US bill threatens Pinoy call center jobs

                          

A newly proposed law in the United States is threatening call center jobs in the Philippines and other countries by withdrawing incentives from American firms that outsource their operations.   

Introduced by New York 1st District Rep. Tim Bishop, the proposed US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act seeks “to bar corporations that sent US call center jobs overseas from receiving federal grants and loans,” the solon said in a statement Wednesday (US time).   

The bill, which was co-sponsored by Reps. Dave McKinley, Mike Michaud, and Gene Green, also “requires overseas call center employees to disclose their location to US consumers and gives customers the right to be transferred to a US-based call center upon request.”   

“It’s common sense that we should not be rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas while millions of qualified Americans are looking for work,” Bishop said. “Taxpayer dollars should only be used to incentivize good corporate citizens who create American jobs.”   

In an interview with reporters, Bishop called outsourcing “one of the scourges of our economy,” according to “The Huffington Post.” "We can’t prohibit it, but we can certainly discourage it,” Bishop reportedly said.   

GMA News Online is still trying to reach Philippine authorities for comment as of this posting.