Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Philippines (Ratification: 1953)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and its reply to the comments of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 31 August 2005, which mainly refer to matters previously raised by the Committee. Furthermore, the Committee also notes the new comments submitted by the ICFTU, in a communication of 10 August 2006, that once again refer to issues raised by the Committee and to serious allegations of murder of four trade union leaders in 2005, anti-union violence in the sugar sector, death threats to discourage union formation in the economic zone in Cavite, and the non-arrest of the authors of the killings of seven strikers in November 2004. Concerning these serious allegations, the Committee wishes to emphasize that respect for civil liberties is essential for the exercise of freedom of association and that workers and employers should be able to exercise their freedom of association rights in a climate of complete freedom and security from violence and threats. Furthermore, the Committee stresses the importance of ensuring that all instances of violence against trade union members, whether these be murders, disappearances or threats, are properly investigated and recalls that a situation, in which a large number of acts of violence against trade union members are not investigated, or that the investigations are not fully carried out, is a clear evidence of impunity preventing the free exercise of trade union rights. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations in its next report on the comments made by the ICFTU.

Article 2 of the Convention. Right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations of their own choosing. 1. In previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to consider amending section 234(c) of the Labor Code, which requires, for registration of a trade union organization, the names of all its members comprising at least 20 per cent of all employees in a bargaining unit where it seeks to operate. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that: (a) during the tripartite consultations of Department Order No. 40-03 (2003) the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR), had recommended the removal of the 20 per cent requirement. However the said recommendation failed to garner support from the other sectors; (b) the DOLE also supports House Bill 1351, introduced on 13 July 2001, which seeks to remove the 20 per cent requirement. This bill was approved in second reading on June 8, 2005; and (c) the Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment (COCLE), sponsor of Senate Bill No. 2576 – actually retitled Bill No. 1049 – proposes the maintenance of the 20 per cent requirement, but only with respect to independent unions.

Under these circumstances the Committee requests the Government, as it had in previous comments, to consider, in the context of these ongoing amendments to the Labor Code (House Bill 1351), revising section 234(c) of the Labor Code so as to lower the minimum membership requirement for registration of a trade union and to indicate in its next report any measures adopted in this respect.

2. The Committee had previously requested the Government to amend sections 269 and 272(b) of the Labor Code, and section 2 of Rule II of Department Order No. 40-03, which prohibit aliens (other than those with valid permits if the same rights are guaranteed to Filipino workers in the country of the alien workers) from engaging in any trade union activity under penalty of deportation. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that Rule II of Department Order No. 40-03 was amended by Department Order No. 40-C-05 of 2005. The latter provides that the right to establish and join organizations may be exercised by aliens with valid permits who are nationals of a country which grants the same or similar rights to Filipino workers, as certified by the Department of Foreign Affairs, or which has ratified either ILO Convention No. 87 or ILO Convention No. 98. The Committee observes that, although these measures imply a positive advance, the legislation still does not grant the right to organize to all nationals lawfully residing within the Philippines. The Committee further notes that sections 269 and 272(b) of the Labor Code have not been amended. In these circumstances, the Committee once again recalls that the right of workers, without distinction whatsoever, to establish and join organizations implies that anyone legally residing in the territory of a given State benefits from the trade union rights provided by the Convention, without any distinction based on nationality (see 1994 General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 63). The Committee requests the Government to amend the above-noted sections accordingly and to keep it informed in this regard.

Articles 3 and 5. The Committee recalls that in previous comments it had requested the Government to:

–      amend section 263(g) of the Labor Code so as to limit governmental intervention resulting in compulsory arbitration to the essential services only;

–      amend sections 264(a) and 272(a) of the Labor Code, which provide for dismissal of trade union officers and penal liability to a maximum prison sentence of three years for participation in illegal strikes, so as to ensure that workers may effectively exercise their right to strike without the risk of being sanctioned in a disproportionate manner;

–      lower the excessively high requirement of ten union members for federations or national unions set out in section 237(a) of the Labor Code, in order to ensure compliance with Article 5 of the Convention;

–      amend section 270, which subjects the receipt of foreign assistance to trade unions to the prior permission of the Secretary of Labor, so as to ensure compliance with Article 5 of the Convention.

The Committee notes that the Government reiterates the information already provided in previous reports and refers to Senate Bill No. 1049 (formerly Senate Bill No. 2576), entitled “An Act Establishing the New Labor Code of the Philippines and for Other Purposes”, and that this Bill is pending before both the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development and the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Code and Laws. In these conditions, recalling that it had been commenting on these provisions of the legislation that are not in conformity with the Convention for several years, the Committee expresses the hope that the Government would take the necessary measures to amend the aforementioned legislative provisions and to inform it of the progress made in this respect in its next report.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.