One Step Forward, Two Steps Back? A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC SECTOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IN KOREA, THE PHILIPPINES AND THAILAND About Us Core Themes Activities Publications Online Materials FES Dialogue on Globalization FES International Policy Analysis Unit FES Journal ­International Politics and Society By AÑONUEVO, Carlos Antonio Q. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung(Philippine Office) PRESENTED AT THE 4TH ASIAN CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION 20-21 NOVEMBER 2001 This paper takes a comparative look on public sector collective bargaining in the three (3) Asian countries that had recent episodes of democratization. The restructuring of their respective States also reconfigured the industrial relations system. The legal system provided an elaborated framework of public sector unionism but continued to set limitations on the exercise of trade union rights. Collective bargaining became a central feature in the employment relations in the public sector. There are concrete gains in terms of trade union rights particularly on the procedures of joint determination of the terms and conditions of employment. Unions are now allowed to organize in several sub-sectors but significant portions of the whole public sector are still banned. Mechanisms for collective bargaining are in place but some procedural and substantive limitations also exist. The right to strike is in a very large extent is still prohibited. Some of the main deficits clearly go against the spirit and principles of international labor standards. Introduction The Asia-Pacific region has been considered as the engine of the world economy for the 1970s up to 1997. Its"tiger" economies spearheaded the breaking down of market borders that spawned globalization. While these development models earned accolades and have indeed uplifted the lives of its people, some of them have another major characteristic- authoritarianism. Dictators and military juntas originally presided over these export economies. But as industrialization, modernization and global integration take root, the pressures for democratization slowly emerged and eventually exploded into widespread upheaval for change. Parts of the globalizing Asia also became democratizing Asia. These developments had impacted on the structure of the public sector. The reformed legal system, development policies, budget allocation, fiscal issues, social services and even security issues have influenced the labor relations system. Unionism closely followed the re-configuration of the state. Democracy or the absence of it has continuously defined the parameters of trade union rights of those who work for the sovereign state- the public employees. This paper takes a comparative look on public sector collective bargaining in Korea, the Philippines and Thailand-- the three Asian countries that had recent episode of democratization. As their respective political transformation opened the legal system for the expansion of human and trade union rights, one significant aspect of this unfolding phenomenon is the changes in the system of labor relations in the public sector. In particular, collective bargaining became a central feature in public sector employment