KEY POINTS:
Philippines call centre staff working for Telecom are to be trained to talk like New Zealanders, learning slang words and mastering the accent as part of a plan to cut jobs in New Zealand.
Telecom announced last week it would cut 250 call-centre jobs in New Zealand and shift them to Manila.
The company said it would put the new employees through a two-month training session.
Once completed, some would sound like "authentic Kiwis".
British-based Rob O'Malley, whose company employs more than 3500 call-centre workers in the Philippines, told the Dominion Post the results were often "staggering".
"You wouldn't know they are in Manila. You would think they are in an office somewhere in Auckland that's how good they are."
Telecom spokesman Mark Watts said the training would also give workers information about New Zealand's customs, geography, education, sports and events.
"Call it a crash course in the Kiwi experience," he said.
Training also included listening to New Zealand phone calls and a "virtual backpacking" exercise that took workers around the country, learning how to pronounce the names of cities and towns.
Call-centre workers in the Philippines earn above the average wage, which was more than nurses, but lagged a long way behind pay rates in New Zealand.
But Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little had heard mixed stories about working conditions in the Philippines and thought it was "dodgy" for Telecom to take advantage of the workers.
"It is a low-income country with a poor economy. It's not a good look for a big corporate to take advantage of that. Low pay, long hours it doesn't sound like much fun."
The newspaper reported that call-centre workers in the Philippines could expect to earn around $9400 a year for a 37.5 hour week. Workers in New Zealand earn approximately $35,000.
- NZPA
