Lawyers file case against Innodata

CEBU, Philippines - A group of lawyers has filed a case before the National Labor Relations Commission against Innodata Knowledge Services for alleged violation of procedural process by putting around 60 employees under forced leave allegedly without notice.

In an interview with The Freeman, lawyer Giovanni Sususco, one of the complainants in the case, said Innodata allegedly failed to observe the procedural due process of giving employees and the Department of Labor and Employment a 30-day notice prior to the start of the forced leave.

“As far as we know, according to the Labor Code, employees and DOLE must be notified first so we can have enough time to look for another job or at least find other ways to earn,” Sususco said.

He said the company allegedly made the announcement on January 7, the very day they were asked to take a forced leave.

“We are bringing this case to the NLRC to make our case a precedent to other call center or Business Process Outsourcing employees who have been affected by this practice or those threatened to be affected,” he added.

Sususco said they understand that implementing a forced leave is a management’s prerogative, but only if the management can prove that the move is due to economic condition and not defeating or circumventing the rights of the employees.

“But they were not able to prove us that it is for economic condition. Because we know that there are projects available,” he said.

The company, according to Sususco, told them that the legal document review account they were handling can no longer afford to compensate the employees.

“They even asked us to work on other projects not included in our contracts so it is not enough reason to ask us for a forced leave because there are other projects that we can handle,” Sususco said.

The complainants want the company to pay them P50,000 each for nominal damages for not observing the procedural due process in imposing the forced leave; P50,000 for moral damages; P50,000 for exemplary damages; and P25,000 for attorney’s fees. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JMO   (FREEMAN NEWS)