‘If we fight, we can win’: NUJP welcomes NLRC decision giving reporter 13-month pay, benefits
MANILA, Philippines — Progressive journalists applauded the National Labor Relations Commission's (NLRC) recent decision favoring a reporter against former employers from the Daily Tribune after the latter failed to provide benefits mandated by law to workers.
The NLRC recently ordered the publisher of the Daily Tribune, Concept Information Group Inc., to pay their former reporter Gabriel John Villegas' mandatory benefits alongside his pro-rated 13th month pay.
Villegas earlier filed a complaint against the newspaper, one of the biggest in the country, after he discovered that they did not pay for his Social Security System, Pag-IBIG and PhilHealth benefits for more than a year. All of which are mandated by law.
"To the media owners, we hope that this serves as a lesson. Love your workers, give them what is right," said NUJP-NCR chairperson Lourdes Escaros in a statement released on Thursday in a mix of Filipino and English, while encouraging media workers to assert their labor rights.
"You should fight, and don't let companies step on your rights."
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
Villegas was said to have been represented by his counsel Noel Neri from the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Group.
The publisher was reported to have not attended the arbitration hearings. The NLRC decision was formally handed down last March 27.
Alongside the payment of Villegas' benefits and 13th month pay, the NLRC also ordered to pay him his attorney's fees of 10% of the awarded payment.
Low pay, poor working conditions and contractualization continue to hound thousands of journalists and media workers to this day, with many not being regularized even after years of employment.
Because of this, lawmakers like Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar filed House Bill 6543 or the "Journalists Protection Act of 2022," a measure seeking additional insurance benefits and non-taxable hazard pay for journalists.
A "magna carta for media workers" is also one of Sen. Raffy Tulfo's many campaign promises as a broadcaster himself during the 2022 national elections. — James Relativo