MANILA, Philippines — Every day is “torture” for the workers of ABS-CBN Corp. over fears they will lose their jobs should Congress fail to renew the franchise of the country’s top broadcasting company.
The president of the ABS-CBN Rank and File Employees’ Union said this during a Senate hearing on the renewal of the company’s legislative franchise and its supposed violations Monday.
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“Nangangamba kaming lahat ng empleyado sa araw araw na lumilipas ‘yung panahon. Torture po talaga,” an emotional Jon Villanueva told senators.
(All employees are worried for every day that passes. It’s really torture.)
Some 11,000 workers, who depend on ABS-CBN and its subsidiaries for their bread and butter, are feared to lose their jobs or will indirectly be dislocated once the company’s renewal of franchise is denied.
Villanueva said it would be difficult for ABS-CBN employees to find jobs in other companies once the network is forced to shut down.
The union head also said that being employed in ABS-CBN helped him sustain the needs of his family.
“Umunlad po ang buhay ko, ng pamilya ko at lahat ng mga miyembro dahil po sa ABS-CBN. Kaya po nangangamba ang lahat kung sakaling di mabigyan ng prangkisa ang ABS,” Villanueva said.
(My life, the lives of my family members improved because of ABS-CBN. That’s why we’re all worried in the event that ABS-CBN is not given a franchise.)
Last week, Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, said the welfare of the nation is more important than the 11,000 workers who may lose their jobs.
ABS-CBN, whose legislative franchise is expiring in May, has been at the receiving end of many of the president’s verbal attacks.
‘Pro-worker franchise’ needed
At the Senate hearing, Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged ABS-CBN to prioritize the welfare of its employees by regularizing their contractual workers.
“We need a pro-worker franchise,” the opposition senator said as she urged the network to improve its labor practices and provide job security to its employees once the franchise is renewed.
Hontiveros said only 300 of the company’s at least 7,000 regular employees are members of the employees' union. The rest of the 6,700 regular employees enjoy wages that are 50% higher than union members.
“Moving forward, kapag mapagbigyan ang prangkisa ng ABS-CBN, dapat kasama ang sapat na benepisyo sa ilalim ng ating labor laws na may respeto sa mga unyon at sa collective bargaining agreement. This is the promise of fairness that I expect from ABS-CBN,” she said.
(If the franchise of ABS-CBN is granted, there should be enough benefits under the country’s labor laws that respect unions and collective bargaining agreement.)