Our Campaign
About us
The Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) is recognized as the leading umbrella organization of public sector unions in the Philippines. It has under its fold the most number of union, association, and group affiliates and the greatest number of individual members.
As of 2007, it had a total of 200 unions, organizations, associations and regional formations affiliated with a mass base of more than 300,000 workers from national government agencies, local government units (LGUs), state colleges and universities (SCUs), and government-owned-and-controlled corporations (GOCCs).
Established in 1986, COURAGE remains to be in the forefront of the struggle to protect and promote the economic and democratic rights of all government workers; has consistently led the sector to organize along the line of militant, progressive and patriotic public sector unionism (MPMU); and above all, involves actively in the realm of the nationwide movement of the Filipino people for a just society.
The new found vigor in union organizing among the ranks of public employees in the Philippines, after a long silence, is an offshoot of the enduring struggle of the basic masses which eventually brought down the rule of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.
Amidst the euphoria of the establishment of the Aquino government, the public sector workers militantly fought against the threat to their jobs in the government-wide reorganization program. Significantly, COURAGE was formed in this period where the clamor for genuine change was sought by all.