The People's Television Network, Inc. (PTNI) Management has expressed its full support to PTV employees as they sought a salary adjustment amid the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The PTNI issued the statement after the People's Television Employees Association (PTEA) informed President Duterte in an open letter that 70 percent of the state-run network's workforce has had no salary increase for the last 15 years.
In a statement, the PTNI said it had sent a letter to the Office of the President (OP) requesting the salary increase but it has yet to hear back from them.
"The PTNI Management fully supports the requests of the People's Television Employees Association. In fact, the PTNI Management has already sent letters to the OP seeking approval to grant the requested employment benefits, including the Complementary Salary Adjustment," the PTNI statement read.
"While these requests are under review by the OP, the Office of the General Manager and the Board of Directors of PTNI remain steadfast in pushing for the interests and welfare of PTNI employees, aiming to further improve their overall working conditions, especially during this pandemic," it furthered.
READ: Statement of PTV management on the open letter of PTV employees to President Duterte. @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/Fse9e5Erck
— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyllcyrus_MB) September 6, 2021
Based on the open letter of the employees union to the President, the previous Modified Salary Standardization Law (MSSL) benefited only a few in PTV, many of them from the management.
The Commission on Audit (COA) has actually flagged PTV over almost P190 million in alleged questionable salaries of some of its employees last year.
Malacañang has yet to respond to the calls of PTV employees.
"Hahayaan na muna namin na kayong dalawa ni Secretary Martin Andanar deal with this (We will first let you and Secretary Andanar deal with this)," Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said on Monday, September 6.
Roque was referring to Communications Secretary Martin Andanar who leads the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), the mother agency of PTV, and Communications Undersecretary for Mass Media Rocky Ignacio who serves as moderator of the press briefing.