RP lifts ban on OFWs right to join, form unions
MANILA, Philippines - Aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now allowed to organize or join labor unions in their destination countries after the 33-year-old exemption on migrant workers was recently lifted by the Philippine government, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque told GMANews.TV that the prohibition for Filipino migrants to join labor unions was scrapped recently from the OFWs’ model employment contract and would be fully implemented next year.
Roque explained that the Philippines adopted the rule in 1975 when the Iranian government under the Shah, declared joining or forming trade unions illegal in the Gulf country. Since then, the rule has been followed by other Gulf countries and was placed in the OFW’s contract.
The Labor chief was quick to clarify, however, that despite the erasure of the prohibition, OFWs are still required to follow the laws of their destination country.
Most countries in the Middle East such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates still prohibit migrant workers from joining labor unions.
Ellene Sana, Center for Migration Advocacy executive director, welcomed the Philippine government’s decision to scrap the 33-year-old rule despite the fact that it won’t have much effect on a majority of OFWs who are in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Sana however reported that OFWs could opt to go to Bahrain where the unions are already on its “infancy stage."
More than a million OFWs in the Middle East - the top destination region of Filipino workers – are employed in both low-skilled and high-skilled jobs.
Migrant workers who are not allowed to join labor unions cannot haggle for their wages, engage in collective bargaining agreements with their employers, as well as assert and ensure their rights as workers. Aside from the Middle East, Asian countries such as Singapore, Myanmar and South Korea do not allow migrant workers to join labor unions.
Despite welcoming the lifting of the rule against joining unions, Josua Mata, Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) secretary-general, told GMANews.TV that they want to find out who should be blamed for the 33-year-old “blunder."
According to Mata, the rule against forming and joining unions is against the International Labor Organization convention, which the Philippines signed.
“How can we be sure that the blunder won’t happen again? Who is accountable for it?" Mata asked. - GMANews.TV
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque told GMANews.TV that the prohibition for Filipino migrants to join labor unions was scrapped recently from the OFWs’ model employment contract and would be fully implemented next year.
Roque explained that the Philippines adopted the rule in 1975 when the Iranian government under the Shah, declared joining or forming trade unions illegal in the Gulf country. Since then, the rule has been followed by other Gulf countries and was placed in the OFW’s contract.
The Labor chief was quick to clarify, however, that despite the erasure of the prohibition, OFWs are still required to follow the laws of their destination country.
Most countries in the Middle East such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates still prohibit migrant workers from joining labor unions.
Ellene Sana, Center for Migration Advocacy executive director, welcomed the Philippine government’s decision to scrap the 33-year-old rule despite the fact that it won’t have much effect on a majority of OFWs who are in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Sana however reported that OFWs could opt to go to Bahrain where the unions are already on its “infancy stage."
More than a million OFWs in the Middle East - the top destination region of Filipino workers – are employed in both low-skilled and high-skilled jobs.
Migrant workers who are not allowed to join labor unions cannot haggle for their wages, engage in collective bargaining agreements with their employers, as well as assert and ensure their rights as workers. Aside from the Middle East, Asian countries such as Singapore, Myanmar and South Korea do not allow migrant workers to join labor unions.
Despite welcoming the lifting of the rule against joining unions, Josua Mata, Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) secretary-general, told GMANews.TV that they want to find out who should be blamed for the 33-year-old “blunder."
According to Mata, the rule against forming and joining unions is against the International Labor Organization convention, which the Philippines signed.
“How can we be sure that the blunder won’t happen again? Who is accountable for it?" Mata asked. - GMANews.TV
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