$6-B BPO industry launches own advocacy group

THE $6-billion call-center and business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry formally launched its own advocacy group during a press briefing in Quezon City on Tuesday.

Called the Association of Call Center Agents of the Philippines, or ACCAP, the group is a nonprofit organization created to unite the rapidly growing community of call center and BPO workers in the country.

“Over the past 10 years, the country has become a significant outsourcing destination and extremely competitive due to the highly trained English-speaking  Filipino agents. This is the reason more and more US and UK companies prefer the Philippines to outsource jobs,” said Kevin Carreon, ACCAP secretary-general.

Carreon said call-center and BPO workers now number close to 800,000,  and ACCAP will serve as their core group to have one voice as they join together to advocate for their rights  that is due them since the start.

ACCAP also launched their own portal, www.accap.ph,  a web site designed primarily to interconnect all call-center and BPO workers and their families all over the country.

“Work in a call center is very stressful and monotonous, and our portal will serve as their connection to other call-center agents wherever they are,” Carreon said.

He added that the portal  will not only serve as a medium to get to know other call-center agents but to help them as well in looking for new jobs and guide trainees on how to survive  the industry. –Jun Cruz, Businessmirror