The inevitable happened. Call centers are not affected by the economic downturn and the thousands of Portuguese and expatriate employees are forced to continue working, some going to the office. 5 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Teleperformance cell center in Lisbon. The unions accuse management of having concealed the fact for several days and above all of continuing to make employees work in poor conditions. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant in Portugal, tells you all about the evolution of the coronavirus epidemic.
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5 employees of Teleperformance Lisbon infected with coronavirus, management accused to hide facts for several days
"Three of the coronavirus cases are in the same department and the bosses simply stopped showing up and left the workers to their fate," he criticizes. According to TCCS, the company has been aware of the Covid-19 cases since last week, but insists that employees continue to work, including colleagues who have worked near the infected workers.
As soon as it received the first confirmation from a worker infected with Covid-19, last Thursday, the STCC informed Teleperformance. "They asked their colleague to send a medical statement, when she was not obliged to do so, but it was sent. It was only then that they assumed that 'she was telling the truth,' reports Manuel Afonso.
Since then, the Call Center union says it has tried to contact Teleperformance by email, but has received no response. "The company makes it difficult for workers to communicate the situation they are in to the company itself. It takes no action except to tell certain workers that if they wish, they can take vacation and go home without being paid, "he criticizes.
At Teleperformance, located on Avenida Infante Santo, more than 700 employees work in this building. Currently, many are already at home and work between "200 and 300", explains Manuel Afonso. "The company's promise is that all the workers work in telework, half of them are already. We demand that the buildings be closed and that people wait at home without loss of income," he asked.
The situation is critical in several call centers in Portugal and elsewhere
"In Italy, Spain and South Korea, call centers were at the center of the contagion. In Italy and Spain, call center operators are already dead and this is the scenario we are trying to 'avoid', he says.
The STCC has already informed the Directorate General of Health, the Local Public Health Office and the Working Conditions Authority. The regional health administration of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo has already responded and says it is trying to speak to Teleperformance, adds Manuel Afonso.
Several medias tried to contact Teleperformance but were not successful. If you have additional information, please send it to us via contact@lisbob.net.
