The global spread of COVID-19 has prompted unprecedented measures to contain the virus, including the temporary shutdown of business and widespread restrictions on movement. Around the world, travel plans and workplaces have been disrupted and work habits changed. Yet throughout the pandemic, it has been business as usual for some offshore call center agents in Tunisia and Morocco, who continued handling calls and queries on behalf of multinational companies to serve the needs of clients and customers abroad. This briefing summarizes some of the key human rights risks to workers in this sector, and considers the steps taken by ten call centers operating in and six clients outsourcing services to Tunisia and/or Morocco to protect workers amidst the crisis. We found that the pandemic has exacerbated systemic risks of economic hardship, psychological strain – due to long hours under constant surveillance, verbal abuse and stress – and introduced new risks linked to health hazards amid the virus. Similar concerns have been reported in other parts of the world, including South Korea, the US and Brazil, underscoring the endemic, transnational nature of these risks, which have long been a reality for many call center workers. The briefing also outlines recommendations for companies to address these

Disconnected: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Call Center Workers‘ rights in Tunisia and Morocco - Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, 2020 DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

Global Review of Existing Literature on the Sexual Exploitation of Boys
Publications

This global systematic review explored the published and grey literature about the sexual exploitation of boys. Findings from 69 qualifying publications from 37 countries around the world are reviewed. The report presents common characteristics acro...Read More

Life Beyond Trafficking: The Re/integration of Trafficked Persons in the Balkans 2007-2014
Publications

This booklet aims to highlight the main results and impact of the King Baudouin Foundation's project "Trafficking Victims Re/integration programme" in the lives of trafficked persons as well as more generally in the field of re/integration in the Ba...Read More

TAGS:
Looking for a Hidden Population: Trafficking of Migrant Laborers in San Diego County
Publications

Written by Sheldon X. Zhang, Ph.D., Principal Investigator. A study examining San Diego County's population of migrant farmworkers who have been trafficked.  This study examines the types of trafficking experienced and the condition faced by...Read More

Real Care is Rare: An on-the-Ground Perspective on Blood Diamonds and the Fifth ‘C’
Publications

A new report, Real Care is Rare. An On-The-Ground Perspective on Blood Diamonds and the Fifth ‘C’, highlights the existence of modern day blood diamonds due to ongoing ties between diamonds and brutal human rights abuse (amongst other ...Read More

TAGS: Global