Efforts underway to exempt Philippines from 'Keep Call Centers in America' bill
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine ambassador to the United States is pressing US lawmakers to exempt the country from a new bill that would punish American companies for using overseas call centers.
Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez told Philstar.com on Thursday, October 9, that he is "working hard with our friends in the US Congress to exempt the Philippines" from the proposed Keep Call Centers in America Act. He's also urging US companies and industry associations "to lobby for less stringent restrictions on BPO's already established outside the United States."
The proposed Keep Call Centers in America Act — filed in July — would bar companies that relocate call centers abroad from receiving federal grants or guaranteed loans for five years.
Firms already receiving federal funding would face monthly penalties equal to 8.3% of their total disbursement for each month they remain on a public blacklist of offshore operations.
Under the bill, companies would need to notify the Labor Department 120 days before moving call center jobs overseas or face fines of up to $10,000 per day.
The legislation also mandates that call center agents disclose their physical location at the start of customer service calls and offer to transfer consumers to US-based representatives.
Employers could only get out of the blacklist by relocating call centers back to US soil with staffing levels matching or exceeding the original offshore operation, or by amending contracts to require all call center work to be performed domestically.
Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona introduced the measure in July. Republican Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia co-sponsored the bill, which the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is reviewing.
Threat to the Philippines
The Philippines has become one of the world's largest destinations for outsourced call center work and is estimated to hold a sizable chunk — or 10-15% — of the global BPO market.
The BPO industry in the country employs around 1.3 million people and is itself a sector that is a major driver of economic growth.
American firms in particular have been drawn to the Philippines due its English-speaking workers and significantly lower wages than in the US.
An exodus of US call center operations would deal a serious blow to an industry that has become a pillar of the Philippine economy, providing white-collar jobs for university graduates across Metro Manila and other metropolitan areas.
The bill remains at the committee level with no vote scheduled.
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