Does anybody else feel like the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry serves as the milking cow of our government? Yet, we are private employees; we are not the government’s utmost priority. We work for foreign and Filipino privately-owned companies. Most of us do not have a fixed schedule and most of us even have to work past our office hours to cater to our quotas, to render extended service to our customers, and of course, to earn more.

When the pandemic hit, our operations needed to continue as businesses couldn’t stop just because of this health risk. Information technology services had to continue as companies leveraged IT-enabled solutions. IT-BPM industry employees were the ones who helped the country survive through the roughest moments in its economy. Now that the country is suffering high rates of inflation, though, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) wants us to return to work on-site on the first day of April, or else the fiscal incentives of our firms will be suspended.

FIRB said that the work-from-home arrangement was only temporary, to keep the people safe during the peak of the pandemic, and now, they are confident that due to the increased number of vaccinated citizens, COVID is not a threat anymore. How sure are they?

Why does the IT-BPM industry always have to be the one to adjust? Why do we employees always have to adjust even when we are valuable assets that keep our country’s economy running? You have to get up three hours prior to your shift to prep things at home, spend an hour traveling just 10 kilometers, spend nine hours in the office, and after that, spend another hour queueing up and traveling home. That’s 14 hours, and several of those hours are wasted only for traveling. Those hours could have been spent for more productive activities and time home with your family. 

The FIRB ordering IT-BPM workers to return to the office contradicts Republic Act No. 11165, Section 2, which says “it shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare, especially in the light of technological development that has opened up new and alternative avenues for employees to carry out their work such as telecommuting, and other work arrangements.”

We can do our jobs even when we are at home. We are productive. We pay our taxes and contribute to our beloved country even if we do not work outside. We cannot blame our companies if they order us to work on-site, because it is the government pushing them to do so. Work-from-home arrangements should be extended and should be a voluntary practice (as agreed upon between the company and the employee).

FIRB should consider the employees interests, too. Is there a law that will take away company incentives based on where their employees work? If they are considering the welfare of the workers, they should think about the millions of COVID-19 cases and tens of thousands of deaths the past two years. – Rappler.com

Janine Corro is a solutions engineer servicing ICT-enabled industries, and a woman who stands for her rights.