Some 30 Call Centers Suspend their Activity in Albania

TIRANA, March 29

The first effects of the Italian law that prevents the outsourcing of call center companies are showing up. So far 30 companies have suspended their activity in Albania. A representative of the association of call centers Genti Drenova says that over 3,000 people worked for those companies that owned an exclusive contract with an Italian multinational company. According to him, these companies feared being charged penalties thus, they suspended the service provided by call centers registered in Albania.
The fine for those that breach the above-mentioned law is Euro 50,000. Despite this fact, some companies are trying to adapt to the new changes to the law in order to survive.
“Currently, the law says that when the client wants to be called from Italy or another EU member country, we must pass the call to an operator of Italian citizenship. This has a cost because it means that the company must have an office in Italy or in another EU country. There are no problems if the call center operates in Romania or Bulgaria,” chairman of a call center company Denis Sina said.
On the other hand, business representatives ask for the intervention of the Albanian government and require training subsidies.
“25,000 may not be a considerable figure compare to the labor market, but almost all of them are students that support their education and families with their wages,” Drenova added.

News Source: TCH