By ALYSSA MAE CLARIN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA— The Court of Appeals junked the motion for reconsideration filed by the network GMA and its CEO Felipe L. Gozon, and upheld its earlier ruling that declares over a hundred talents of the network as regular employees.
In its two-page decision, CA Former Special 14th Division states that the CA “did not find any compelling reason to warrant a modification or a reversal of its previous decision dated last February 20, 2019.”
Penned by Associate Justice Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles, the decision ruled that the talents of the network are to be considered as regular employees and are part of the crew who performs functions necessary to GMA’s broadcasting business.
Talents Association of GMA (TAG), welcomes the appellate court’s latest decision and said in a statement that the CA only reiterated what has been declared before and that the 101 talents are undoubtedly regular employees of GMA Network.
TAG said that they will not bow down if GMA decide to continue to contest this decision, and the group stated that instead they would continue to push for better labor conditions in the media industry.
“If GMA takes the option to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, we will welcome the opportunity to present our case in the High Court,” said TAG in their released statement, “The Filipino workers deserve nothing less.”
BACKSTORY | GMA 7 talents launch work stoppage, protest vs. contractual labor
Why this ruling is important
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also lauded the CA for its ruling and applauds TAG members for their resiliency.
NUJP National Chairperson Nonoy Espina said that the organization has always been confident that TAG would emerge victorious, “This only shows what unity and determination can do to protect and promote our rights.”
Espina also said that the ruling is important for the media industry and for the workers who are experiencing continuous exploitation in their line of work. “It (the ruling) is a rebuke against the continued exploitation of media workers through contractualization,” he told Bulatlat. Bulatlat.com
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