CICT ASSURES
Jobs for displaced BPO workers in ACS
By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:46:00 11/20/2008
Filed Under: Technology (general), business process outsourcing (BPO)
MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) assured jobs will be forthcoming for nearly 900 ex-workers of call center firm Advanced Contact Solutions (ACS).
In an earlier statement, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) chief Ernesto Herrera urged the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to address these displaced workers who were reportedly retrenched after its client PRC, a teleservices firm, declared bankruptcy.
CICT commissioner Monchito Ibrahim, however, clarified that not all of these workers were laid off.
"I've talked to the president of ACS myself and he indicated that this falls within the normal 20 percent attrition rate call centers experience every year," Ibrahim told INQUIRER.net.
The company employs around 4,000 workers spread throughout six facilities, including those located in Laguna and Batangas.
According to the TUCP, employees who lost their jobs represent one-fifth of ACS' workforce.
But Ibrahim said some of these workers have resigned voluntarily as part of the normal attrition routine in call centers.
"Our message to these people is that they should not worry because the industry still needs thousands of workers. They should be absorbed by other companies so long as they are competent," Ibrahim said.
Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) chief Oscar Sañez, meanwhile, said such "changes in our client line up" is expected because of the current global economic crisis.
"Some US companies are being acquired by other companies, some are absorbing other companies and some are undergoing major restructuring or closing," he said in an e-mail response to INQUIRER.net.
"This means some of our clients will expand rapidly as they acquire more companies, outsource more and some clients are also downsizing or even closing. The client mix will change and we are anticipating that," he said.
But companies abroad will become more pressured to outsource to cut costs and improve efficiency during the crisis, the industry executive said.
"This is a good opportunity for the Philippine government to organize a more aggressive marketing campaign and more trade missions abroad," he said.
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