CALL CENTER INDUSTRY: LEGAL ISSUES AT FOREFRONT
The call center industry is one of the booming industry in the country. It has been stated in facts that the Philippines ranks as the third call center agent service provider in the world. The e-commerce has been gaining keen popularity in the country.
Call center is an agency, wherein mostly young individuals render services to the foreign state like the US through the internet, telephone, chat, or email. Some sells product, while others serves as a customer service center.
Amidst its popularity, I have found a minority of unlawful issues that needs apt attention. To wit, I realized the following pertinent:
1. Whether or not the Labor Code conforms with the call center working condition?
2. Whether or not the “service retention clause” in the contract of employment valid?
First issue: The Labor code specifies various rules in working condition. Most of the rules are followed by call center agencies like night differential pay to graveyard shift and premium pays, nevertheless some working requirements are still violated.
Employment of women. The Labor Code specifically provides guidelines for the employment of women. Although some of these are practically unreasonable for today’s time, however the law remains to be the law and must be complied with all the time.
The labor code prohibits women to be assigned in the night shift. “In any industrial undertaking or branch thereof between ten o’clock at night and six o’clock in the morning the following day… no woman, regardless of age, shall be employed or permitted to work, with or without compensation (Labor Code Art. 130).” This is violated by various call center in the country. Plenty of women are employed in such establishments, although the law specifically provides inhibitions.
Medical and Dental Services. Every business establishment that has an employee of more than fifty must have at least a full-time registered nurse to take care of the first aid or health support of the employees. The clinics are very essential in a workplace. More so, medicines and dental aid must always be available to employees for their protection.
It is clearly stated in the Labor code that “ It shall be the duty of the employer to furnish his employees in any locality with free medical and dental attendance and facilities consisting of: the services of a full time nurse when the number of employees exceed fifty but not more than two hundred… or the services of a full-time physician, dentist and a full tiem registered nurse as well as dental clinic, and an infirmary or emergency hospital with one bed capacity for every one hundred employees when the number of employees exceeds three hundred… (Art. 157).” The aforementioned provision is usually neglected by employers. They infer that giving medical benefits like insurance or hospital discounts is enough to compensate for the law requirement, untenable.
(end of first part)
