For illegal termination, ETC BPO workers sue employer

CEBU, Philippines - Employees of Cebu-based call center company Leadamorphosis filed charges for illegal termination, non-payment of benefits, among others before the National Labor Relations Commission-Regional Arbitration Board against their foreign employers yesterday.

Marnick Unabia, one of the 120 terminated employees, told The FREEMAN that they are left with no choice but to file the complaint in a bid to be given what is due them.

Today, the Department of Labor and Employment-7 has scheduled a dialogue between the terminated employees and the management.

"We hope nga naay mutunga sa management kay daghan kaayo mi mga pangutana nga angay nilang tubagon," Unabia said.

In a separate statement, the militant labor group, Partido ng Manggagawa, said that Leadpamorphosis workers only received 30 percent of their wages due for December 15 to 31, 2013 while none of the mandatory deductions for the last quarter of last year have been remitted.

Leadamorphosis also did not submit any required notices with DOLE for bankruptcy, insolvency, redundancy or closure before abruptly shutting down last January 8, 2014, the statement reads.

In the same statement, Rosie Hong of the Inter-Call Center Association of Workers, criticized DOLE for its inability to require BPO companies to put up cash bonds to defray employees for their money claims.

ICCAW is an industry-wide association of BPO workers and has a chapter among Leadamorphosis employees.

PM said that DOLE was supposed to compel BPO companies to put up cash bonds equivalent to one month of salaries and benefits of its total workforce.

The bond requirement was proposed at the height of the hasty shutdown of another the Cebu City-based BPO company called Direct Access that left some 600 employees with unpaid wages, commissions, overtime pay and separation benefits.

Leadamarphosis handles voice and non-voice outbound calls for US clients. The company was formerly called Vector whose corporate officers still comprise Leadamorphosis. In June of 2013, it merged with another BPO company named Sasnet which handled non-voice marketing for home security gadgets. — (FREEMAN)