National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The ruling of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) ordering the management of a news organization to pay more than a year’s worth of benefits to its former reporter should serve as a lesson to media owners: Treat your workers equitably.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) made the remark on Thursday after the NLRC directed the Daily Tribune to pay the mandatory benefits and 13th-month salary of its ex-reporter Gab Humilde Villegas.
According to the NUJP, Villegas, represented by the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Group, had filed a complaint against the media organization for failing to pay his Social Security System, Pag-IBIG, and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. contributions for more than a year.
“To the media owners, nawa’y magsilbing aral ito (let this serve as a lesson). Love your workers, give them what is right,” NUJP-Metro Manila chairperson Lourdes Escaros said in a statement.
She likewise renewed the call for her fellow media workers to continue pushing for their rights.
“Lumaban kayo. Huwag ninyo hayaang tapakan ng kompanya ang karapatan ninyo (Keep fighting. Don’t let companies stomp on your rights),” Escaros added.
STATEMENT | NLRC decision shows if we struggle, we can win
The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) ordered the management of the Daily Tribune, one of the largest newspapers in the country, to pay the benefits of its former reporter Gab Humilde Villegas. pic.twitter.com/aYEzbI5MrY
— NUJP (@nujp) April 6, 2023
In November 2022, the House of Representatives approved on final reading the proposed Media Workers’ Welfare Act that seeks to provide enhanced protection, security, and benefits for people working in the media industry.
READ: House approves bill for enhanced media workers’ protection, benefits
Several counterpart bills had likewise been filed in the Senate, but they remain pending at the committee level as of this posting.
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