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

Workers’ Rights in Supermarket Supply Chains: New Evidence on the Need for Action
Publications

This Oxfam briefing note presents compelling new evidence that our food supply chains are rife with violations of human, labour and women’s rights. The paper summarizes new research commissioned by Oxfam, which shows the depth and scale of huma...Read More

TAGS:
The Counter-Trafficking Apparatus in Action: Who Benefits From It?
Publications

Based on long-term ethnographic research, including documentary research, qualitative interviews and observations made at a Portuguese shelter for “sex trafficked women,” this paper explores the counter-trafficking apparatus questioning who bene...Read More

TAGS: Europe
Study on Prevention Initiatives on Trafficking in Human Beings
Publications

The study examined 43 prevention initiatives, of which a share of 40% concerned actions in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. The vast majority of the (cca 85 %) in the given sample targeted information and awareness-raising measures, followed by capaci...Read More

TAGS:
Action against child labour in Lebanon: A mapping of policy and normative initiatives
Publications

The ILO commissioned this report from Ms. Hayat Osseiran, an independent researcher on child labour issues. The report should not be construed as representing the views of the ILO. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily ...Read More