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CALTEX REFINERY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

Articles

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
World Labor Report 2000
Opening Talk of the Crea President

          UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948

     WHEREAS recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
     WHEREAS disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
     WHEREAS it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
     WHEREAS it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
     WHEREAS the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
     WHEREAS Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
     WHEREAS a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
     Now, therefore,  Proclaims
   THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.


       

1  

    All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

2  

  Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

3  

  Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

4  

  No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

5  

  No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

6  

  Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

7  

  All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of the Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

8  

  Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

9  

  No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

10  

  Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

11 

  Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.

  No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense, under national or international law, at the time it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.

12  

     No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

13 

  Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

  Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

14 

  Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

  This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

15 

  Everyone has the right to a nationality.

  No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

16 

  Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

  Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

  The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

17  

  Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

  No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

18  

  Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

19  

  Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

20 

  Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

  No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

21 

  Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

  Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

  The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

22 

  Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co- operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

23 

  Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

  Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

  Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

  Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

24 

  Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

25 

  Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

  Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

26 

  Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

  Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

  Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

27 

  Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

  Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

28 

    Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

29 

  Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

  In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of mortality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

  These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

30  

  Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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Standards and Fundamental principles and rights at work

Promote and realize standards, fundamental principles and rights at work

InFocus programme on promoting the Declaration

This new Programme was launched to promote the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work , which was adopted in June 1998. Through the Declaration, all member States have renewed their commitment to respect, promote, and realize in good faith freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, the effective abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

The objectives of the InFocus Programme are to raise awareness of the Declaration among a broad range of actors, to catalyze technical cooperation programmes for the realization of fundamental principles and rights as part of countries' development efforts, to enhance knowledge concerning the relationship between respect for these principles and rights and sound, gender-sensitive development, and to carry out activities related to the Declaration Follow-up.


Updated by MT. Approved by MT. Last updated: 2 February 2000.

Copyright © 1996-2000 International Labour Organization (ILO) - Disclaimer

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World Labour Report 2000

Income security and social protection in a changing world

Increasing globalization and trade liberalization are creating greater insecurity for many income earners. This flagship study examines the changing context in which women and men are trying to achieve income security for themselves and their families. Drawing on detailed, worldwide data, the World Labour Report 2000 examines the vital role played by social protection in supporting, supplementing and replacing market incomes in the event of old age, incapacity for work, bearing and raising children, and unemployment. Also included is health care - without which many in the developing world are unfit to earn their living.

The report discusses the effects of rising unemployment and underemployment, and of labour market developments which have exposed a growing number of workers, especially women, to low pay and precarious conditions. It considers other factors, such as changing family structures and demographic trends, that have created new needs and imposed new constraints. Prominence is given to measures addressing the unacceptable bias that still leaves women with lower levels of social protection than men.

According to the report, the positive impact of social protection on the economy has often been neglected, and this impact can be enhanced by better coordination between social protection, labour market and anti-poverty policies. With many social security systems now under reform, future prospects are outlined and an alarm is sounded about the implications of pension fund growth for the instability of global financial markets. Top priority must be given - by civil society, as much as by the State - to finding the most effective means to bring social protection to the majority, especially in developing countries, who still go without.

An efficient economy and an effective system of social protection are both essential for the attainment of income security and a stable society. The report underlines the direct and immediate relationship between the provision of social protection and decent work, as underlined by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, in his first report to the International Labour Conference in 1999.

Freedom and democracy provide the context for workers' participation in the decisions that affect them. For social protection schemes to reflect workers' legitimate aspirations, democratic institutions must be in place. Good governance is also essential. The ILO is committed to working unstintingly for a world in which all workers benefit from an affordable level of social protection. The report makes concrete suggestions for achieving that goal.

 Copyright © 1999 International Labour Organization (ILO)

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Opening Talk at the first meeting of Collective Bargaining Negotiation for the Year 2001 – 2004, June 18, 2001 at Admin. Conference Room.

It is of great privilege on my part to deal with the distinguished personalities of Caltex (Phil.) Inc., Batangas Refinery as I represent the Caltex Refinery Employees Association.

As an essential and fundamental right of the workers under our existing law is the right to form an organization or UNION for the purpose of Collective Bargaining, to deal with the employer’s concerning wages, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment.

It was 46 years ago, when CREA was organized and affirmed its commitment to deliver the common good for both Management and Labor. The CREA’s overwhelming cooperation have shown much in the implementation of company’s policies and programs for the part of the Management, and the delivery of basic needs, benefits and welfare among members of the organization to the Labor side. For those 46 years that passed, 44 years were under the Across the Board Program and the last two years were under the Salary Administration Program.

Today, as we gather for the opening of Collective Bargaining Negotiation for the year 2001 – 2004, let us be aware that whatever the program is, it shall aim to provide improvements to all benefits we already enjoyed. We have the option under the Democratic Process to choose whatever we feel necessary to suit the needs of time and for fairness and equality to all Rank and File Employees.

Let me remind you, that UNIONISM today is far beyond yesterday, from an extremist and adversarial ideology of yesteryears to a reformed diplomacy today. We will discuss in behalf of the issues and we will not let our emotions come in the way to cause personal differences for both of us will just suffer in the end. We must always realize that for every hundreds of pesos we earned, the company earns millions of pesos which enables our shareholders to intensify more investment and with much belief in our capacity to run the refinery more efficiently and productively.

With your commitment to our shareholders for the best return on capital, let me remind you, that your employees must deserve compensation that can cope up to a decent standard of living that we previously enjoyed. The peso devaluation and salary inflation rate are essential factors to consider, likewise, the benefits that our fellow workers in the surrounding companies and those in line with the industry. As we ask for those benefits and welfare, I believe that we do have common vision, for continuous improvement in all aspects, in line with our business and in line with the benefits and welfare of employees.

We were very much surprised that some of your counter proposals constitute diminution of our existing benefits, wherein this was prohibited by law under this Republic. But we know that you are all fair-minded persons and you will always consider the legal and humanitarian aspects in all the topics we deal with.

The usual cooperation that CREA exerted in the past was an indication of our benevolent task to support the Company’s Programs and Policies for the efficiency and productivity of the refinery. Our mentality today has been enriched, through your effort in the Culture Change Program, and to the vast ideology of today’s UNION leaders, " that workers must always do their best to prove their sense of responsibility and accountability," but never due to the fear from the threats of the management staff, which constituted grave abuse of discretion on your part.

All of those goals and objective will not be fulfilled if you our partners in management will reiterate your objection to our demands. We will be sad if we will need a third party to decide, where they don’t really know the real circumstances for every issue and the harmonious relationship that existed between us.

Our request, is just simple, be open-minded, fair, accountable and humane to us, as we will prove to you our sincerest desire to make this negotiation come to an existence at the soonest time possible.

 

Thank you.

FCManalo

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