Panay-Guimaras Freedom of Association Dialogue held

Iloilo City- Aimed at promoting and protecting the workers right to organize, DOLE RO6 organized the Panay-Guimaras leg of the regionwide dialogue for common understanding of the Freedom of Association (FOA) and the right to organize in Iloilo City on June 25, 2024.

Stakeholders from the workers and management groups, members of the newly-formed Regional Inter-Agency Council (RIAC) on the protection of the FOA at the regional level, DOLE Regional Coordinating Council and representatives from local executive and legislative bodies attended the activity.

Among the vital topics discussed was the concept of FOA, the Philippine government commitment for its protection and implementation and the legal basis for the protection of workers’ rights to organize.

A thorough discussion on salient features of Executive Order 23 that reinforces and protects the Freedom of Association and Right to Organize of Workers and the Omnibus Guideline on the Exercise of the Freedom of Association and Civil Liberties shed light on some issues relative to the workers right to organize.

The Omnibus Guidelines also defines the specific roles of the different agencies in the implementation of Executive Order 23 (EO 23), that fortifies the State’s commitment of reinforcing and protecting the Freedom of Association (FOA) and Right to Organize of Workers.

At the local level, the Regional Inter-Agency Council (RIAC) was formed to promote and protect FOA at the grassroots level. The RIAC is composed of DOLE, DILG, DTI, DOJ, 3 rd ID, Phil. Army, PNP-PRO6, and the NICA.

During the dialogue, issues on labeling during labor groups activities were cleared and other concerns on case referrals involving labor disputes and the inclusion of labor and management groups in the inter-agency council were also raised.

Regional Director Atty. Sixto T. Rodriguez, Jr. is positive that the dialogue could help the workers understand their rights and the different agencies perform their respective functions in protecting of the workers’ rights as mandated by law.