by Raadee Sausa January 30, 2021 The House of Representatives on January 18, approved a bill that would guarantee security of tenure and bet...
January 30, 2021
The House of Representatives on January 18, approved a bill that would guarantee security of tenure and better benefits for all workers in the media industry.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar in a statement said, as the House resumed its session for 2021, a total of 218 legislators voted in favor of House Bill (HB) 8140 or the proposed Media Workers' Welfare Act on its 3rd and final reading. No other lawmaker voted against the bill or abstained from the vote.
It’s still a long way to go before the bill becomes a law. The Senate version is still pending at the committee level.
"Unjust labor conditions are a perennial problem in the local media industry, especially for television networks where the tenures of contractual workers – called talents or project workers, depending on the company hiring them – are dependent upon the duration of the show they are working for," Andanar said.
This talent system deprives workers of job security and other law-mandated benefits. Major networks like GMA-7 and even the now-shutdown ABS-CBN have faced various labor cases over the years, he added.
But if HB 8140 is passed into law, media companies would be required to regularize all their workers after six months, regardless of the nature of their employment.
The six months would be computed cumulatively if the employee is repeatedly engaged by the company for shorter periods.
The bill defines media workers as “those who are legitimately engaged in news media practice, directly or indirectly, whether as a principal occupation or not.”
HB 8140 would bar media companies from compensating their workers below the applicable minimum wage rate set by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.
Media workers would also be entitled to overtime pay, night shift premiums, and coverage by the Social Security System, the Pag-ibig Fund, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.
Those who would be required to physically report for work in dangerous areas like war zones, disease-infested locations, and areas under a state of calamity or emergency would be mandated to receive at least P500 worth of hazard pay per day.
The bill also sets insurance coverage for media workers in cases of death and disability.
Under the measure, a media worker would be granted a P200,000 death benefit, and he or she stands to receive up to P200,000 in case of total or partial disability arising from an injury while working.
The bill also sets a medical insurance benefit for media workers up to P100,000.
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