“Will we be talents forever?” Christian Cabaluna, president of Talents’ Association of GMA Network, asked the crowd gathered outside the media giant’s headquarters.
“NO!” the crowd shouted back in unison. “Walang forever!” they chanted.
Touting placards and shouting slogans denouncing labor injustice, members of TAG and their supporters staged a Jericho march at the GMA Network Center on June 3. They held a 2-hour long program afterwards at the network’s main gate along Timog Avenue, Quezon City.
The protest, dubbed #BuhayMediaProtest, was set to bring the plight of the ‘talents’ of GMA to the public’s attention.
The network uses the term ‘talents’ to describe skilled professionals they hire on a per-show basis. Talents are denied benefits that regular employees enjoy.
TAG decries harassment
TAG revealed various forms of harassment carried out by the network, including the signing of an acknowledgement receipt as precondition to claim wages withheld by the company.
TAG believes signing an acknowledgement receipt would have an adverse effect on their pending regularization case at the National Labor Relations Commission filed in 2014. Click to read full story
“We used to be indifferent to issues concerning labor. Later on we realized that was wrong. Everyone, every worker should be concerned with these issues,” Cabaluna underscored.
Blatant labor injustice
“GMA talents are denied of their right to security of tenure, the right to organize and form a union,” said Roger Soluta, Deputy Secretary General of progressive labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno.
The labor leader also lambasted the TV network’s alleged labor violations.
“Under current labor laws, a contractual worker should be made a regular after six month’s service. Apparently some of you have already been working for GMA for over 10 years yet you are still contractual,” he said to the talents.
“Walang puso” are the words used by Sonny Enriquez, director of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines to describe GMA’s management headed by Ramon Ang.
Enriquez assailed GMA-7’s retrenchment of 200 workers last April, further stating that the media giant is amongst the country’s top violator of labor laws.
Media Help Desk
Enriquez announced the formation of Media Labor Assistance Center (MLAC).
A joint project between NUJP, Philippine Daily Inquirer Employees Association, Philippine Daily Inquirer Correspondents Association, ABC Employees Union and ABS-CBN IJM (Internal Job Market), MLAC aims to help media workers address issues of harassment and contractualization.
“We are here to inform media owners that it is not only talents of TAG that they have to contend with. They are facing the full force of united media workers in various networks and publications”
“We are here to inform media owners that it is not only talents of TAG that they have to contend with. They are facing the full force of united media workers in various networks and publications,” a combative Enriquez declared.
The demonstration was joined by various labor groups, youth organizations and media advocates.
It ended with a symbolic candle lighting ceremony in front of GMA’s gates before sundown.
