Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DATE 29 JUN 2905
Quezon City TIME 128 ow

by

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._ 89

Introduced by TUCP Partylist Representative
HON. RAYMOND DEMOCRITO C. MENDOZA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The TUCP Party-list once again files the proposed Union Formation bill to
ensure and strengthen the rights of workers to sclf-organization and freedom of
association by making it easier to form and join a union. Approved by the House of
Representatives on third and final reading in the 19th Congress, the immediate
passage of this bill, bolstered by the invocation of Section 48 of the Rules of the
House of Representative which allows fast-tracking of priority bills that were
approved on third reading in the previous Congress, is part and parcel in upgrading
our standing in the global community in terms of compliance with international labor
standards and addressing the inclusion of the Philippines in the ten worst countries for
workers in the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index.
Strengthening labor rights through this measure directly supports our
whole-of-society efforts to position the Philippines as a competitive global investment
hub where tariff-free access, foreign direct investments, and free trade agreements are
increasingly tied to the protection of fundamental labor rights and international labor
standards.

The right to self-organization is a universal human and workers’ right as
embodied in the ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association. The Convention
‘emphasizes workers’ right to establish and join organizations of their choosing
“subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, xxx without previous
authorization.”

The Philippine Labor Code, however, has many provisions found by the ILO
Committee of Experts in the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
(CEACR) as prior restraint in the exercise of the freedom of association and
inconsistent with the ILO Convention No. 87. Among the key findings is the
excessive registration requirement for independent union, which is 20 percent
minimum membership in Article 240(c), and the ten locals/chapters requirement for
registration of a federation or national union in Article 244.

Hence, this Bill proposes to remove the 20 percent minimum membership
requirement for registration of independent unions, and the ten unions or locals for
federations or national unions are lowered to five. An independent union or a
local/chapter only has to give notice of its creation to the Department of Labor and


Employment (DOLE) to be entitled to the rights and privileges of a legitimate labor
organization to appropriately reflect the policy that ‘registration’ of unions is
ministerial on the part of DOLE.

Additionally, the Bill emphasizes that the union constitution and by-laws, not
administrative authority or regulation, should govern the elections of union officers.
The same principle applies to the cancellation, now dissolution, of a union or labor
organization.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this Bill is earnestly sought.

‘0. C. MENDOZA
TUCP Partylist Representative


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No._ 89

Introduced by TUCP Partylist Representative
HON. RAYMOND DEMOCRITO C. MENDOZA

AN ACT
FURTHER STRENGTHENING UNION ORGANIZATION AND
DISALLOWING CANCELLATION OF UNION REGISTRATION,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 442, AS
AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE
PHILIPPINES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the “Union Formation Act.”

SEC. 2. The title of Chapter I, Title IV of Book V of Presidential Decree (PD)
No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Chapter I
[Registration and Cancellation] UNION FORMATION AND
DISSOLUTION”

SEC. 3. Article 240 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“ART. 240. Requirements of [Registration] NOTIFICATION. — A federation,
national
union or industry or trade union center or an independent union shall acquire legal
personality and shall be entitled to the rights and privileges granted by law to
legitimate labor organizations upon [issuance of the certificate of registration based
on] NOTIFICATION OF ITS FORMATION WITH the following requirements

a) Fifty pesos (P50.00) [registration] NOTIFICATION fee;
'b) The names of its officers, their addresses, the principal address of the labor

organization, the minutes of the organizational meetings and the list of the
workers who participated in such meetings;


©) In case the applicant is an independent union, the names of all its members
comprising at least [twenty percent (20%)] TEN PERCENT (10%) of all
the employees in the bargaining unit where it seeks to operate;

q) If the [applicant] NOTIFYING union has been in existence for one or
more years, copies of its annual financial reports; and

e) Four copies of the constitution and by-laws of the [applicant]
NOTIFYING union, minutes of its adoption or ratification, and the list of
the members who participated i

SEC. 4. Article 241 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“ART. 241. Chartering and Creation of a Local Chapter. - A duly registered
federation or national union may directly create a local chapter by issuing a charter
certificate indicating the establishment of the local chapter. The chapter shall acquire
legal personality [only for purposes of filing a petition for certification election] from
the date it was issued a charter certificate AND SHALL BE ENTITLED TO THE
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF A LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATION
UPON SUBMISSION OF ITS CHARTER CERTIFICATE TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT.

XXx xxx”

SEC. 5. Article 242 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“ART. 242. Action on [Application] NOTIFICATION. — [The Bureau shall

act on
all applications for registration within thirty (30) days from filing.) THE LABOR
RELATIONS DIVISION IN THE REGIONAL OFFICE OR THE BUREAU, AS
THE CASE MAY BE, SHALL ACT ON ALL NOTICES OF UNION
FORMATION AND INCLUDE THE NOTIFYING UNIONS IN THE ROSTER
OF LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS
FROM RECEIPT OF NOTICE THEREOF.

All requisite documents and papers shall be certified under oath by the
secretary or the
treasurer of the organization, as the case may be, and attested to by its president.”

SEC. 6. Article 244 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:


“ART. 244. Additional Requirements for Federations or National Unions.
[Subject to

Article 238, if the applicant for registration is a] A federation or a national union [, it]

shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding Articles HEREOF, submit the

following:

a) Proof of the affiliation of at least [ten (10)] FIVE (5) locals or chapters,
each of which must be a duly recognized collective bargaining agent in the
establishment or industry in which it operates, supporting the registration
of such applicant federation or national union; and

b) The names and addresses of the companies where the locals or chapters
operate and the list of all the members in each company involved.”

SEC. 7. Article 245 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“ART, 245. [Cancellation of Registration] DISSOLUTION OF A
LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATION. - [The certificate of registration of
any] A legitimate labor organization, whether national or local, may be [cancelled]
DISSOLVED AND MAY BE DELISTED by the Bureau, after due hearing, [only on
the grounds specified) in ACCORDANCE WITH Article [239] 247 hereof.”

SEC. 8. Article 246 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“ART. 246. Effect of a Petition [for Cancellation of Registration] TO DELIST
A LABOR ORGANIZATION. - A petition [for cancellation of] TO DELIST A
union [registration] FROM THE ROSTER OF LEGITIMATE LABOR
ORGANIZATIONS shall not suspend the proceedings for certification election nor
shall it prevent the filing of a petition for certification election.

In case of [cancellation] DELISTING, nothing herein shall restrict the right of
the union to
seek just and equitable remedies in the appropriate courts.”

SEC. 9. Article 248 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

“ART. 248. Voluntary [Cancellation of Registration] DISSOLUTION. - [The
registration of a] A legitimate labor organization may be [cancelled] DISSOLVED by
the organization itself: Provided, That at least two-thirds of its general membership
votes, in a meeting duly called for that purpose to dissolve the organization: Provided,
further, That an application to [cancel registration] DELIST THE
ORGANIZATION FROM THE ROSTER OF LEGITIMATE LABOR


ORGANIZATIONS is thereafter submitted by the board of the organization, attested
to by the president thereof.”

SEC. 10. Article 250 of PD No. 442, as amended, is hereby amended to read
as follows:

“ART. 250. Rights and Conditions of Membership in a Labor Organization. -
The
following are the rights and conditions of membership in a labor organization:

XXX XXX

(c) The members shall [directly] DULY elect their officers, [in the local union,
as well as their national officers in] INCLUDING THOSE OF the national union or
federation, to which they or their [local] union is affiliated, [by secret ballot] IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE UNION CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS at
intervals of five (5) years. No qualification requirement for candidacy to any position
shall be imposed other than membership in good standing in subject labor
organization, The secretary or any other responsible union officer shall furnish the
Secretary of Labor and Employment with a list of the newly-elected officers, together
with the appointive officers or agents who are entrusted with the handling of funds,
within thirty (30) calendar days after the election of officers or from the occurrence of
any change in the list of officers of the labor organization;

XXX Xxx”

‘SEC. 11. If any portion or provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or
invalid, the other provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 12. All laws, presidential decrees, proclamations, executive orders,
issuances, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby
modified accordingly.

SEC. 13. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,