The Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), together with its affiliate, the National Union of Building and Construction Workers (NUBCW), on 18 July 2026 signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to monitor and support compliance with labour standards and decent working conditions on the North-South Commuter Railway Project (NSCRP). The 147-kilometre elevated railway, currently under construction, will connect Metro Manila with northern and southern Luzon. It will feature 37 stations across four provinces and the National Capital Region, and is co-funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The NSCRP has around 13 joint ventures and general contractors, including mega-firms such as Spanish ACCIONA, South Korean Hyundai, Leighton Australia, and PT PP of Indonesia. There are several local subcontractors, with over 20,000 workers. The project is seen to generate more than 50,000 jobs in the full construction lifecycle.

NUBCW, the only construction trade union federation in the Philippines, has been organising subcontracted workers under the ACCIONA and Hyundai contract packages. Recurring issues of labour standard violations, mostly from subcontractors, such as wage payment delays, non-remittance of social security contributions, non-payment of rest day, holiday, and overtime pay, and OSH issues, are experienced by workers at the worksites. These constitute a clear breach of labour laws and ADB safeguard provisions.

As a response, NUBCW has implemented an innovative organising approach to effectively address workers’ issues and grievances. All subcontracted and directly hired workers within a joint venture’s contract package are organised into a “Workers’ Association.” Workers’ Associations have been established under the ACCIONA-EEI, ACCIONA-DAELIM and Hyundai Dong Ah Joint Ventures. Together with NUBCW and BWI, these associations are lobbying the joint ventures, particularly ACCIONA, to pilot and institutionalise a Labour-Management Dialogue Mechanism (LMDM), through which labour disputes and compliance issues can be addressed through dialogue and negotiation.

The DOTr recognises the important role of BWI and NUBCW and its affiliated organisations in ensuring decent work at the railway construction project. The MoU supports the innovative approach of organising workers’ associations and forging LMDM with the general contractors. Through the MoU, NUBCW aspires to reach out and organise the majority of workers employed at the NSCRP. This effort can be the beginning of the strategic organising of tens of thousands of workers employed in public infrastructure projects in the country.

The MoU was signed by the DOTr Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez. Albert Yuson (General Secretary) and Santiago Nolla (Secretary General) signed on behalf of BWI and NUBCW, respectively. A ceremonial signing inviting all stakeholders is to be scheduled in the near future.