Forced labor during natural hazard is a human rights violation

• Context: In the recent 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu, several business process outsourcing (BPO) companies reportedly pressured their workers to continue working under the threats of wage deductions, disciplinary sanctions, or dismissal
• Human rights: Economic rights, right to a safe and healthy work environment, elimination of forced labor, right to life
• Community impact: The practice calls for a serious implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) standards in the Philippines
• Rights-holder: Filipino workers
• Duty-bearer: Department of Labor and Employment, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, Philippine government

The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) stressed that the safety of workers is not negotiable. 

“The conduct of these companies reveals a callous prioritization of profit over human life. Workers should never be forced to choose between survival and their livelihood. Profit must never come before workers’ safety and lives,” said IOHSAD executive director Nadia De Leon.  

In an earlier story, Bulatlat reported that at least 10 BPO firms violated labor rights and occupational safety standards when the 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Cebu.

Read: Cebu BPO workers report forced return, threats after earthquake

In response, the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN)-Cebu filed a complaint with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 7 for their collated accounts: employees who went home faced suspensions, pay cuts, loss of bonuses, or threats of dismissal; while other employees were offered double pay to keep working (incentivized).

Reports also noted other disturbing practices especially with vulnerable employees, including pregnant women and those experiencing anxiety, where adequate protection were denied.

IOHSAD asserted that these practices directly violate the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards Law which guarantees the right of workers to refuse unsafe work without punishment.

Section 6 of the law states: “The worker has the right of refusal to work without threat or reprisal from the employer if, as determined by the DOLE, an imminent danger situation exists in the workplace that may result in illness, injury or death, and corrective actions to eliminate the danger have not been undertaken by the employer.”

The current number of casualties reported by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) includes over 70 deaths, more than 77,000 displaced individuals, and around 366,000 affected individuals across 14 cities and municipalities in the province.

In addition, at least 5,000 houses, 335 infrastructure facilities, and 11 bridges have been damaged due to the earthquake, with 53 municipalities declaring a state of calamity.

BIEN Cebu is set to hold a dialogue with DOLE regional director Roy Buenafe regarding the issues BPO workers faced during and after the earthquake. IOHSAD is urging the DOLE to immediately deploy independent inspections with structural engineers to all affected worksites, strictly penalize employers who violate safety standards, and guarantee the protection of workers who exercise their right to safe work.

They also emphasized the need to establish OSH committees in BPO companies, led by genuine worker representatives to ensure accountability and prevent further abuses. The committee, indicated in Section 13 of the OSH Standards Law, is tasked to develop, oversee, and monitor the implementation of OSH standards in the workplace.

The Philippines ratified the Forced Labour Convention in 2005. This binds the Philippine government to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate compulsory labor, provide victims of protection and access to appropriate and effective remedies.

Under this convention, the International Labor Organization (ILO) defines forced or compulsory labor as “all work or service which is extracted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.”

These incidents in Cebu are not isolated, IOHSAD added, reflecting the long-standing systemic problems within the industry where operational continuity and client contracts are persistently placed above workers’ welfare.

With this, the group also calls on Congress and labor authorities to conduct comprehensive reforms to strengthen OSH enforcement, criminalize OSH rights violations, secure workers’ rights to refuse dangerous work, and advance structural protections such as paid disaster leave and union recognition.

“The recent earthquake must serve as a wake-up call for the government and employers alike: protecting workers’ safety and lives must always be the highest priority in every workplace.”

Forced labor is an element of modern day slavery. While slavery has been prohibited by all individual states in 1981, the practice of forced labor continues today. Anti-Slavery International recorded at least 27.6 million workers worldwide suffering from such practice, seeing it prevalent in countries where corruption is common and in economies dependent on cheap labor. (AMU, RTS)

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