Drilon asked to air concern on endo jobs not just job loss of ABS-CBN workers

In reaction to the statement of Senator Franklin Drilon about the impending joblessness of ABS-CBN workers if the franchise is not renewed, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asked that he also air his concern on the contractual status of thousands of the network’s employees.

“If Senator Drilon accepts the fact that there are 11,000 ABS-CBN employees, then he must necessarily ask the question why some 10,000 of them remain on contractual status and thus denied higher wages, good benefits and job security,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “ABS-CBN denies its employee-employer relationship to these so-called talents and thus the company avers that it only has some 1,000 workers.”

On Monday, PM and other groups like Kalipunan and I-Defend are mobilizing against the repression of democratic rights and for defense of freedoms such as a critical press and the right to unionize. Unions are being red-tagged and strikes are being dispersed around the country, the group observed.

“We call on Congress not to end the franchise of ABS-CBN but we also demand that ABS-CBN stop endo among it workers. Wag i-endo ng Kongreso ang prangkisa ng ABS-CBN pero wag din i-endo ng ABS-CBN ang mga manggagawa nito,”Magtubo explained.

Yesterday PM slammed Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa for his indifference to the predicament of some 11,000 workers of ABS-CBN who will be affected by a shutdown of the network.

“Wag pagmatigasan ni Bato ang mga manggagawa ng ABS-CBN. If Senator Bato is does not care about 11,000 ABS-CBN workers losing their jobs then he also does not care about the Filipino people. The plight of 11,000 ABS-CBN workers is a microcosm of the the conditions of some 26 million wage and salary workers in the country who together with their families definitely comprise a majority of the Filipino people,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Magtubo made this remark in answer to Senator dela Rosa’s contention that the interests of the Filipino people trump concern over the livelihood of the ABS-CBN workers. He added that “It is obvious that the threat to shutdown ABS-CBN is rooted in President Duterte’s personal grudge and does not have anything to do with the national interest. Bato himself said that he lives or dies with President Duterte so his loyalty is just to one person not the entire nation.”

The group called on regular and contractual ABS-CBN workers to forge an alliance and for the talents to organize so that they have voice and representation. “Neither the Lopezes nor Duterte, or even the political opposition, can be relied upon to treat ABS-CBN workers fairly. Whatever happens to ABS-CBN, the workers are protected if they are united and organized,” stated Magtubo. 

February 20, 2020