Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 363, March 2012

Case No 2669 (Philippines) - Complaint date: 29-SEP-08 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 197. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2010 meeting [see 356th Report, paras 1226–1262], at which time it made the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee expects that the Government will carry out expeditiously an independent investigation of all alleged cases of interference in trade union affairs, as well as the threats and harassment of trade unionists by the state authorities and the military, and ensure a full and appropriate redress and, in particular, requests the Government to ensure that the IWSWU members are no longer harassed due to their union membership. It further expects that the Government will take the necessary measures to prevent in the future any cases of threats and harassment of trade unionists and their families, as well as cases of interference in trade union affairs by the state officials and the personnel of the AFP and the PNP.
   • (b) The Committee encourages the Government, in collaboration with the social partners and the ILO, to hold further trainings on human rights, civil liberties and trade union rights so as to assist the state authorities, the AFP and PNP personnel in better understanding the limits of their role in respect of freedom of association rights and to ensure the full and legitimate exercise by workers of these rights and liberties in a climate free from fear.
   • (c) The Committee further encourages the Government to pursue its efforts in strengthening the relevant state institutions for combating impunity and, in particular, establishing a high-level tripartite case-monitoring committee within the framework of the NTIPC.
2. 198. In communications dated 15 November 2010, 30 May 2011 and 5 March 2012, the Government indicates that the awareness-raising and capacity-building programme on human rights, trade union rights and civil liberties for the military and the police was conducted on 26 and 27 April 2010. The “Tripartite seminar on freedom of association, civil liberties and the enforcement of labour law in the Philippine economic zones” (third such activity after the High-level Mission) focused on Tarlac and the military and was attended by tripartite constituents from Tarlac, Bataan, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Clark. Government participants constituted regional representatives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippines National Police (PNP), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), concerned Local Government Units (LGUs), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to include economic zone managers, and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). According to the annexes supplied by the Government, one of the outputs of the above tripartite seminar was to pursue a memorandum of agreement with the AFP, LGU, DOLE and PEZA to de-link the legitimate exercise of trade union rights and the AFP’s counter-insurgency programme, and that it was also agreed upon to expand the Hacienda Luisita coverage of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) to Tarlac, with the active involvement of the International Wiring Systems of Workers Union (IWSWU). In its communication of 30 May 2011, the Government indicates that, with respect to the AFP, there is already agreement in principle on: (i) its participation in the Regional Tripartite Industrial Peace Council for better appreciation of social dialogue, freedom of association and civil liberties; (ii) the conduct of capacity-building seminars on freedom of association as it relates to civil liberties and human rights; and (iii) the crafting of a memorandum of agreement or social accord with the DOLE, labour groups and employers that would clarify their engagement in the community and set the parameters on non engagement in unions and workplaces. Moreover, the Government indicates that the newly created Tarlac-wide Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TTIPC), which carried out localized seminars on international labour standards, is expected to implement follow-up actions identified in the above seminar.
3. 199. In its communication dated 5 March 2012, the Government refers to the signing of the Manifesto of Commitment between DOLE, the Labour Sector and the AFP on 21 July 2011. It further indicates that several tripartite meetings with the AFP, PNP and PEZA have been held by the Technical Executive Committee of the TIPC as the drafting committee of the DOLE–DILG–PNP–DND–AFP Joint Guidelines on the Conduct of the AFP/PNP Relative to the Exercise of Workers’ Rights to Freedom of Association, Collective Bargaining, Concerted Actions and Other Trade Union Activities. The Government also indicates that the draft Guidelines to be adopted on 8 May 2012 are currently undergoing regional consultation and are expected to, inter alia, prohibit the deployment of military personnel in any labour-related mass actions and disputes or the intervention of local chief executives in labour disputes except written request from DOLE due to the security situation.
4. 200. The Government also informs that, in a letter dated 16 April 2010, the HR manager of the International Wiring Systems (Phils) Corporation informed the DOLE that a collective bargaining agreement had been concluded with the IWSWU on 9 December 2009 effective until 30 June 2011, and that it was therefore hoped that concerns about the relationship of union and management could be laid to rest. In its communication dated 5 March 2012, the Government further states that, on 6 September 2011, the IWSWU filed a notice of strike on account of a bargaining deadlock, and that after two conciliation–mediation meetings, the parties agreed on 15 September 2011 to an economic package of 2.8 billion Philippine pesos (PHP) for their collective bargaining agreement covering the period 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2014.
5. 201. The Committee notes with interest the outputs agreed upon in the tripartite seminar and the progress made in this regard, in particular the creation of the TTIPC and the signing of the Manifesto of Commitment between the DOLE, the labour sector and the AFP on 21 July 2011. The Committee notes with interest that the signatories of the Manifesto of Commitment committed themselves, inter alia: to promote and protect human rights and workers’ rights; to engage in social dialogue to immediately craft guidelines on the conduct of the AFP relative to the exercise of trade union rights and to establish a mechanism to allow joint implementation and monitoring of the said guidelines; and to conduct other joint activities to further achieve the goals of the Manifesto. The Committee further notes with interest that tripartite work on the draft DOLE–DILG–PNP–DND–AFP Joint Guidelines on the Conduct of the AFP/PNP Relative to the Exercise of Workers’ Rights to Freedom of Association, Collective Bargaining, Concerted Actions and Other Trade Union Activities is already well advanced, and that the draft Guidelines to be adopted on 8 May 2012 are expected to prohibit the deployment of military personnel or intervention in labour disputes except written request from DOLE due to the security situation. The Committee also takes due note of the specific information supplied concerning the IWSWU, in particular the recent conclusion of a collective bargaining agreement between the complainant and the management covering the period of 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2014.