Date of publication: September 17, 2009
Source: Business Mirror (Phil)
Author: Estrella Torres / Reporter
THE International Labor Organization (ILO) is sending a high-level mission to the Philippines in the wake of complaints of massive displacement of workers and violation of labor rights.
Members of the mission who will conduct investigation from September 22 to 29 include Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, director of the ILO International Labor Standards Department; Karen Curtis, deputy director of the ILO International Labor Standards Department and responsible for Freedom of Association; and Tim de Meyer, International Labor Standards Specialist of the ILO Subregional Office for East Asia.
The ILO mission will review matters relating to the government’s implementation of its commitments to the 1948 ILO Convention on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize which Manila ratified in 1953.
The international body was acting on the complaints of labor unions filed in 2006 and the recommendations of the International Labor Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS), which reviewed 25 cases of labor charges from various countries.
The ILO said it was only early this year that the government accepted the high- level mission to identify areas in which the ILO could provide support and technical assistance for effective application of the convention.
“The mission will meet with government agencies, workers and employers’ organizations and carry out plant-level visits,” said the ILO statement on Thursday.
The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), one of the labor unions that filed complaints with the ILO, said the global financial crisis is heavily taking its toll on the workers but the government has not implemented measures to protect workers’ rights.
Rogelio Soluta, KMU deputy secretary-general, said at least 60,000 workers have already been displaced this year as a result of closure of companies, buyouts and mergers.
He said early this year, some 1,600 workers in the undergarment company Triumph have been displaced. “The workers have refused to accept separation pay and negotiations [are] still ongoing between workers and the management.”
Soluta said thousands of workers, mostly in automotive, garment, electronics and information-technology (IT) sectors, also face mass displacement owing to the impact of the global financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the ILO also said members of the mission will meet with leaders of the House of Representatives to review legislative amendments and bills pending before Congress, as well as legislative gaps to bring national law in line with the ILO Convention 87.
The ILO noted that the members of the mission will also consult with the House Committee on Labor to emphasize that the provisions of the Philippine Labor Code are not in full conformity with the ILO convention that allows workers to freely form associations to protect their rights.
The report of the mission will be submitted to the supervisory bodies of the ILO for additional comments and final recommendations.