MANILA — A labor group has criticized the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) for denying reports of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) violations during and after the recent earthquake in Cebu, calling the industry group’s statement “pathetic” and an attempt to discredit workers.

“There was an earthquake. There were evacuation failures. There were workers forced to return to their stations while aftershocks continued. These are not rumors. They are documented incidents, supported by workers’ testimonies, photos, videos, and reports from multiple Cebu BPO sites,” BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) on Thursday said in a statement.

The group said IBPAP’s claim that there were no confirmed OSH violations “denies workers’ lived experiences of fear and neglect,” stressing that safety standards were breached when employees were made to resume work despite visible damage to facilities.

BIEN accused IBPAP of prioritizing corporate interests over worker safety, saying the group’s response “exposes who they truly represent: not the 1.9 million workers they claim to speak for, but the business owners and foreign clients whose profits depend on uninterrupted operations.”

The labor organization also criticized IBPAP for attacking BIEN and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region VII instead of addressing safety issues raised by employees.

IBPAP’s statement, BIEN said, ignored the BPO industry’s history of OSH violations, citing the 2017 Davao fire that killed 38 BPO employees. “If IBPAP truly values the integrity of the industry, it should hold its member companies accountable instead of gaslighting the very workers who keep this $40-billion sector running,” the group added.

BIEN urged the DOLE to prioritize workers’ welfare by ensuring transparency in its investigations and publishing the list of companies found violating OSH standards.

“DOLE’s duty is to the Filipino workers, not to IBPAP’s boardroom. Any ‘clarificatory statement’ or retraction would only embolden negligent employers and endanger more lives,” BIEN said.

“Safety is not a business inconvenience. It is a right,” the group added.

— PN