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Lawmakers in the Philippines Concerned About U.S. Call Center Legislation

By Tracey E. Schelmetic, TMCnet Contributor

While call center growth in the The Philippines has exceeded expectations for 2011, surpassing goals of 15 to 20 percent to top out at about 21 percent, many politicians and government officials are concerned that this enviable growth will not be sustainable if a particular piece of proposed legislation passes in the U.S.

The bill in question is HB 3596, also called the “Call Center and Consumers Protection Bill” and it was submitted last month by its sponsors, Reps. Tim Bishop (D-NY), David Mckinley (R-WV) and Mike Michaud (D-TX). If enacted, HB 3596 would require overseas call center employees to disclose their location to U.S. consumers, and it would give customers the right to be transferred to a U.S.-based call center if they wish.

Any company failing to do so would incur fines of $10,000 per day. The bill would also require the U.S. Department of Labor to track and list companies that move call center jobs overseas. Those companies would then be ineligible for any direct or indirect federal loans or loan guarantees for five years.

The bill has the full support of the 700,000-member Communications Workers of America (CWA (News - Alert)).

Philippines House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the administration of President Aquino should keep a close watch on HB 3596 since it may bring bad news to that country's thriving call center outsourcing industry, the Philippines' Global Nation Inquirer is reporting today.

Rep. Ben Evardone said he shares Gonzales’ concern, as the BPO industry in the Philippines contributes close to $9 billion a year to the country's economy from about 800,000 call center agents. This is close to half of the $19 billion in annual remittances from five to 10 million overseas Filipino workers, reports the Global Nation Inquirer.

“I think that being an election year, Obama has no choice but to advocate populist sentiments like insourcing. We must be ready for any eventuality because we don’t want to be surprised, especially on a very crucial economic contributor like BPOs,” said Gonzales.

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