subject: Bpo Agents And Labor Rights [print this page] The BPO sector has attained the distinction of being an organized industry long back. Yet, when it comes to certain labor rights for the call center agents, they are not up there with the other sectors. There is quite a bit of arbitrariness associated with the industry. There are many areas where the business process outsourcing employees are not able to hold their own against random decision by the call centers. Keeping this in mind, the Filipino BPO service industry has decided to pass a bill that guards the rights of employees working for call center services.
There are several points in the bill that the BPO sector needs to think about. For example, a point states that the call center employees need to be regularized after the completion of 6 months of probationary period. It is often noted that call centers get their employees to work beyond the designated period of probation without confirming their employment. A confirmed answering service agent is liable to receive benefits, perks and other privileges that a probationary agent cannot have. The telemarketing firm may keep the 'confirmed' tag away for these reasons. But the employee holds a grudge against these practices and is most likely to walk away to another BPO service firm at the first available opportunity. In a way, these HR practices hikes up the attrition rate.
Agents talking calls or making them will require breaks during work. They cannot continue to work for hours without comfort breaks. Call centers often deny the agents from taking these breaks. The labor rights bill mentions that the answering service agents cannot be refused to take breaks of durations more than 5 minutes. This time will not be deducted from their working hours. Additionally, the bill states that telemarketing agents need to be given a minimum time of 2 hours between shifts. This will prevent fatigue and overwork among the business process outsourcing agents. If you are sitting out there with an earplug for such long lengths of time, you are most likely to cave in. This affects the performance of the agents.
For those BPO agents who are still in the probationary period, there is no provision for medical aid. The representatives who framed the bill of rights want this move to be brought into practice. Any call center employee who's on the payroll of a firm is liable to medical benefits and support. It must not depend on the employment status of the agent. The basic aim for demanding all these rights is that answering service agents must get the dignity of labor that they are putting in. No telemarketing agent would like to feel underprivileged or deprived. In fact, these are such aspects of employment that a better salary cannot cover up. The business process outsourcing sector is hopeful that these measures will not only help the agents in their fight for their identity as a professional, but also for the telemarketing services sector. Without a satisfied manpower base, the industry cannot hope to take giant leaps in the near future.
