Government-mandated suspension of work, like what was enforced last week at the onslaught of monsoon rains and floods, may hurt the competitiveness of the local business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, according to Canadian research firm XMG.
If the Philippines is to keep its place as a premiere investment destination for BPO services, the country has to meet the demands of the global market at any given time and situation, XMG chief analyst Lauro Vibes said.
While the safety of employees are non-negotiable, government needed to adopt a “business as usual attitude” for some key industries. Government policy should be in synch with the needs of industry, he added.
In the BPO sector, business needs and globalization are forcing investments in real time applications and human resources to fulfill business processes 24 hours a day, seven times a week.
Not being able to sustain business operations at a time like this,” Vibes said, referring to last week’s work stoppage, “has deleterious consequences for the country. “
“Sustaining operations in high geo-physical risk areas such as the Philippines, that is prone to major typhoons and earthquakes, is always a key factor when selecting a location,” he explained, referring to the choice of host countries by foreigners wanting to invest in business process outsourcing.
With a revenue contribution of US $11 billion last year, the BPO industry is the second largest source of foreign currency income for the country, next to the OFW group, which accounted for US $20 billion.
This came in the heels of heavy and widespread criticism of BPO companies for adopting a “business-as-usual” stand during last week’s calamity.
The BPO Industries Employees Network (BIEN) earlier issued a statement condemning the unjust treatment of some employees by certain BPO companies who claimed that they “do not take orders from government” and who subjected their workers to life-and-death risks by refusing to cancel operations when the unnamed flood hit the metropolis.
“Are our lives so cheap that we could easily be put at risk at times like these?” the group asked in a piece titled “BPO workers are human beings, too.”
The BIEN statement, nevertheless, cited some companies for allowing employees to skip work and take emergency leaves.
Meanwhile, the Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) clarified over the weekend that its members did not force their employees to report last week and that they gave transportation and premium pay to those who did.
Photo: from Reuters