After 11 years, GMA talents win labor case vs network

After an 11-year legal battle, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled in favor of the Talents Association of GMA (TAG), declaring all 94 of its members as regular employees of the media giant and finding that 50 of them were illegally dismissed.

The SC’s Third Division’s ruling dated Nov. 25, 2025, released to the public just recently, stated that TAG were not independent contractors, contrary to the claim of the network.

“Plain as day, there exists an employer-employee relationship between GMA and respondents. Respondents are regular employees of GMA,” the High Court said.

The said ruling compelled GMA to pay the employees their full back wages, including allowances and other benefits.

TAG members who were illegally dismissed by the company were also entitled to have their contracts reinstated without loss of seniority and other privileges.

The Third Division also ordered GMA that the employees be compensated with separation pay equivalent to one month’s pay for every year of their service to the company if they are not given their positions back.

In a press release on Jan. 25, TAG expressed its pleasure and looked back on the struggles they have encountered as it fought for its rights.

“This is 11 years in the making, during which our members have emotionally and mentally suffered from having to take to court what we considered our home network,” they stated.

TAG also urged media companies to end contractualization, which has long been the practice in the industry. 

“This should not have taken 11 years. This should not have happened at all. It is time for media companies, especially broadcast networks, to scrap their longtime practice of contractualization through a talent system. It is time to protect Filipino media workers,” the statement read.

Journey to legal victory

The issue began on April 14, 2014, when GMA Network required its talents to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and issue official invoices for their talent fees, a move the workers said imposed an undue burden.

On June 25, 2015, the National Labor Relations Commission ruled in favor of the GMA talents, prompting the network to appeal the decision.

After the NLRC dismissed the appeal, GMA elevated the case to the Court of Appeals, which also junked the petition and later denied the network’s motion for reconsideration.

GMA brought the case to the Supreme Court on Jan. 20, 2020, eventually leading to the case’s resolution as the network once again met loss and the talents claimed their long-fought victory.