Upholding freedom of association

JUST before he left on April 30 for an official visit to the United States and a meeting with US President Joe Biden, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did the unthinkable, at least from the point of view of militant labor unions: he issued an Executive Order creating a presidential body that would look into the spate of killings and harassment of trade unionists under the Duterte administration.

The issuance of this EO is a big step forward for the labor sector as it acknowledges the fact that militant trade unionists have been on the receiving end of strong-arm tactics by suspected state security forces, including harassment, intimidation and extra-judicial killings.

Mr. Marcos actually heeded the recommendation of a high-level tripartite factfinding mission of the International Labor Organization that visited the country in January.

The ILO had expressed concern over complaints of labor leaders and other workers with regard to freedom of association.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma has welcomed the issuance of the EO, saying he hoped this would be the start of “concerted actions and efforts of our government to address the long-standing issues related to freedom of association.”

But he also noted that resolving these issues would take time.

“We can’t have the solution tomorrow or next week. These are issues for the past 15 years that have been there when we assumed office. We will not point fingers at who is at fault but we will look into that.”

The presidential body mandated to investigate labor issues and concerns does not have to search far and wide for guidelines on how to go about their work.

They only have to revisit the 1987 Constitution.

There, Sec. 8 of Article III, Bill of Rights says: “The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.”

And there’s Sec. 3 of Article XIII, on Social Justice and Human Rights, that provides: “The State shall guarantee the right of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law.”

The ILO mission to the Philippines was organized during the annual International Labor Conference in 2019 to investigate the killings of at least 56 union leaders and numerous incidents of violence and intimidation by state forces against workers during the Duterte administration.

The Marcos administration allowed the ILO mission to visit the country from Jan. 23 to 27 to see if the government fulfilled its obligations under international labor conventions— specifically ILO Convention 87, on freedom of association and protection of the right to organize.

Under Executive Order 23, the Inter-Agency Committee for the Protection of the Freedom of Association and Right to Organize of Workers would develop a roadmap containing the priority areas of action, tangible deliverables, clear responsibilities, and appropriate time frames, consistent with the recommendations of the ILO mission.

Will this committee be able to stop the harassment and killings of militant workers fighting for their right to organize? We’ll have to wait and see.

Will this committee be able to stop the harassment and killings of militant workers fighting for their right to organize?