GMA asked to prove gov’t not involved in labor ‘salvagings’

An International Labor Organization (ILO) official who headed a recently concluded high-level fact-finding mission to the Philippines on alleged human rights abuses committed against workers, yesterday urged President Arroyo’s government to prove that it does not sanction extra-judicial killings, harassment and disappearances of trade union leaders who are being linked to leftist groups.

The ILO has sought the government’s cooperation to shed light on reports and allegations of victims of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by state forces.

Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director of the ILO International Labor Standards Department, expressed concern over charges that violence against workers and union leaders is connected to the government’s revitalized counter-insurgency crackdown.

Doumbia-Henry stressed it would be “helpful” if the government could send a “clear message” that is not involved in the abuses.

“It may help to clarify once and for all these allegations of impunity, or abductions, harassment. The government should send a single message to all authorities of the state that it does not condone such acts in the organization,” Doumbia-Henry told a press conference.

In its week-long mission to the Philippines from Sept. 22 to 29, Doumbia-Henry admitted that the ILO was confronted with “contradictory statements” concerning violence against trade unionists and the sufficiency of the efforts made by the government to ensure that workers may exercise their trade union rights in a climate free from fear.

Doumbia-Henry declined to divulge their findings, saying they are not authorized to do so.

She, however, said the official report to be submitted to the ILO’s supervisory division will be made available to the public in March 2010.

She added that disclosing raw information at this stage may not portray an accurate picture of the investigation.

“There should be a lot of reflection and assimilation,” Doumbia-Henry said.

“We have received a lot of information from both sides. We wanted to give them due consideration and make an assessment of what we received and give justice to all the information,” she stressed.

In the meantime, Doumbia-Henry urged the government to immediately establish a high-level tripartite inter-agency monitoring body, which aims to bring in relevant partners together to engender a common understanding of the concerns raised.

“It would also represent a commitment to comprehensive and coherent action and an inclusive participatory approach to taking meaningful steps at the national level,” the official said.

Legislative initiative to bolster the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines in its crucial role of promoting and ensuring respect for civil liberties, including those workers and trade unionists, is also strongly encouraged by the ILO.

Doumbia-Henry noted that that “statement at the highest level of government instructing all government actors to make special efforts to ensure that their actions do not infringe upon basic civil liberties of trade unionists could go a long way in reassuring the workers that have brought their complaints to the ILO.”

She also urged the government to provide its full support for the rapid adoption of the bills pending in Congress to bring the legislation into greater conformity with the Freedom of Association Convention.

The ILO mission also highlighted the need to provide for coordinated training of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on freedom of association and its linkages to civil liberties; freedom of association and collective bargaining training focused on implementation within special economic zones; and training of judges and lawyers on international labor standards and their use in the judiciary. –Michaela P. del Callar, Daily Tribune