Collective Bargaining for Environmental Protection: a Union Case Study from the Philippines
Collective Bargaining for Environmental Protection:
A Union Case Study from the Philippines
Summary
In a country where the environment has emerged as a major public concern, a breakthrough was achieved when an industry leader and its union negotiated an environmental protection clause into their collective bargaining agreement. The Congress of Independent Organizations-Associated Labor Unions (CIO-ALU) reached an agreement with the San Miguel Corporation, the Philippines' largest company, which provides a framework for labor-management co-operation in all matters relating to the environment.
With no demand for any trade-offs, agreement was reached on environmental provisions which make a Labor-Management Committee responsible for programs on environmentally clean operations, protection and rehabilitation. This commitment to joint responsibility and action has laid the basis for mutual trust and harmonious relations on this matter, and countered widespread concern amongst employers that opening up collective agreement to environmental clauses would reduce flexibility and promote an adversarial relationship. It likewise, countered concerns amongst workers, that opening this area could have negative implications for such traditional bargaining concerns as wages.
The breakthrough also reaffirmed the strong leadership of the government of the Philippines, which was the first in Asia to establish a national body to coordinate a National Sustainable Development effort following Rio. It also profiled the valuable role played by the International Labor Organization which worked with the government as well as the two workplace parties to promote this breakthrough towards Agenda 21 goals.
The Participants: In the Workplace and Beyond
San Miguel Corporation (SMC), a multinational Philippine corporation, is the largest publicly-listed food, beverage, agri-business and packaging company in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, generating about 4% of the country's GDP and
A Union Case Study from the Philippines
Summary
In a country where the environment has emerged as a major public concern, a breakthrough was achieved when an industry leader and its union negotiated an environmental protection clause into their collective bargaining agreement. The Congress of Independent Organizations-Associated Labor Unions (CIO-ALU) reached an agreement with the San Miguel Corporation, the Philippines' largest company, which provides a framework for labor-management co-operation in all matters relating to the environment.
With no demand for any trade-offs, agreement was reached on environmental provisions which make a Labor-Management Committee responsible for programs on environmentally clean operations, protection and rehabilitation. This commitment to joint responsibility and action has laid the basis for mutual trust and harmonious relations on this matter, and countered widespread concern amongst employers that opening up collective agreement to environmental clauses would reduce flexibility and promote an adversarial relationship. It likewise, countered concerns amongst workers, that opening this area could have negative implications for such traditional bargaining concerns as wages.
The breakthrough also reaffirmed the strong leadership of the government of the Philippines, which was the first in Asia to establish a national body to coordinate a National Sustainable Development effort following Rio. It also profiled the valuable role played by the International Labor Organization which worked with the government as well as the two workplace parties to promote this breakthrough towards Agenda 21 goals.
The Participants: In the Workplace and Beyond
San Miguel Corporation (SMC), a multinational Philippine corporation, is the largest publicly-listed food, beverage, agri-business and packaging company in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, generating about 4% of the country's GDP and