A labor NGO threw its support behind workers in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector today in condemning the labor rights violations allegedly being committed by the call center arm of an international technology repair and insurance company and in calling on authorities to conduct an investigation.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said that workers’ testimonies about workplace conditions in the call center arm of Asurion are alarming, involving high sales quotas, strict compliance systems, questionable practices, rapid-fire dismissals, among others.

“There is something bad that’s going on in Asurion and it’s the workers that are bearing the brunt. The company’s main office and the Philippine government should find out what’s happening in Asurion workplaces and stop the labor rights violations,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

According to online sources, Asurion employs around 10,000 workers in its various call centers across the country, its remanufacturing plant in Laguna, and its global hub in Metro Manila. It has call center sites in Clark Freeport Zone, Bonifacio Global City, Nuvali in Sta. Rosa Laguna, Cebu City, Iloilo City, and other parts of the country.

“It is very ironic that companies that are supposedly at the forefront of modern technology are operating as if we still live in the era before labor rights. Companies that are benefitting the most from their workers are treating their workers like trash – without value,” Deligente added.

Reports gathered by the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) show that Asurion call center employees are subjected to verbal harassment, humiliation and threats to make them work hard to attain sales quotas and not complain about working conditions.

Asurion employees also reported being immediately dismissed from work due to causes as varied as “executive decisions,” failing work evaluations, and compliance findings. They also complained about not being given a termination notice, being forced to resign, and being illegally laid off from work through various ways.

“Asurion seems to be taking advantage of Filipinos’ desperation amidst widespread joblessness and rising cost of living. It is also benefitting from the government’s servile attitude towards foreign investors that results in what seems to be a hands off approach to labor rights violations,” Deligente stated.

CTUHR called on the Ferdinand Marcos Jr government to constantly keep an eye on the country’s BPO employees who contribute immensely to the economy and are facing threats to their jobs and labor rights due to Artificial Intelligence and various changes in the sector.