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FACTS:
"MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) will continue its upward momentum, with annual revenues seen hitting $16 billion this year as the country remains one of the world's top BPO destinations.
source:" (www.philstar.com)
"The BPO sector has been able to exploit the high-skilled segment of the Philippine population, with its strong English-language capability, and service-friendly personality. It accounts for 15% of the country's exports of goods and services, and the Philippines is now the third largest BPO destination after India and Canada."
source: www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
"Though BPO and IT-related activities accounted for a growing slice of GDP last year and provided employment for 525,000 people in the Philippines, the UNCTAD report noted that more needed to be done to maximise developmental benefits from NEMs so as to protect against what it called their 'footloose' nature."
source: www.bpap.org
"MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) will continue its upward momentum, with annual revenues seen hitting $16 billion this year as the country remains one of the world's top BPO destinations.
source:" (www.philstar.com)
"The BPO sector has been able to exploit the high-skilled segment of the Philippine population, with its strong English-language capability, and service-friendly personality. It accounts for 15% of the country's exports of goods and services, and the Philippines is now the third largest BPO destination after India and Canada."
source: www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
"Though BPO and IT-related activities accounted for a growing slice of GDP last year and provided employment for 525,000 people in the Philippines, the UNCTAD report noted that more needed to be done to maximise developmental benefits from NEMs so as to protect against what it called their 'footloose' nature."
source: www.bpap.org
SAD FACTS:
Philippine politics was my game in College. How I wish I still have the flare of that 18 year old youth. Honestly, I know it was the 4th State of the Nation Address of the President today July 22, 2013. Perhaps I got tired of hoping. For the heck of it I turned on the Television. I was waiting for the words "Call Center". Before I cared so much about the country with the feeling that I can save it. However these days, I am satisfied to care about the sector that I work. I wanted to know if there will be changes or at least additional benefits for us. Thus, I waited!
With the facts mentioned above I could not help but wonder if the President knew about it. I mean, he has been thanking people for their achievements. He has been mentioning people from his cabinet. He forgot to express his thanks to the 525,000 people working in the BPO industry. How can he miss that? You might ask, "what does he want? why is it a big deal?" $16 billion dollars that's a big deal. That's an amount that cannot be brushed off. Yes, it's not that big compared to the revenue generated by the OFW sector. Don't get me wrong, my father is an OFW. I just felt that the efforts of all my colleagues in the industry is nothing when he said nothing. Well, I guess being in the second spot means you'll be ignored.
Working in a BPO is not easy. It's not something that you want and can just jump in. No! To be part of this industry takes skills. I work in a call center and I know how well we pick our agents. Once you are accepted and would come to work your problem does not end there. Each center has it's own metrics, hit or get fired! In addition, you normally come at night. Since the call center boom in Philippines the transportation industry adjusted well. So we have 24hr jeepney routes in major cities. But with it comes the 24hr risk of being robbed. Criminals became flexible and would normally target us because they know about our high end phones, gadgets and thick pockets. Now if you manage to avoid this, it's not yet over. The rise of the industry gave way to fly by night centers. These are the worst. They have agents who work and then the next day they shut down or would change name. Overnight their agents are unemployed. We are also not exempted to the fact that some companies would not even remit our mandated government contributions like Phil health, Pagibig and SSS. It's a painful discovery because when you need it and it's there that you can't use it because the company that you worked for is has been deducting you but not remitting. That's not all... There is that health hazard that makes the job harder.
I hope I was able to establish the fact that this is not an easy fix to be here. We push hard so that our families would have that "above poverty" kind of meals per day. In doing so, we help the economy. In doing so, we help the retail, taxi, house/boarding house industry. Don't you think we deserve the President's thanks? Not mentioning us seemed that he forgot us. It's not just the thanking that I'm disappointed. PNoy mentioned priority bills that would help the army and the rest of the populace. But he forgot to mention the "Magna Carta for Call Center Worker Bill". So I don't know what more to think.
With the facts mentioned above I could not help but wonder if the President knew about it. I mean, he has been thanking people for their achievements. He has been mentioning people from his cabinet. He forgot to express his thanks to the 525,000 people working in the BPO industry. How can he miss that? You might ask, "what does he want? why is it a big deal?" $16 billion dollars that's a big deal. That's an amount that cannot be brushed off. Yes, it's not that big compared to the revenue generated by the OFW sector. Don't get me wrong, my father is an OFW. I just felt that the efforts of all my colleagues in the industry is nothing when he said nothing. Well, I guess being in the second spot means you'll be ignored.
Working in a BPO is not easy. It's not something that you want and can just jump in. No! To be part of this industry takes skills. I work in a call center and I know how well we pick our agents. Once you are accepted and would come to work your problem does not end there. Each center has it's own metrics, hit or get fired! In addition, you normally come at night. Since the call center boom in Philippines the transportation industry adjusted well. So we have 24hr jeepney routes in major cities. But with it comes the 24hr risk of being robbed. Criminals became flexible and would normally target us because they know about our high end phones, gadgets and thick pockets. Now if you manage to avoid this, it's not yet over. The rise of the industry gave way to fly by night centers. These are the worst. They have agents who work and then the next day they shut down or would change name. Overnight their agents are unemployed. We are also not exempted to the fact that some companies would not even remit our mandated government contributions like Phil health, Pagibig and SSS. It's a painful discovery because when you need it and it's there that you can't use it because the company that you worked for is has been deducting you but not remitting. That's not all... There is that health hazard that makes the job harder.
I hope I was able to establish the fact that this is not an easy fix to be here. We push hard so that our families would have that "above poverty" kind of meals per day. In doing so, we help the economy. In doing so, we help the retail, taxi, house/boarding house industry. Don't you think we deserve the President's thanks? Not mentioning us seemed that he forgot us. It's not just the thanking that I'm disappointed. PNoy mentioned priority bills that would help the army and the rest of the populace. But he forgot to mention the "Magna Carta for Call Center Worker Bill". So I don't know what more to think.
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