EDITORIAL - Protect the golden goose

It is good the Cebu Investment Promotion Center is doing much in helping the growth of the BPO industry in Cebu. Indeed it is heartening to know from CIPC managing director Joel Mari Yu that eight more American firms are planning to set up operations here.

 Coming as it did in the wake of fresh initiatives in the United States to keep jobs within its borders, the news is indeed reassuring. And it can only mean that Cebu continues to be a valuable and attractive option as an investment destination for foreign companies.

But aside from attracting investments, the CIPC may do well to also assume the added responsibility of helping ensure that the companies it brings in complies with applicable labor laws and standards and do not end up exploiting Filipino workers.

The appeal is made in light of the seeming disinterest that the Department of Labor and Employment regards the growing problem of emerging contractualization among BPO workers, an ugly exploitative practice not unlike that involving sales personnel in retail establishments.

The practice involves hiring workers some BPO companies never intend to give real wages beyond mere allowances, confident that workers who cannot bear the exploitation will just resign, to be quickly replaced by a vast pool of fresh young talent eager to land a job.

 The situation becomes like a merry-go-round, much like what is happening in the retail industry where sales clerks are hired only for brief periods, resulting in their moving on to other establishments after their contracts expire, in a never-ending cycle.

The BPO industry can be a huge contributor to national growth, but only if everything is above-board. Sadly the sweetest cake attracts the most ants. And so, while many BPO companies adhere to the highest standards, there will always be those that love to pull a fast one.

It is to this problem that the CIPC can help. Given the vast network that it surely must have established, it ought to be quite easy for the CIPC to gather information concerning the exploitation of workers and bring this info to the proper authorities.

Allowing the problem to fester will eventually infect the entire BPO industry and paint a very bad picture of the Philippines as an investment destination, thus making the job of CIPC harder. Protect the goose now and it will continue to lay its golden eggs.