EMPOWERMENT

Public Sector Unionism (PSU)

The advent of public sector unionism is transforming government rank and file workers into active stockholders in their workplaces, with the right to seek better working conditions and non-wage benefits.

Registration and Accreditation of Public Sector Unions

• Union registration refers to the process of officially recognizing existing employees' organizations in agencies through a corresponding certificate of registration and thus providing the employees' union entitlement to the rights and privileges under EO 180.
• Union accreditation grants a registered employees' organization the privilege of being the sole representative of employees on collective negotiation with the management
• Legal Bases of the Employees' Right to Self-organization

  - Executive Order No. 180 issued on June 1, 1987 providing guidelines for the exercise of the right to organize of government employees

  - Implementing Rules of EO 180 (Rules and Regulations to Govern the Exercise to Right of Government Employees to Self-Organization) issued by the Public Sector Labor-Management Council and became effective on July 28, 1988

  - Certain provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution ensuring the right of the people including employees both in the private and public sectors to form unions, associations or societies; to collective bargaining and negotiations; to peaceful concerted activities. Such provisions are founded in the following:

  • Section 8, Article III (Bill of Rights)
  • Section 2 (5), Article IX-B (Constitutional Commissions)
  • Section 3 (2), Article XIII (Social Justice and Human Rights)
  
  
• Employees' union refers to any organization or association of employees in a government agency created pursuant to EO 180 for the furtherance and protection of the interests of its members.
• Extent of employees' right to self-organization Under EO 180, government employees can form, join, or assist employees' organizations of their choice for furtherance and protection of their interests. They can also form other forms of workers' participation schemes such as labor-management committees or work councils in conjunction with appropriate government authorities.
• Restriction to the exercise of the right to self-organization Not qualified for membership in employees' unions are the following:

  - High level employees whose functions are considered as policy-making or managerial, or whose duties are highly confidential in nature

  - Members of the AFP, police officers, policemen, firemen, and jailguards

• Public Sector Labor-Management Council (PSLMC) The PSLMC, also constituted by virtue of EO 180, serves as the implementing body of the provisions on the right of government employees to self-organization. The PSLMC is composed of the following: chair of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as chairman; secretary of the Dept. of Labor & Employment (DOLE) as vice chairman; and secretaries of the Dept. of Finance (DOF), Dept. of Justice (DOJ), and Dept. of Budget & Management (DBM) as members.
• Statistics on Registered & Accredited Unions

Application Forms:

•   Union Accreditation Form

•   CNA Accreditation Form