[THREAD] Having lost at the NLRC and Court of Appeals, GMA Network now elevates the talents regularization case before the Supreme Court. Its opening statement? "This is a classic case of a person wanting to have his cake and eat it too." 
GMA says the broadcast industry is unique and peculiar and therefore is "not governed by basic precepts of labor and employment." In defending that stance, GMA makes claims about the facts of employment that are misleading, some barefaced lies. Examples ahead.
#1 GMA says talents have no regular schedules. This is just false. For News Dept, we are in the office everyday for the entire duration of production. Public affairs have less rigid schedules yes, but they even sleep in the office on eve of airing.
#2 Talents take on multiple programs because they need to pay for their own healthcare and other benefits BECAUSE THE NETWORK WOULDN'T DO SO. But this means these talents work almost 24 hours a day with little to no rest in between programs.
#2.1 So yes, while the salaries may have sometimes matched those in the managerial level – the labor conditions most certainly did not. (Kapag ang manager may sakit, G may sick leave na may HMO pa, kapag talent ghorl mag biogesic ka lang kasi no HMO na no work no pay pa)
#3 GMA says the filing of the petition was an afterthought to being required by BIR to classify ourselves as independent contractors. It was not an afterthought, but more of an eye-opener because for years we accepted this because we loved this job, so, so, so, much.
#3.1 But to recall what instigated the discontent – at a general assembly during which we were told to, from thereon, issue receipts for fees as if we are our own companies, and when we dared complain, one of the network's officers called us tax evaders. Fault pala namin?
#4 Talents have unique skills not possessed by ordinary employees? What.a.lie. GMA's desk editors, reporters, cameramen, and the senior producers are all regular employees.
#4.1 The regular employees have the same skills as talents – ang difference, the employment design keeps many of us talents until we are promoted. So yung mga ibang positions na hindi mapo-promote to Executive Producers etc, isang dekada na wala pa ring security of tenure.
#5 We were hired as talents because we didn't apply for the regular positions? Meron bang regular positions? Saang banda? Didn't the network counter-offer some of the petitioners na gawing regular ang current positions in exchange of dropping the case? Nakalimutan na ba 'yun?
#6 To exempt itself from the 4-way test (test to determine employee-employer relationship) GMA says the network does not have any control over the talent's work. This is just baffling. For one, weren't we each issued with the GMA News Ethical Handbook and Manual? So ano 'yun?
#7 GMA says if talents are to be declared regular workers, it would be a "travesty to the whole broadcast industry." We say enough. End contractualization in media. Regularize media work. Stop treating media workers as service providers.
In describing petitioners who dedicated years of their lives to the network, GMA said "this is a classic case of a person who wants to have his cake and eat it too." We will not stand idly by while they reduce our fight for better labor treatment to a mere metaphor. #endthread
