FoA code toughens rules vs worker harassment
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has launched revised guidelines on freedom of association (FoA), which it hopes will deter worker harassment and so-called “red-tagging.”
The new measure includes “remedies for violations of guidelines, prevention of red-tagging and harassment, and reporting of arrests to DoLE within 24 hours,” Federation of Free Workers President Jose G. Matula told BusinessWorld via Viber.
“Red-tagging” is the practice of associating labor organizers and other types of activists with subversive activity and leftist movements.
“FoA is a right not only guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution but also stated in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he said in a speech at the launch event in Quezon City.
Section 13 of the revised guidelines allows affected individuals, employers, or labor groups, to report violations to the proper DoLE Regional Office.
Meanwhile, affected individuals or labor groups may also file complaints with the Philippine National Police (PNP).
In the conduct and exercise of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) internal peace and security operations, workers’ rights and civil liberties must be respected, protected, and advanced at all times, according to the guidelines.
Specifically, the new guidelines bar the AFP from inviting workers, organizers, or union officials to extract information on their alleged links or support for armed groups, except during criminal investigations.
It also bars the AFP from forcing workers to renounce membership in their trade unions.
Section X of the new guidelines also governs the conduct of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in relation to recognizing FoA for workers.
NTF-ELCAC also recognizes DoLE’s exclusive mandate over policies, laws, and regulations regarding trade unionism.
Apart from DoLE, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP will also participate in implementing the FoA guidelines.
The revised guidelines stipulate that the DILG, local government units, and PNP must refrain from direct involvement in trade union activities and indirect engagement with trade unions on civilian matters.
The guidelines have been in effect since April 24, but the agencies and groups unveiled them to the public on Thursday.
The 2024 version supersedes the 2011 Guidelines on the Conduct of the DoLE, DILG, Department of National Defense, Department of Justice, AFP, and PNP Relative to the Exercise of Workers’ Rights and Activities.
The conduct of the authorities is also governed by the 2012 Joint DoLE-PNP-Philippine Economic Zone Authority Guidelines on the Conduct of PNP Personnel, Economic Zone, Police, Private Security Guards, and Company Guard Forces During Strikes, Lockouts, and Labor Disputes in General.
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines Legislative Officer Carlos Miguel S. Oñate said labor groups continue to urge President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to issue an executive order (EO) to give the rules more teeth.
An EO strengthens accountability and reporting mechanisms, he told BusinessWorld via Viber. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana