“We believe in the quality of GMA’s content that makes it a leading brand; we are part of the efforts that make it so.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – As GMA Network’s Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon received the Global Media Icon of the Year, his employees suffer from salary woes.
Gozon, in a report, said the award “pays tribute to all their efforts in establishing GMA Network as a leading brand not only in the Philippines, but in the entire ASEAN region.”
Apparently, the efforts that Gozon mentioned do not refer to the hard work of his employees.The Talents Association of GMA Network (TAG), said in a statement, “We believe in the quality of GMA’s content that makes it a leading brand; we are part of the efforts that make it so.”
The group called on Gozon to address the recent salary woes of talents and regular employees cited below:
Since the start of the year, the overtime pay of regular cameramen and reporters has been delayed for as long as four months. Some employees have yet to receive their pay covering April to May.
Some of the regular reporters and cameramen who received their overtime pay have been ordered to return part of what they got. This was after the GMA’s Finance Department issued documents showing an alleged miscomputation of the overtime pay. These employees have to pay for the amount that they allegedly received in excess, which will be cut from their succeeding pays. The amount ranges from P15,000 ($332) to as much as P65,000 ($1,340), forcing some regular employees to get loan from the GMA Employees’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
Workers under the Project Employment Contract (PEC) who wish to get loan from the Cooperative cannot do so because the PEC does not recognize the employees’ years of service. Workers who have been with GMA for years now appear on paper as working for GMA for a couple of months, depending on the date they signed the PEC.
The PEC is a one-year contract signed by “project employees” for a particular program. If the show ends, the management has no obligation to renew the contract.
The salaries of workers under the PEC were deposited late this month, resulting in inconvenience especially for workers who were on a deadline to pay bills and other expenses.
Workers who have remained as talents, most of whom are TAG members now receive their salaries through checks, instead of ATM, which is stated in the Talent Agreement.
“The workers who suffer from this labor plight are the same people who make GMA Network a leading brand in broadcasting. We appeal to you Atty. Gozon, to address these issues for the common good of our Network,” the TAG said. 
