XX Module on labour and human rights and international labour standards
Module on labour and human rights and international labour standards The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), with the support and assistance of the European Union (EU) January 2022
First published 2022 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publishing (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: rights@ilo.org. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with a reproduction rights organization may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. Module on labour and human rights and international labour standards 9789220364536 (web PDF) The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. Information on ILO publications and digital products can be found at: www.ilo.org/publns. Printed in the Philippines This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of International Labour Office and the Commission on Human Rights and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. ii
XX The International Labour Organization Country Office for the Philippines (ILO CO-Manila) and the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) are pleased to have collaborated and joined hands together in publishing and releasing this Module on labour and human rights and international labour standards. This module was developed by Atty Ray Paolo J. Santiago, Executive Director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) deemed as the Philippines’ response to the concerns expressed in 2016 by the ILO’s Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) regarding the country’s application of Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise), especially with respect to cases, incidences and reports of anti-union violence, worker intimidation and harassment, and the perceived lack of action and progress in the investigations of alleged extra-judicial killings (EJKs) of trade union leaders and organizers. Likewise, the publication of this module also comes in the aftermath of the observations of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) both in 2016 and 2019 and of the Direct Contacts Mission (DCM) conducted by the ILO in 2017, respectively, a need for a greater role and involvement of the CHR in national monitoring mechanisms investigating and addressing cases and allegations of labour-related EJKs and other labour rights and Freedom of Association (FoA) violations. This module, which began to be written under the previous EUGSP/FoACB Project from 2017 to 2019, has since led to several opportunities for stronger partnership technical cooperation and capacity-building support between the ILO and the CHR, which continues to this day under the ILO’s current Trade for Decent Work Project, which is supported generously by the European Union (EU) and which also aims to promote social dialogue, improved compliance, better application of international labour standards, including freedom of association and the right to collectively bargain, and better COVID-19 response, as a country beneficiary of the EU Generalised Scheme of Preference Plus (EU GSP+) special trade arrangements. The ILO-CHR module has also been updated to reflect the new conditions and situations brought about by the COVID-19 global pandemic. While the module was originally written for face-to-face application, it has since been updated to include opportunities and scenarios for virtual training and online workshop settings given the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. More importantly, this module is specifically designed to strengthen and build the knowledge, skills, expertise and capacity of the staff and personnel of the CHR to apply labour rights and FoA lens and perspective on human rights issues, by specifically training them on international labour standards, ILO core conventions, especially Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise) and Convention No. 98 (Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining), the ILO’s supervisory bodies and monitoring mechanisms, the decent work agenda and the Philippines’ national laws and regulations on labour standards and workers’ rights, among others. In particular, the module contains 14 sessions: 1. expectation-setting and introduction of the training; 2. overview of human rights: concepts and standards; 3. labour rights are human rights; 4. the International Labour Organization and the decent work framework and agenda; 5. the labour movement: role of unions; 6. International Labour Standards; 7. freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; iii
9. existing mechanisms that attempt to address human violations in the exercise of labour rights; 10. labour dispute resolution; 11. international remedies; 12. business and human rights; 13. special economic zones, human rights and labour rights; and 14. CHR mandate and labour rights. At the same time, this ILO-CHR module is a welcome and latest addition to the long list of past training manuals and modules on FoA, such as the 2013 FoA Training Guide for FoA Trainers in Philippine Economic Zones, the 2013 ILO FoA/CB Training Guide and Materials for Police, Military, and Security Forces in the Philippines, the 2019 ILO Workers’ FoA Training Manual and the 2017─2022 National Action Plan on FoA/ CB. More than just training, capacitating, and developing the knowledge, skills and expertise of CHR staff and personnel, the ultimate objective of this module is to help ensure that labour rights and FoA will be fully incorporated into the human rights mandate and thrust of the CHR, as an independent constitutional office and the leading national human rights institution (NHRI) in the Philippines. Through this module, both the ILO and the CHR jointly renew their shared commitment and belief that workers rights are human rights. Finally, it is also fitting and proper to acknowledge that this module was developed and completed during the tenure of the late CHR Chairperson Jose Luis Martin “Chito” C. Gascon, whose leadership and commitment to labour and human rights helped bring forth not only this module but also the strengthening of the partnership between the ILO and the CHR in the quest for universal peace, social justice, human rights, and workers’ dignity. Mr Khalid Hassan Director International Labour Organization Country Office for the Philippines iv Hon Karen S. Gomez-Dumpit Commissioner Commission on Human Rights
XX XX Chapter 1 Introduction of the training and expectation-setting 02 XX Chapter 2 Overview of human rights: Concepts and standards 06 XX Chapter 3 Labour rights are human rights 12 XX Chapter 4 The International Labour Organization and the Decent Work Framework and Agenda 26 XX Chapter 5 The labour movement: Role of unions 36 XX Chapter 6 International Labour Standards 42 XX Chapter 7 Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining 52 v
Case studies: Human rights challenges for labour 68 XX Chapter 9 Existing mechanisms that attempt to address human rights violations in the exercise of labour rights 78 XX Chapter 10 Labour dispute resolution 90 XX Chapter 11 International remedies 100 XX Chapter 12 Business and human rights 108 XX Chapter 13 Special economic zones, human rights and labour rights 114 XX Chapter 14 Workshop on CHR mandate and labour rights vi 118
XX AFP Armed Forces of the Philippines AHRC Asian Human Rights Commission ALU Associated Labor Unions AWATU All Workers Alliance Trade Union BE business enterprise CAS Committee on the Application of Standards CB collective bargaining CEACR Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women CFA Committee on Freedom of Association CFW Confederation of Filipino Workers CHR Commission on Human Rights CIU Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector COI Commission of Inquiry COURAGE Confederation for Unity Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees CSC Civil Service Commission DCM Direct Contacts Mission DILG Department of the Interior and Local Government DND Department of National Defense vii
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