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 | | Wednesday, 21 November, 2001, 06:30 GMT Call centre body ringing the changes  The call centre industry is booming in Scotland Scotland's call centres are well placed to deal with increased competition from abroad, according to senior figures within the industry. Members of the Call Centre Association have gathered in Glasgow for their seventh annual convention, with the main aim of highlighting best practice. The convention was due to tackle the impact of new technology on their business, as well as the poor image the industry has as an employer. There are more than 200 call centres in Scotland, employing 40,000 people and the industry claims to make a major contribution to the Scottish economy.
Forecasts show that by 2008, the market in Scotland could grow by half as much again. But some call centres have been described as little better than sweatshops, with workers suffering stressful conditions for low levels of pay. A recent report from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) highlighted draconian working conditions in some call centres - including an anecdote of a man having his pay docked because he had to be taken to hospital. It came at a time when the business was facing a major challenge from the process of globalisation with call centres in countries like India able to undercut costs in the UK. But the industry said it was well placed to deal with the challenge, using the skills being honed north of the border. The number of call centre jobs has jumped by nearly 220% in nearly four years with an increasing number employed in Scotland. Brewing and pub group Scottish Courage announced on Tuesday it is to create 250 jobs in West Lothian by setting up a new call centre. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Scotland stories now:  Links to more Scotland stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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