Contract said independent contractors, Supreme Court looked at how work actually got done
A Philippine broadcaster kept production workers on "talent agreements" for years—some for up to 15 years.
In a resolution dated July 16, 2025 but made public only on January 24, 2026, the Philippines Supreme Court affirmed lower court rulings that production staff at GMA Network—including producers, researchers, cameramen, writers, and graphic artists—were regular employees despite signing contracts explicitly stating they were independent contractors.
The case began in 2014 when 142 workers filed for regularization. They had been signing renewable "Talent Agreements" ranging from one month to five years, with GMA insisting they were independent contractors. Some had been working this way for up to 15 years.
The workers argued their contracts were a fiction. They underwent GMA's standard hiring process with résumés, background checks, medical exams, and interviews. They followed work schedules set by GMA, adhered to company rules, received notices to explain violations, and used company equipment and vehicles. Their jobs—producing and creating content—were essential to the network's core business.
GMA countered that the contracts were clear. The General Terms stated explicitly that no employer-employee relationship existed. The company pointed to the 2004 Sonza case, where the Supreme Court found television host Jay Sonza was an independent contractor for ABS-CBN, emphasizing that...
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