TUCP proposes creation of new govt body on FOA and EJK in labor sector

THE country’s largest labor group is pushing for the creation of a new commission that will be tasked to look into reported incidents of freedom of association violations (FOA) and extra judicial killings (EJK) in the country.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) made the proposal ahead of the arrival of the International Labor Organization (ILO) High Level Tripartite Mission (HLTM) from January 23 to 26 that will look into alleged harassment and killings of trade unionists.

In a news statement issued last Tuesday, TUCP Vice President Luis Corral said the new commission would serve as “a concrete action” of the government to address the concerns raised by local labor groups before ILO’S Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions.

“Placing it under the Office of the President will provide the needed stature, boost its resources, and ensure effectiveness to investigate these alleged labor-related EJKS and FOA violations,” Corral said.

He noted their proposed commission should replace “the budgeted but ineffective and non-performing Inter-agency Committee on Extralegal Killings [created under Administrative Order 35].”

“All trade union EJK cases submitted to it by the Department of Labor and Employment-chaired National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council-monitoring Body were dismissed as supposedly not laborrelated,” Corral said.

The labor leader said other measures, which could be adopted by the government to address the issues to be tackled by the HLTM are the financial reparations for EJK victims; trade union notification of personsat-risk to state forces; and approval of labor legislations.