Abstract:
As of 2004, there were already 70 contact centers or call centers in the Philippines. In
the same year, the local call center industry was expected to earn $689 million (P38.17
billion) in revenues and provide 56,000 jobs. Within five years, the Philippine call center
industry was projected to increase by 140,000 seats and produce an estimated 250,000
additional jobs, which translated to $3 billion in revenues by the end of 2009.
Taking advantage of a cheap, highly-educated and English-speaking labor force,
investors opened call centers not only in Metro Manila but also in provinces such as
Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga - 14 call centers were already in operation in Cebu as of
2005. Call centers have also expanded into other knowledge-based businesses such as
medical transcription, software development and accounting services while colleges,
universities and vocational schools have included call center courses or programs in their
respective curricula.
Despite the relatively easy work and a starting pay of Pl 5,000 (2005), call center agents
are exploited. For the sake of profit at a minimal cost, call center agents are subjected to
unfair labor practices such as contractual basis of employment, unholy working hours,
low salaries, absence of benefits and the forbidding of union formation.
This study wants to explore the prevalent working conditions in the local call center
industry, as well as present alternatives to the existing anomalies in the said
establishment This study will employ the Theoretical Framework of Historical
Materialism and utilize information gathered from books, newspapers, magazines,
journals, theses, corporate documents, questionnaires (using the Accidental Sampling
method) and the Internet.
