THE Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that television giant GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) had illegally dismissed 30 cameramen and assistant cameramen in May 2013.
Thus, in a ruling penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court’s Third Division directed GMA to reinstate the cameramen and pay their backwages, allowances, and other benefits from the time of their illegal dismissal to the time of their actual reinstatement.
The Court further ordered the media network to pay each of the petitioners’ attorney’s fee equivalent to 10 percent of total monetary award accruing to each of them.
It also imposed a 6 percent interest per annum on the amounts due to each of the petitioner to be computed from finality of Court’s decision until full payment.
The petitioners were hired by the network between 2005 and 2011 but were all dismissed in May 2013.
The Court held that the respondent could not just dismiss the petitioners as employer-employee relationship existed between the network and the petitioners were hired as camera operators.
Contrary to the claim of the respondent network, the SC held that the petitioners are considered regular employees of the network, thus, enjoy the right to security of tenure considering that their functions “are necessary and desirable to the usual business and trade of the employer attain regular status from the time of engagement.”
The GMA argued that the respondents are considered independent contractors and not employees.
To be considered as independent contractors, the SC said the network should have proven that the petitioners were hired because of their unique skills and talents and that GMA did not exercise control over the means and methods of their work.
The Court noted that there was no showing at all that the employees, who were paid a meager salary ranging from P750 to P1500 per taping, were hired because of their unique skills, talent and celebrity status not possessed by ordinary employees.
“In this case, GMA provided the equipment used during tapings and assigned supervisors to monitor the petitioners’ performance and guarantee their compliance with company protocols and standards,” the SC said.
“The Court also gave weight to petitioners’ arguments that they were regular employees having performed functions that were necessary and desirable to GMA’s usual business as a television and broadcasting company,” it added.
The SC pointed out that GMA repeatedly engaged petitioners as camera operators for its television programs and such activities fall within the regular and usual business of GMA.
The SC stressed that GMA should not be allowed to keep on hiring and rehiring workers “solely depending on its fancy, getting rid of them when, in its mind, they are bereft of prior utility, and with a view to circumvent their right to security of tenure.”
The case has been remanded to the Labor Arbiter for the computation of the backwages and other monetary awards due to petitioners.