contributed photo
MANILA, Philippines — Former police chief and senatorial candidate Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to act and offer an immediate solution to the issue on the mandatory return to on-site work of employees from information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) companies.
Eleazar, senatorial aspirant from Partido Reporma, reminded the DOLE to think and prioritize the welfare of employees.
“Sa Abril 1 nakatakdang irequire ang mga BPO employees na pumasok na ulit sa kani-kanilang mga opisina subalit marami pa rin ang tutol at nagsasabing hindi sila nakonsulta hinggil sa bagay na ito. May dalawang araw pa ang DOLE upang masolusyunan ang isyung ito para na rin sa ikakabuti ng kalagayan ng ating mga BPO workers,” said Eleazar.
The Alliance of Call Center Workers had said a significant number of workers in the IT-BPO sector are already considering leaving their jobs because of this regulation.
This, as the Fiscal Incentives Review Board’s (FIRB) has rejected requests to extend remote work arrangements beyond March 31, saying that workers should return to the field beginning April 1.
Eleazar expressed alarm over the plan of some workers to resign from their jobs.
“Ngayon pa nga lang tayo babangon mula sa pandemya ngunit may ganito ng plano ang ilan sa ating mga BPO employees. Sana ay masolusyunan ito ng ating pamahalaan dahil ang BPO sector din ay isa sa nagbuboom sa ating bansa ngayon. Maaapektuhan ang sector kung marami rin ang magre-resign sa kanila,” said Eleazar.
Eleazar has seen the benefits of the work from arrangements as he also believed that the return to on-site work should be done gradually.
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