ILO set to launch study on call center industry

Business process outsourcing (BPO) to offshore destinations has grown rapidly in the Philippines, India and Central and Eastern Europe where for a time, the industry’s annual growth rate even exceeded 30%.

Virtually unheard of a decade ago, the Philippine BPO industry has grown dramatically in scope and significance. The Philippines became second top BPO destination in the Asia-Pacific, next only to India in terms of people employed in this industry. The previous Arroyo government has even targeted 40% growth for the industry that employed as many as 500,000 for a time and whose growth dipped only after the worldwide recession in 2008.

In the Philippines, BPO employees earn 53 per cent more than workers of the same age in other industries. However, a mixed picture emerges when analyzing working conditions, since its workers are subjected to very stressful, prolonged work, among others.

Not everything in the industry looks rosy, and labor specialists advise that the BPO industry should now be subjected to a critical look, especially where it concerns the millions of workers it employs in many parts of the world.

Industry dynamics and how they affect workers are now the subject of the book “Offshoring and Working Conditions in Remote Work” which the International Labor Organization will launch on July 21 through a press launch-video conference.

The book is the first ever in-depth study of the workplace in the business process outsourcing/call center industry

Jon Messenger, Geneva-based ILO Senior Researcher and editor of the new book will talk about trends, working conditions and employment practices in the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing Industry (BPO).

Says Messenger, “A lot has been written about this phenomenon and its implications for economic growth and employment. However, very little is known about the working conditions in the BPO industry.”

The new book asserts that “remote work” or the offshoring and outsourcing of business services from developed to developing countries using information and communications technologies – is creating jobs that are of “reasonably good quality by local standards”, but that the industry has some way to go before achieving full decent work.

“Offshoring and Working Conditions in Remote Work” presents the first in-depth study of the workplace in the BPO industry.

Work in this industry can broadly be divided into “voice” services, such as call/contact centres, and “back office” services, like finance and accounting, data processing and management, and human resource development.

“This is a rapidly growing industry worth an approximate US$ 90 billion,” says Messenger.

The book presents case studies in four major “destination” countries. Aside from the Philippines, the book looks at the BPO industry in Brazil, India and Argentina.

It examines remote work, its impact on the labour market in general and the workforce in particular, and the possible implications for working and employment conditions in countries where the BPO industry is growing.

The book concludes by offering some suggestions for government policies and company practices that could further improve the quality of jobs in the BPO industry and increase productivity.

Lawrence Jeffrey Johnson, the new Director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines will also be present during the launch.

Venue of the launch is the ILO Country Office for the Philippines, at Meeting Rooms A&B) 19th floor, Yuchengco Tower, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. –Nora O. Gamolo