Lopez locks out workers from ABS-CBN compound

Dismissed employees of broadcasting giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. accused the company’s chairman, Eugenio Lopez III, of unfair labor practices, including union busting.

At a recent press conference, the 25 ABS-CBN workers under the ABS-CBN internal job market (IJM) said they were even barred from entering the company premises after a deadline Lopez issued for the workers to accept the so-called regularization scheme lapsed.

The regularization scheme, however, was a misnomer since it provided that the salaries of the workers would be slashed to a third of what they used to get.

Johnny, not his real name, has been working as a cameraman for ABS-CBN’s current affairs program for 22 years. On June 18, he was told by security guards that he is among those who have been banned from entering the company premises, according to online publication Bulatlat.com.

On June 16, Johnny, like many of his colleagues, was summoned to the human resources (HR) department. He was being offered a new contract, stating, among other things, that he has to work for eight hours a day for a salary of P25,000 and that he would be on probationary status for six

months. He told the HR staff that he would think about the offer.

“It (the offer) is insulting,” Johnny told Bulatlat in an interview, adding that another cameraman who is his junior has been offered P45,000 as salary. “I did not do anything wrong against the company. Why don’t they give me some respect?”

“Those who would not sign the contract will lose their jobs,” Lopez told the workers on June 15. “(You) either resign or find another job. That’s the only choice you have,” Lopez said. A video of Lopez’s speech was shown to the media by the ABS-CBN IJM workers’ union in a press conference on June 24.

The offer, said union member and sound engineer Russel Galima, entails a waiver of all cases filed by the workers against the management, disregard of ther years of service, lower salary, among others. Antonio Perez, president of ABS-CBN internal job market (IJM) workers union, said the salary offered to workers is only one-third of their current salary.

“If you don’t want it, we would not force you. ..just don’t convince other people not to accept our offer. Can you feed their families?” Lopez said further.

The proposed salary is fixed, meaning workers could not demand for overtime pay and special pay on holidays. “We are always on call. At times, we were on coverage for three days. It is just not fair,” Johnny retorted.

Like the rest of the workers, Johnny said he was not given a copy of the contract. “It was only discussed to me verbally.”

Perez said only 100 of the 1,400 IJM workers were offered “regular” positions. “The contracts were a done deal. The management has already signed them and we were not even given copies.”

Perez said contracts of workers have been co-terminous with the TV program. “We are regular in the programs but not in the company. The renewal of our contracts is the company’s discretion,” Perez said.

Almost half of 100, mostly senior workers have been put on probation. Those in the post-production did not get any offer.

Perez said they are only fighting for their basic rights as workers. “We only wanted to have representation.”

“It is not an abuse to demand what is stated in the law,” Perez said, stating that under the law, workers who have rendered at least six months of continuous work are entitled to become regular workers. “It is also our right to form a union,” he said.

John Pail Panizales, technical director/VTR man and union member, said the management wants to crush their union.

Panizales said their union was formed in March 2009. In November of the same year, the union filed a petition for certification before the Department of Labor and Employment-National Capital Region.

“The company denied our status as employees,” Panizales said. The DoLE-NCR decided in favor of the management and the union filed an appeal to the Labor Secretary’s Office.

Panizales believes the management’s offer for the so-called regularization aims to diminish their union membership. “It is simply union busting,” he said.

Perez insisted that their identification cards and pay slips are proofs of their employment with the giant network. Citing the recent Supreme Court decision on Fulache vs. ABS-CBN Corp., Perez said they should be considered as regular employees, too.

In the said case, the petitioners, all employees of the ABS-CBN Cebu, claimed they had rendered more than a year of service to the company and, therefore, should have been recognized as regular employees entitled to security of tenure and to the privileges and benefits enjoyed by regular employees. However, ABS-CBN Cebu allegedly considered them only as talents and not as regular employees.

“The bad faith in ABS-CBN’s move toward its illegitimate goal was not even hidden; it dismissed the petitioners – already recognized as regular employees – for refusing to sign up with its service contractor. Thus, from every perspective, the petitioners were illegally dismissed,” the Supreme Court said in its decision dated Jan. 21.

“The management does not consider us as kapamilya, not even children out of wedlock,” Perez said.

Galima said they have been treated like criminals. “Our pictures are posted at the gates,” he said, adding that they were denied access to the network’s compound and could not even talk to the HR to ask about the status of their employment.

On the day of Lopez’s deadline, Galima said, they could not find their names on the schedule of programs and on the list of those who would be on a day-off. “Until now, we got no answers,” he said.

Most of the 25 dismissed workers are breadwinners and have children. “Some of us are really devastated,” Perez said.

“My children do not know yet that I am now jobless,” Johnny said tearfully. “I have not told them because I do not want them to get discouraged from pursuing their studies,” he said. Johnny has four children, three of whom are in college.

Co-employees who expressed support to the dismissed workers have been wearing arm bands but are also being threatened of losing their jobs, Perez said.

Perez also expressed fear that their case could set a dangerous precedent to the media industry.

“This is an attack against media workers in general,” Perez said, adding that even rank-and-file employees can become contractual. “Other networks can follow suit,” he said. He said further that when it comes to the welfare of workers, rival networks are silent.

Perez said they would try to seek the help of incoming President Aquino.

“He said he wants more jobs for Filipinos, we hope we are included in those who will still have jobs. We hope we would not be added to the statistics of the unemployed,” he said.

“He said he is against corruption. We hope we would not be victims of corruption in relation to the cases we filed before DoLE,” the union leader said.

As for Johnny, he said, a good company should also maintain good standards for the interest of its workers. –Daily Tribune