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Representatives of the French company Teleperformance will meet with the Colombian government after the start of an investigation into the company’s labor practices in that country. Magazine Time denounced in October the working conditions in Colombia of the employees in charge of moderating the Tiktok network, of which Teleperformance is a subcontractor.
Teleperformance is a French company, specialist in call centers and customer service. It is a subcontractor for several companies, for example, the social network TikTok, to moderate their content. It is present in 88 countries, including Colombia, where it employs some 40,000 people, which is equivalent to 10% of its global workforce. Last week the government of that South American country opened an investigation for alleged violations of labor regulations. The multinational sought to dialogue with the control entity.
“The company, through an external representative, called me, told me that the company was interested in talking about the issues, that it had contacted the union that it has within the company to also make itself available to listen, attend and resolve the topics, and they have asked me for a personal meeting that we are already looking to specify in the next few days, without prejudice to the investigations that we carry out, because one faculty that we have is prevention and that of promoting social dialogue, and another faculty that we have is the sanctioning one”, explains to RFI Edwin Palma, Vice Minister of Labor Relations of Colombia.
Also read: Investigation for labor abuses in Colombia sinks action of the French Teleperformance
“Obviously the company’s response is given within the framework because they already know, both as a notorious fact and within the ritual of the sanctioning procedure that they have been notified of the opening of an investigation, which is not a prejudgment, but rather simply, a respect for the forms established by the law of the administrative sanctioning procedure in Colombia”, continues the vice minister.
“Countless of complaints”
To advance the investigation that originated after a publication of the American weekly Time, the ministry opened a mailbox to receive complaints from workers and former workers. He has received more than 50.
“From hypervigilance, violation of the working day and entry procedures, requests for pregnancy tests to women that is illegal in Colombia, since they do not pay the settlement, unauthorized discounts… Countless complaints that would violate the norm and that we will contrast with the company’s version, because they have every right to defend themselves, like any natural or legal person in the country. And in the end we will make the decision that corresponds by law”, details Edwin Palma.
Complaints received in previous years will also be taken into account, since “we also found that there are many complaints from the past that were not resolved. We want to accumulate these complaints to resolve them in a single decision, ”he emphasizes.
The general director of Teleperformance, Daniel Julien, assured that his company complies with the applicable laws in the United States and in the countries where it is located.
