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ABS-CBN employees decry termination of contracts
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 09:03:00 06/21/2010

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100621-276775/ABS-CBN_employees_decry_termination_of_contracts

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) About 1,000 workers of media giant ABS-CBN decried the dismissal of their contract following their refusal to accept the company's terms for regularization.
Antonio Perez, president of ABS-CBN Internal Job Market (IJM) Workers' Union, said the company terminated the contract of employees who decided not to accept the terms for regularization at midnight on Wednesday.
"We condemn this unjust practice tantamount to illegal termination and constructive dismissal," Perez said. Reports from union sources said scores of their members received on Thursday memoranda notifying them of the end of their work with the company.
Perez said their members urged the company to accept them as regular employees without the conditions imposed.
“The law mandates we should enjoy it after six months of service; some of us have been Kapamilyas for many years now and have raised our own pamilyas already while serving ABS-CBN. We want no waiver of whatsoever rights or grievances accompanied with the regularization. We want long-term job security," Perez said.
ABS-CBN does not recognize the union, which is registered with the Department of Labor and Employment.
The union represents about 1,000 workers in the technical operations division, production division, and news and current affairs division of the network, doing camera work, lights, sounds, VTR, and others for almost all entertainment and news programs.
According to Perez, ABS-CBN president Gabby Lopez chatted with some of their members online on Tuesday to discuss the matter of regularization.
"During the chat, he categorically said that if those workers offered regularization will not accept it until 12 midnight of Wednesday, then they will be terminated," Perez said.
The management offered regular employment to workers in exchange for dropping complaints against management. The conditions also included no back-pay or recognition of the delayed regular status, Perez said.
He noted that the terms were “bogus” and were designed to kill the union.
“Such bogus regularization has been forced by the management to deplete the membership of our union and eventually banish it," he said.
In a statement, Bong Osorio, head of the ABS-CBN corporate communication unit, said the regularization process the broadcast company carried out was legal.
“The ABS-CBN management has been involved every step of the way in the issue and a decision to regularize some of them has been made. The regularization process was carried out in accordance with the law,” he said.
He explained that “the existing Internal Job Market (IJM) in ABS-CBN is a database which provides the network a list of accredited technical or creative manpower who offer their services to the company. It is aligned with the requirements of the Labor Code, and those listed in our IJM roster are taken care of in accordance with the law.”

“We realize we cannot please everybody, but we believe that we are doing what is right for the best interest of the company, employees, and shareholders. The move was implemented to ensure that ABS-CBN is in-step with the fast changing multi-media industry landscape,” he added.

Osorio also said the workers’ union is not recognized by the government.
“The call to have the ABS-CBN IJM workers' union recognized has been dismissed by the appropriate government quasi-judicial body,” he said in the statement. When asked what body this is, his staff said the labor department.



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