Mandeville call centre worker gripped with fear

MANDEVILLE, Manchester

The closure of two Alorica call centres in Portmore and Kingston after two workers tested positive for COVID-19 has caused skittish workers at BPO firms in Mandeville to fear a similar fate.

BPOs, or business process outsourcing outfits, are considered to be potential incubators because of their high-density workforces.

A worker at a Manchester call centre who requested anonymity for fear of termination believes that her managers could do more despite installing sanitiser dispensers and rearranging seating arrangements for social distancing. The employee also highlighted lax safety measures.

“Call centres have a lot of workers, and at some point, like during check-off before we leave for home, you have a lot of people in one space ... ,” the employee told The Gleaner. “One morning we got masks, the other day we got none, and I don’t know if we will ever get anymore.”

The Manchester BPO has reportedly laid off nearly 30 per cent of its 140-person workforce – meaning approximately 40 employees have been axed. The employee said that staffers have had to be personally sanitising their workstations as janitors are now shunning that duty.

“A lot of people have been laid off so far, and some persons have been asked to work from home. But the thing is, only persons who have been working at the centre for 10 months and more get the privilege of working from home ... ,” the worker said.

“I don’t know what is going to happen to those who fall outside of that category.”

The worker revealed that at least five persons have resigned precautionarily since the emergence of COVID-19 in Jamaica last month.

“It is really rough .... . What they should do is make people work from home. Since the virus, all pay incentives have been cut, regular pay has been cut, but the work remains the same.”

The worker added that only persons employed for more than six months are entitled to sick leave, leave of absence and vacation, but insists that some adjustments must be made in this difficult time.

Calls made to the centre’s two branches in the parish went unanswered and efforts to reach those in authority were futile.