racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Inq7 Infotech reports that a local labour group has condemned the call center industry for allegedly exploiting Filipinos, giving them much lower wages than US counterparts.

KMU Spokesperson Prestoline Suyat said in a statement that Filipino contact center agents are paid much lower wages than their US counterparts, pointing to exploitation by multinational firms.

He noted that entry-level workers have an average salary of 15,000 pesos while their US counterparts earn nearly 40,000 pesos per month.

The Filipino contact center agent’s salary also falls short of the 19,950 pesos monthly living cost.

Dude, that’s why they’re offshoring to our country! Imagine if we were to charge them US$50,000 annually apiece–the standard or even the minimum wage for a tech/support worker in the US–then surely no one would bother to outsource here.

IMHO, even a salary of PhP 15,000 is a good enough start. Heck, I started out at about PhP 11,000 monthly when I was an economist with Government–and that was a highly sought-for tech position (yes, I was envied by my batchmates who were then still finishing one more semester before graduating).

I’m not saying we should ignore the plight of our working class (who toil and toil, and don’t even get their full salary’s worth, as the taxman collects his ~20% for pocketing by Mr. Congressman). I’m saying that KMU is too quick to point its finger at the BPO industry as society’s ultimate evil–as most progressive groups are wont to, IMHO.

Also, I would think that those in the contact center industry who are smart enough would consider their current state as temporary. I know a handful of people who used their experience in call centers as stepping stones to better career paths later on. So even if they are indeed “dead-end jobs” (a claim that to some extent, I do agree with), they are not a dead-end for those who know when to move on to better things.

Contact centers are the rage nowadays. They’re like IT jobs a decade ago, and nursing jobs abroad at the turn of the century. Where else do our compatriots turn to for jobs? With everybody–left, right, and center–bickering and clamoring for their 15 minutes of fame, our economy is always at the brink of collapse.

By the way, a great alternative to working at call centers, IMHO, is career problogging. Writing about three blogs for an established blog network will give you about twice the average compensation (as cited above) for work at a call center. That’s without the perks and benefits though (i.e., the free coffee, massages, health plans, and make-out rooms). But who needs perks when you get to have cold cash in your hands? You do get to spend on your own perks!

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