Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Rural Workers' Organisations Convention, 1975 (No. 141) - Philippines (Ratification: 1979)

With regard to its previous direct requests concerning the incompatibility of certain provisions of the Labour Code, as amended by Act No. 6715, with Article 3 of the Convention, the Committee notes the information contained in the Government's report. It states that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Act No. 6657 became law on 7 June 1988 and that, following ratification of Convention No. 144 and the establishment of machinery for tripartite discussion of international labour standard matters, this will provide the necessary impetus to the social partners to make the appropriate decision regarding Act No. 6715; it undertakes to inform the Committee of any developments in this regard and to solicit assistance should this become necessary.

In addition, the Committee takes note of the conclusions reached by the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 1585 presented by the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) against the Government of the Philippines (279th Report, paras. 119 to 150, approved by the Governing Body in November 1991). That Committee held in the particular circumstances of the case before it that section 241(c) and (p) of the Labour Code (requiring local and national officers of labour organisations to be elected directly by secret ballot) and section 3(d) of Book V, Rule II (requiring federations and national unions to organise their direct members into local chapters) are not compatible with the principles of freedom of association given the difficulties - proven in that case - facing rural workers' organisations in assembling their members (for example, geographic and climatic conditions, transport and communication problems, huge costs and administrative difficulties) and given the principle that each rural workers' organisation, including the FFF, should be able to choose, in full freedom, the organisational structure it deems most appropriate. The present Committee endorses these conclusions and asks the Government to keep it informed of any amendments adopted to bring its legislation into line with the provisions of the Convention.