Our Constitution and the Labor Code protect the rights of labor to organize unions (Section 8, Article lll, Bill of Rights, Philippine Constitution; Article 3 of the Labor Code). Previously, it was difficult before to register a union to acquire legal personality because of many stringent requirements, such as submission of names of its officers and members, minutes of its organizational meetings, names of its members comprising at least 20 percent of the members in the bargaining unit, copies of its Constitution and By-Laws, and names of its members who participated in its ratification, who may be subject to harassment by management that wants to avoid unions.
The new law, Republic Act 9481 passed in 2007, made it easier for unions to acquire a legal personality by going to a labor federation or national union and declare itself as a chapter of the bigger organization. Bingo! The local chapter can now go to management and demand recognition for collective bargaining purposes. If management refuses to recognize, a certification election will be held and, most likely, the union would win. This law caused an uproar of protest from the foreign chambers of commerce, and from the Semiconductor and Electronic Industries (SEIPI). In an emergency meeting with ECOP, they mulled on challenging the constitutionality of the law. Its legal cost and uncertainty of winning prompted them to accept the reality.
Has the law increased the number of unions? Hardly. Reports one paper: “the country’s labor unions may have been more unified than ever in recent years, but their ranks represent a mere fraction of the country’s 43 million workers. After a decade of thunderous sound, the voice of labor has become hoarse and now remains a mere whisper.”
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), reported on August 22, 2022, 4.2 percent union density a decrease of 2.1 percent from 6.3 percent in 2018. The International Labor Organization (ILO), a United Nations body charged with the promotion and protection of workers’ rights bewails the “litigious” characteristic of forming a labor union in the country, which could even be questioned by the Supreme Court. Trade Unions blamed contractualization as the major cause of low union density.
Personally, I am in favor of working in unionized companies. If I have a problem with employees, I just talk to the Union President to resolve the issue. They may be partly right. In fact, our country was the subject of a complaint lodged at the ILO for alleged violations of duly ratified Convention 87 – the right of workers to organize. A Committee of Experts was sent here to validate, and the DOLE already committed to implement remedial measures.
They may be partly right, but in my own view, the causes of the decline are:
a) Improved literacy of workers: The more educated they are, the less prone they are to unionism;
b) Increased growth of the service industry: The migration of workers from blue-collar jobs in manufacturing to white-collar jobs in the service industry is phenomenal. Save for notable exceptions, unions are lesser in the service industry.
c) Entry of millennials and Gen-Zers who are articulate, independent, assertive who just leave their employment if they don’t want it.
d) Proactive management practices that give better treatment to employees and more competitive pay and benefits: The banking industry is highly unionized but there were two major banks – Far East Bank and Trust Co. and United Coconut Planters Bank - that remained non-unionized until their absorption with other banks, a testament of their good practices in union avoidance.
e) Labor militancy which prompts some companies to avoid unions.
Exemplars of non-unionized companies
While some industry groups are high in union density, like electricity, gas, water supply, it is notably nil in so-called sunrise industries like, semi-conductor and BPOs. Texas Instruments and Timex Philippines which began their operations 49 years ago remained non-unionized. What is their secret?
There is nothing arcane nor illegal in their ability to maintain a non-union status. I find nine (9) common practices that make unions unnecessary in these companies:
1. Disciplinary procedures are administered fairly and consistently.
2. A good communication program and an open-door policy where employees can go freely even to the CEO to submit a complaint.
3. A rigid recruitment and selection process that weeds out potential troublemakers.
4. Ensuring job security and due process in administrative investigation.
5. Good supervision and management credibility.
6. Maintaining competitive pay and benefits.
7. Taking care of employees’ good working conditions.
8. Employee empowerment by allowing them to take ownership of their work, be creative and engaged in their jobs, and make independent decisions.
9. Employee feedback through regular employee engagement surveys.
Some companies have written policies about maintaining a no-union status. Here is one example of a written policy:
“XYC company believes that state and union interventions are unnecessary in order to be treated fairly, with dignity, with respect, and to receive competitive wages and benefits.
XYC prides itself on open communications, where employees can speak with their supervisors about their ideas, concerns, or problems and work together to address workplace issues.
XYC Company is a great place to work.
Did the company violate the Unfair Labor Practice provisions of the law? No. There was no element of threat, coercion, or intimidation in the statement. It is simply a statement of a company’s position on unions.
In summary, unions are necessary as they help workers negotiate for better wages and benefits and safe and healthy working conditions. They also help enforce workers’ legal rights and prevent labor exploitation. The law emphasizes workers' rights to organize. The right to maintain a non-union status is silent but also an equal right that is neither illegal nor immoral.
(The author is Vice President of ECOP)