Palace forms inter-agency body to protect workers

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has created an inter-agency body aimed at strengthening the coordination and facilitating the resolution of labor cases in the country.

The Inter-Agency Committee for the Protection of the Freedom of Association and Right to Organize of Workers will be chaired by the executive secretary while the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment will serve as vice chair, based on Executive Order 23, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin yesterday.

Members of the inter-agency panel will be the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Trade and Industry, National Security Council and the Philippine National Police.

When necessary, the inter-agency committee may request the attendance or participation of other relevant agencies, such as the Civil Service Commission and the Commission of Human Rights, the EO stated.

The EO noted concerns of various groups on the Philippines’ implementation of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87, “in view of reported incidents of acts of violence, extrajudicial killings, harassment, suppression of trade union rights and red-tagging allegedly perpetrated by state agents, targeting in particular, certain trade unions and workers’ organizations.”

The functions of the inter-agency committee include the consolidation and evaluation of all comprehensive reports, which contain findings and recommendations by concerned agencies to be submitted to the President, and developing a roadmap containing the priority areas of action, tangible deliverables, clear responsibilities and appropriate timeframes, consistent with the recommendations of the high-level tripartite mission (HLTM) during the 108th session of the International Labor Conference in June 2019.

“The roadmap shall be subject to regular review and should consider the consolidated reports and recommendations from the concerned agencies and inputs from other relevant stakeholders,” the EO stated.

“Each of the concerned agencies shall designate a focal unit or office within the agency, to be headed by an official with a rank not lower than that of an undersecretary, which shall monitor, evaluate and report on the implementation and progress of agency action plans, initiatives relating to freedom of association and rights to organize and to collective bargaining,” it added.

The EO said the HLTM was created to assist the Philippine government in taking immediate and effective action on the following specific areas: measures to prevent violence in relation to the exercise of legitimate activities by workers’ organizations; investigation of allegations of violence against members of workers’ organizations with a view of establishing the facts, determining culpability and punishing the perpetrators; operationalization of monitoring bodies; and measures to ensure that all workers, without distinction, are able to form and join organizations of their choosing, in accordance with ILO Convention No. 87. — Mayen Jaymalin