GMA Network, employees ink new CBA

MANILA, Philippines — GMA Network Inc. has signed a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) providing huge bonuses and wage increases to rank and file employees over the next two years.

GMA chairman and CEO Felipe Gozon, president and COO Gilberto Duavit Jr., executive vice president and CFO Felipe Yalong, and GMA Union president Ronaldo Condestable signed the CBA in a virtual ceremony held last Aug. 25.

GMA said the agreement contains one of the highest bonuses to be given by a broadcast company to rank and file employees.

In particular, there would be a signing bonus of P100,000 for employees with a tenure of less than five years, P115,000 for those with five to ten years, and P130,000 for those with more than 10 years of tenure.

In addition, there will be a wage increase amounting to P3,000 for this year and another P3,000 for next year.

The CBA also covers increases in employee benefits including calamity pay, fire and/or calamity assistance, hospitalization, and optical benefits.

“In so far as management is concerned, we do not look to our employees as employees but as our partners in our day to day endeavor to make our company succeed. That is where I am very thankful for, the cooperation and togetherness that is bearing fruit that you see,” Gozon said.

For his part, Condestable thanked Gozon, Duavit, Yalong and the rest of the management for the good benefits provided to employees.

Last year, GMA’s net income rose by 26 percent to P7.57 billion from P6.01 billion in 2020.

In the first half, GMA’s earnings increased by 9.5 percent to P4.02 billion from P3.67 billion in the same period last year.