Senate Concurs in Ratification of Treaty for Civil Servants’ Rights

The Senate, on Monday (August 14), unanimously concurred in the ratification of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Right to Organise and Procedures for Determining Conditions of Employment in the Public Service (International Labour Organization Convention 151).

Twenty-two (22) senators voted to approve ILO Convention 151.

“I thank my colleagues for unanimously concurring in the ratification of this very important treaty. The Philippines is now the first Asian country to ratify the Convention. It also bolsters the domestic and international status of the country as a leader in promoting and protecting labor and civil rights,” said Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Legarda said that the Convention guarantees the right of public employees to organize, provides adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination, and mandates that public employees organizations shall enjoy complete independence from public authorities.

“The ILO Convention 151 will give our 2.3 million civil servants the same civil and political rights as other workers, which are essential to the exercise of freedom of association,” she stressed.

Legarda explained that the rights of public sector employees are specified in the Convention as five types of guarantees:  (1) Protection of the right to organize, (2) Facilities to be afforded to public employees’ organizations (3) Procedures for determining terms and conditions of employment, (4) Settlement of disputes arising in connection with the determination of terms and conditions of employment, and (5) Civil and political rights.

All persons employed by public authorities—the civil servants employed in the National Government Agencies (NGAs) and its attached agencies, bureaus, local government units (LGUs), and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs)—are covered by this Convention.