US bill restricting outsourced call centers unlikely to affect RP

MANILA, Philippines - The booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country is unlikely to be affected by a US bill discouraging the outsourcing of American contact center operations overseas.

Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said many American companies farming out their operations abroad are expected to lobby for the junking of the measure.

“We seriously doubt the bill will see the light of day,” TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera said.

The bill filed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (Democrat, New York), seeks to impose a $0.25 tax for every customer call transferred outside the US.

It also requires American companies to disclose to customers the foreign locations where their calls are being routed.

Herrera said the bill would likely expire by yearend without getting passed.

American contact centers have out-sourced their operations either to in-house call centers or independent BPO contractors based in low-cost locations with a large pool of English proficient and college graduate workers such as India and the Philippines.

US-based firms such as IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., JP Morgan Chase & Co., American Express Co., Citigroup Inc., General Electric Co., Dell Inc., Lexmark International Inc., and Affiliated Com-puter Services Inc. have established in-house contact centers and back offices in Manila to service customers in North America and in other countries.