Juan Cañizares Tan (October 10, 1922–September 8, 2005), known as Johnny Tan, was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

trade union leader. Tan grew up in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, and attended the

Ateneo de Manila High School , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_af ...

. He began working closely with the Catholic priest Walter Hogan, and the two founded the Institute of Social Order in 1946, Tan becoming its secretary. The institute aimed to promote positive relations between workers and management. In 1950, Hogan and Tan decided to form a trade union federation, the

Federation of Free Workers The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) is a national trade union center in the Philippines. It was founded 19 June 1950, and has a dues-paying membership of around 40,000. The FFW is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation ...

(FFW), with Tan becoming its president. It was soon followed by the Federation of Free Farmers. The FFW supported a strike at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

, this leading to Hogan being exiled, and Tan becoming the leading figure in the organisation. For their role in organizing unions, Tan and his colleagues were soon tagged as communists. He regularly represented the FFW at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

and came to international prominence. In 1963, he became general secretary of the

Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists The Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unions (BATU) was a federation bringing together trade unionists in Asia. History The federation was established on 20 December 1963, at a conference in Manila. It was a regional federation of the International Feder ...

, in 1974 becoming its president. In 1981, he was also elected as the president of the

World Confederation of Labour The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the ...

, serving until 1989. In the early 1990s,

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

asked Tan to become Secretary of Labor and Employment, but Tan believed this would prevent him from taking an independent position. In 1994, he agreed to become chair of the Social Security System. In 1998, Tan suffered a stroke, standing down from his role in the FFW, and switching to become commissioner of the Social Security System. He remained president of the Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists, serving until his death in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Johnny 1922 births 2005 deaths People from Manila Filipino Roman Catholics Ateneo de Manila University alumni Distributism Filipino trade union leaders Filipino anti-communists Philippine anti-capitalists Heads of government-owned and controlled corporations of the Philippines Ramos administration personnel