CHAPTER 6
Right to Self-Organization
SECTION 38. Coverage.â(1) All government employees, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters, can form, join or assist employees’ organizations of their own choosing for the furtherance and protection of their interests. They can also form, in conjunction with appropriate government authorities, labor-management committees, work councils and other forms of workers’ participation schemes to achieve the same objectives.
(2) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including police officers, policemen, firemen and jail guards.
SECTION 39. Ineligibility of High-Level Employees to Join Rank-and-File Employees’ Organization.âHigh-level employees whose functions are normally considered as policy-making or managerial or whose duties are of highly confidential nature shall not be eligible to join the organization of rank-and-file government employees.
SECTION 40. Protection of the Right to Organize.â(1) Government employees shall not be discriminated against in respect of their employment by reason of their membership in employees’ organizations or participation in the normal activities of their organizations. Their employment shall not be subject to the condition that they shall not join or shall relinquish their membership in the employees’ organizations.
(2) Government authorities shall not interfere in the establishment, functioning or administration of government employees’ organizations through acts designed to place such organizations under the control of government authority.
SECTION 41. Registration of Employees’ Organization.âGovernment employees’ organizations shall register with the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Labor and Employment. The application shall be filed with the Bureau of Labor Relations of the Department which shall process the same in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code of the Philippines. Applications may also be filed with the Regional Offices of the Department of Labor and Employment which shall immediately transmit the said applications to the Bureau of Labor Relations within three (3) days from receipt thereof.
SECTION 42. Certificate of Registration.âUpon approval of the application, a registration certificate shall be issued to the organization recognizing it as a legitimate employees’ organization with the right to represent its members and undertake activities to further and defend its interests. The corresponding certificates of registration shall be jointly approved by the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
SECTION 43. Appropriate Organizational Unit.âThe appropriate organizational unit shall be the employer’s unit consisting of rank-and-file employees unless circumstances otherwise require.
SECTION 44. Sole and Exclusive Employees’ Representatives.â(1) The duly registered employees’ organization having the support of the majority of the employees in the appropriate organizational unit shall be designated as the sole and exclusive representative of the employees.
(2) A duly registered employees’ organization shall be accorded voluntary recognition upon a showing that no other employees’ organization is registered or is seeking registration, based on the records of the Bureau of Labor Relations, and that the said organization has the majority support of the rank-and-file employees in the organizational unit.
(3) Where there are two or more duly registered employees’ organizations in the appropriate organizational unit, the Bureau of Labor Relations shall, upon petition, order the conduct of a certification election and shall certify the winner as the exclusive representative of the rank-and-file employees in said organizational unit.
SECTION 45. The Public Sector Labor-Management Council.âA Public Sector Labor-Management Council is hereby constituted to be composed of the following: The Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, as Chairman; the Secretary of Labor and Employment, as Vice-Chairman; and the Secretary of Finance, the Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of Budget and Management, as members.
The Council shall implement and administer the provisions of this Chapter. For this purpose, the Council shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement this Chapter.
Executive Order No. 292
ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF 1987
