ILO CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT ORGANIZE

2nd DIVISION G.R. No. 114974 June 16, 2004 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK EMPLOYEES UNION (NUBE), vs MA. NIEVES R. CONFESOR CALLEJO, SR., J.: petition for certiorari under Rule 65

The Philippines is a signatory to the International Labor Organization Convention (ILO) No. 87 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE which states:

"workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to job organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization."

Article 2 of ILO Convention No. 98 pertaining to the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining, provides:
Article 2
1. Workers’ and employers’ organizations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts or interference by each other or each other’s agents or members in their establishment, functioning or administration.
2. In particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers’ organizations under the domination of employers or employers’ organizations or to support workers’ organizations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organizations under the control of employers or employers’ organizations within the meaning of this Article.

These ILO Conventions are incorporated in our Labor Code, particularly in Article 243:

ART. 243. COVERAGE AND EMPLOYEES’ RIGHT TO SELF-ORGANIZATION. – All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable, medical or educational institutions whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, self-employed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection.

It is also found Articles 248 and 249, the Labor Code provision on Unfair Labor Practices .

Although these ILO Conventions were ratified on December 29, 1953, there was already a protection to labor provision in the general provisions of th 1935 Constitution. It was in the 1973 Constitution where it became a declared State policy to afford protection to labor, and assuring the workers’ rights to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of work. In the 1987 Constitution, it became a policy to "protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare," and one section emphasized protection to labor, and "the principle of shared responsibility" between workers and employers to promote industrial peace.