The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Cagayan de Oro City Chapter is standing with our colleagues in the media industry who are in the process of lodging a complaint with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) against their former employer.

Thirteen former employees of Sunstar Cagayan de Oro, Inc., publisher of the community newspaper Sunstar Cagayan de Oro, are seeking legal remedies to compel their erstwhile employers to honor all their obligations after the newspaper ceased operations last June 30, 2020.

The 13 said more than a month after the newspaper’s closure, they have yet to receive their 13th month pay as well as get any feedback whether the unpaid government dues, deducted monthly from their salaries, have been updated. They said they are also in the dark whether the company will give them any separation pay as well. They said the company president, Gina Marie G. Atienza, had given assurances that employees will be paid all earned salaries and benefits under the law.

While not part of the group of former SunStar CDO employees, former correspondents and contributors of the community newspaper are also asking the company to settle all their unpaid payments for their articles and photos. The former correspondents, many of whom have left even before the newspaper closed shop, have long been pressing the company for payment.

We therefore demand that the owners of the erstwhile Sunstar Cagayan de Oro , Inc. to honor all its obligations to its former employees, correspondents, and contributors.

Reference:
Bobby Espinosa Lagsa
Vice Chairperson
+639956281818