The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday appealed to ABS-CBN Corporation to give the necessary entitlements to its employees who may soon be subjected to retrenchment.
This after the media broadcasting earlier announced it could start retrenching some of its 11,000 employees by next month after Congress denied the renewal of its franchise.
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“The verdict may be unfortunate for that would mean imminent job loss for a significant number of employees of one of the largest media enterprises in the country. But the workers are not helpless,” Labor undersecretary Ana C. Dione said in a statement.
“We are ready to extend the necessary assistance to all employees who may be displaced as a result of the congressional action,” she added.
She said the DOLE-National Capital Region (DOLE-NCR) is now coordinating with ABS-CBN to ensure its displaced workers will get their separation benefits including severance pay.
“This is why our NCR regional office has been directed to determine exactly the number of ABS-CBN employees, who they are and what is the nature of their employment,” Dione said.
In its resolution on ABS-CBN’s application, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises noted that only 25 percent or 2,661 of the media company’s 11,701 workers were regular employees.
Usually, only regular employees are entitled to separation benefits.
“If they truly care for their workers, then the network is morally bound to give them all pays and emoluments that the law provides,” Dione said.