In the article, it is said that Filipinos make good call centre agents because they can appeal to the American customers because of their ability to emulate the American accent.
It is also said in the article that Filipinos enjoy working for call centre despite the "unsociable" hours, because they can get paid more than their alternative jobs - namely, nursing and OFW jobs. The average wage is Php1000 per session, which is twice the minimum wage.
Furthermore, this Greenfield Geography website made a chart about the reasons why TNC's outsource. One of the reasons is to cut costs, as seen in the chart below. A way in which these corporations cut costs is by paying the workers in developing countries a lower wage.
Along with the benefits of call centres, there has been some criticism as to the exploitation of labour in developing countries. This raised a question in my mind, which is:
If the workers are earning more than what they normally would (a.k.a minimum wage), do the call centres deserve the criticism that they receive about exploiting workers? Has the "happy medium" been achieved with regards to what the workers should receive and what they actually receive?
Dani, I think it depends on the country. I would say that some countries are doing good making more money. Take the Philippines for a simple example. There is no doubt that some of the people here are better off economically and are being compensated well. Bangladesh, and more specifically Chitagong, on the other hand pays one of the lowest minimum wages on the planet. Do I think they're making enough money? NO!!! So in this case it really depends on the strength of the currency, workers abilities to form unions, extra benefits, and more. Check out this short article: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/apr/30/export-processing-zones-sweatshops-development
ReplyDeleteDani GJ! I found it pretty interesting that they favoured filipinos for call center agents because of their emulation of another language. Just goes to show you what kind of factors go into the People Skills aspect of the Global Services Location Index. I would have to agree with Mr. Barnes and his point about Bangladesh; there are definitely countries who's minimum wage is so low that even if they were paid more than they normally would, it would be insufficient to sustain a financially sound living
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