Rep. Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP), author of House Bill 2542, said members of cooperatives should also enjoy similar rights as those of other enterprises, including the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing.
Mendoza said self-organization should be guaranteed to all workers without distinction or qualification.
The bill seeks to amend Presidential Decree 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.
Mendoza said cooperatives must respect the rights of their workers to organize or join labor organizations.
"The cooperative's member-owner should guarantee their workers' right to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining," Mendoza said.
Mendoza said the proposed amendment will bring Philippine Law into compliance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association, which the Philippines is obliged to observed as a member-state of the ILO.
Under the measure, all persons employed in cooperatives, whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. - Jazmin S. Camero, Media Relations Service-PRIB
