Sotto bats for enhanced protection, benefits for media workers
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III has filed a bill seeking to provide enhanced protection, work security, and benefits to media workers in the country.
Sotto’s Senate Bill No. 1820, or the proposed Media Workers’ Welfare Act, aims to create a basic compensation scheme for media workers.
“While we truly recognize media’s major influence and the important part that it plays in people’s lives; it is unfortunate that the very same people behind it are not receiving the tangible fruits of this recognition which include security of tenure, hazard pay, night shift differential pay, and overtime pay, just to name a few,” the bill’s explanatory note read.
The measure seeks for the guaranteed security of tenure or regularization for all media workers as well as payment of P500 daily hazard pay for “dangerous” coverages.
Media workers will also be entitled to additional insurance benefits on top of existing government benefits under the bill.
“At times when reliable and accurate information is crucial, such as today amid the menacing health impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, media workers have set aside all fear and reason and have gone the extra mile to gather facts and figures to make the public fully aware of what is happening in their government and communities,” Sotto said in a statement Friday.
“The media has even gone beyond their duty of newsgathering. They have become the voice of the marginalized and the scared. They bridge and connect the people and their public leaders,” he added.
‘Solidarily liable’
According to the bill, media entities “shall be responsible for all contents released under its name.”
Thus, owners of media entities, including the franchise holder, should be “solidarily liable for any claims against media workers in connection with their work, regardless of the nature of engagement,” the proposed measure noted.
Further, owners of media entities, including the franchise holder, should also be “solidarily liable” for any claims arising from the content aired through advertisements as well as by block timers, it added.
“Any agreement to the contrary shall be void,” the bill further stated.
Tripartite council
The bill also requires the Department of Labor and Employment to create a News Media Tripartite Council that will “serve as a link among various stakeholders.”
The council will be tasked to provide media workers groups and media entities the platform to craft policy decisions that will affect the industry as a whole.
“It is high time that we provide the media workers their well-deserved emoluments and protection under the law,” Sotto said.
“The public’s need for quality, informative news can only be satisfied when our media workers feel safe and secure while in selfless pursuit of news and information,” he added.
