Rights of Union Members

The rights and conditions of membership laid down in Art. 241 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, may be summarized as follows:

(1) Political right -- the member's right to vote and be voted for, subject to lawful provisions on qualifications and disqualifications.

(2) Deliberative and decision-making right -- the member's right to participate in deliberations on major policy questions and decide them by secret ballot.

(3) Rights over money matters -- the member's right against excessive fees; the right against unauthorized collection of contributions or unauthorized disbursement; the right to require adequate records of income and expenses and the right of access to financial records; the right to vote on officers' compensation; the right to vote on proposed special assessments and be deducted a special assessment only with the member's written authorization.

(4) Right to information -- the member's right to be informed about the organization's constitution and by-laws and the collective bargaining agreement and about labor laws.

These are rights as union members. As employees, the union members retain the right to directly present grievances to the employer at any time. This right is protected in Article 255, last sentence.