CIVIL Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Marilyn Yap said on Sunday that it has recorded a 100-percent efficiency rate in processing public sector labor agreements, reinforcing its mandate to protect government workers' right to self-organization.
Yap said that the right to self-organization empowers state workers to form unions, negotiate collective agreements, and actively participate in policy decisions that shape their rights, benefits, and workplace welfare.
Last year, the CSC chief said at least 74 new public sector employee organizations registered with the commission and Department of Labor and Employment-Bureau of Labor Relations, pushing the nationwide total of registered organizations to 2,156.
“Some 67 of these unions successfully earned official accreditation, granting them the exclusive authority to represent and negotiate on behalf of rank-and-file employees within their respective agencies,” Yap said.
Moreover, Yap said the agency has recorded an ideal processing timeline for Collective Negotiation Agreements (CNAs), which are the legally binding contracts that improve workplace terms and employee benefits not fixed by law.
The commission received and processed all 329 CNA applications submitted in 2025, hitting a 100-percent efficiency rate, she said.
“These high efficiency rates underscore CSC’s commitment to ensuring that negotiations between labor and management remain orderly, constructive, and aligned with existing rules and regulations,” she added.
The central personnel agency of the government said the 2025 data builds on a steady, multi-year upward trend of government unions successfully registering their CNAs.
This momentum began in 2021 with 275 registered CNAs, steadily climbed to a combined total of 348 across 2022 and 2023, and reached a peak of 404 registered agreements in 2024, the CSC records showed.
“By promoting employee welfare while upholding accountability within government organizations, we continue to foster a professional work environment where labor and management work together toward improved public service delivery,” the top CSC official said.