Sotto seeks better benefits for media workers

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Friday said media workers in the Philippines should be entitled to security of tenure and better employment benefits given the kind of work that they are doing. 

He filed Senate Bill No. 1820 or the proposed Media Workers’ Welfare Act which seeks to create a basic compensation scheme for media workers, guarantee their regularization, and mandate the payment of a P500 daily hazard pay for dangerous coverage.

Additional insurance benefits on top of existing government benefits must also be provided, according to the bill.

A "News Media Tripartite Council" shall likewise be created under the proposed law to give media workers' groups a platform to craft policy decisions for the benefit of the whole industry.

"Our media workers have sacrificed a lot in the name of public service. They spend more time with their microphones and cameras, recorders and laptops than in their beds, their fur babies and their loved ones," Sotto said.

"It is high time that we provide the media workers their well-deserved emoluments and protection under the law. The public’s need for quality, informative news can only be satisfied when our media workers feel safe and secure while in selfless pursuit of news and information," he added. —LBG, GMA News