Are call centres the factories of the 21st Century?

[bricolage]

More people than ever before work in call centres in the UK but are they the modern-day equivalents of the factory production line?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12691704

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

No, but comparable in a sense.

I say no because in the UK, call centres (I work, or have worked and will work again, in outbound market research centres) are adequately paid to well paid. I can earn around £10 per hour for doing not much.

I think it varies from place to place. One place I worked you had around 10% of calls monitored, your time away from your desk was monitored and there were 2 to 3 performance appraisals every day. Another place I worked, they guarenteed you £7 per hour, you could work whenever you want, say what you want etc.

So yes, in their slavish, mundane way they are comparable, but there is certainly little similarity otherwise, between hard labour in a factory for 12+ hours per day for almost no money, and a 7-8 hour day calling people up, even if there is emotional/mental stress placed on workers.

In any case, it's all wage exploitation, and call centres/market research centres/sales centres don't really serve any practical purpose - they are of no intrinsic productive value.