Hanging up on call centres - 14-day lockdown to curb virus spread

Uncertainty now hangs over the lucrative business process outsourcing (BPO) sector after the Government announced a 14-day lockdown of the industry within the next 24 hours, but has offered exemptions to operators who support critical private- and public-sector services.

Exemptions also apply to work-from-home arrangements.

The move comes amid a swell in COVID-19 infections linked to the Alorica call centre, which triggered a lockdown of the parish of St Catherine, which has a population of around 520,000 – or one-fifth of the country.

Alorica has accounted for 54 per cent of the national COVID-19 caseload of 223. One hundred and twenty infections have been tied to the BPO entity.

Since the Portmore call centre emerged as a hotspot of contagion more than a week ago, there has been a fiery debate over whether BPOs should be closed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

Hard pill to swallow

Gloria Henry, president of the Global Services Association of Jamaica, was unavailable after the announcement by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, but Yoni Epstein, founder and executive chairman of itelbpo Smart Solutions, told The Gleaner that the decision was a hard pill to swallow.

He believes that the administration buckled under public pressure. But accounts from Alorica staff have offered a narrative of maladministration in effecting social distancing and sanitisation, which caused Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton to say the company was in clear breach of regulations.

“I cannot understand the about-turn . … All I can think is the public outcry, the calls for lockdown of BPO from Opposition, private sector, public sector,” said Epstein yesterday.

“I wish I was a fly on the wall in Cabinet to hear the reasoning for such a decision, but I would not want to be in the Government’s position right now, because it is a tough decision that they are attempting to make in the interest of the Jamaican people.”

It will cost the Government more than $100 million to quarantine about 500 call-centre workers and their contacts in state facilities.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in announcing the lockdown, which takes effect on Wednesday, said it was not an easy decision to close down the sector, but was optimistic of a rebound. He also revealed that outsourcing services that prop up industries such as telecommunications, banking, logistics and shipping will be allowed to operate, but under strict supervision.

“I want the country to understand that this was not an easy decision,” the prime minister said. “Closing the BPOs is not a single or absolute action, unless you intend to close them for good or forever, because these operations are not meant to be closed, they are meant to give you 24-hour stand-up service through hurricane, natural disaster, catastrophe.”

But while understanding the reaction to the Alorica spread, Epstein argued that this could have affected any other economic activity.

“It is sad to see what happened at the BPO facility in St Catherine, but it could have happened at a manufacturing plant, a supermarket, at a warehouse or even at a market, so to lock down an industry for that could possibly kill 30,000 jobs that may never ever come back to Jamaica,” he argued. Epstein warned that Jamaica, having benefited from a windfall of new accounts from other countries under lockdown, might lose that advantage.

Last week, the Government announced that all BPOs in Portmore would be closed by virtue of the seven-day lockdown of St Catherine parish that took effect on April 15. Tougher measures were also effected for the remaining players.

Some 40,000 workers are employed in the sector that attracts an estimated investment spend of approximately US$400 million to Jamaica annually, with 68 companies operating mainly in Montego Bay, Mandeville, Portmore, and Kingston.

According to Lennox Wallace, parish manager for the St James health department, 33 BPO companies are located in the resort city of Montego Bay, four of which have since closed because of a downturn in business since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other 29 were operational and have been observing the established protocols, Wallace said, but three had been given until Friday to address a few minor issues. Of that number, four have been utilising hotel spaces to ensure that the social-distancing protocols are observed. The health department says it monitors the facilities every 48 hours.

More than 13,000 agents currently work from home.