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Bacunganconstitutionalprovisionsonlabor New
Bacunganconstitutionalprovisionsonlabor New
Bacunganconstitutionalprovisionsonlabor New
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4.
It should guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization,
collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities,
including the right to strike in accordance with law.
In connection with the above labor relations rights, the State should
promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers.
Workers are to participate in policy and decision making processes affecting
their rights and benefits as may be provided by law. The State should likewise
promote the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including
conciliation, and should enforce mutual compliance therewith to foster
industrial peace.
5.
In regulating the relations between workers and employers, the
State should recognize the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of
production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and
to expansion and growth.
6.
As regards those employed in the public sector, their right to form
unions should be recognized and guaranteed as those in the private sector.
7.
8.
Special attention should be given to working women; they should
be provided with safe and healthful working conditions and such facilities and
opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full
potential in the service of the nation.
In the 1973 Constitution, in its Article II. DECLARATION OF
PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES, there is this provision: The State
shall establish, maintain, and ensure adequate social services in the field of
education, health, housing, employment, welfare and social security to
guarantee the enjoyment by the people of a decent standards of living.
The reference to social security in the aforesaid provision could be
considered as included under the phrase humane conditions of work in the
1987 Constitution.
How the constitutional mandates on Labor have been implemented
Laws have been enacted that implement the constitutional mandates on
labor.
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The principal law is the Labor Code of the Philippines which is easily one
of the most important Presidential Decrees promulgated during the 14-year
Martial Law regime. It revised and consolidated some 70 pieces of Labor and
Social Legislation in order, according to its enabling clause, to afford
protection to labor, promote employment and human resources development
and insure industrial peace based on social justice.
The Labor Code could be considered as codifying 25 different laws:
Laws on Pre-Employment and Human Resources Development
(The numbers refers to Articles of the Labor Code)
1.Law on the Recruitment and Placement of Workers (1339)
2. Law on the Employment of Non-Resident Aliens (40-42)
3. Manpower Development Law (43-56)
4. Law on the Training and Employment of Special Workers
(57-81)
Labor Standards Laws Laws on Conditions of Employment
and on Health and Safety
5. Law on Hours of Work (82-90)
6. Law on Weekly Rest Periods (82, 91-93)
7. Holiday Pay Law (82, 94)
8.Law on Service Incentive Leaves (82, 94)
9.Law on Service Charges (96)
10.Law on Wages (97-129)
11. Law on the Employment of Women (130-138)
12. Law on the Employment of Minors (139-140)
13. Law on the Employment of Househelpers (141-152)
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Then, there are these social security laws in addition to the Employees
Compensation Law found in the Labor Code:
a. Social Security Law of 1997 (Rep. Act No. 8282)
b. Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997 (Rep. Act No.
8291)
c. National Health Insurance Act of 1995 (Rep. Act No. 7875)
d. Limited Portability Scheme in the Social Security System (Rep. Act
No. 7699)
e. The Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 1980 or the PAG-IBIG
Fund (Pres. Decree No. 1752, as amended by Rep. Act No. 7742).
The legal rights of workers in the Philippines
The constitutional mandates on Labor are implemented by the present
Labor and Social Security Laws of the Philippines by their recognition and
guarantee of many rights of workers
Utilizing the rights of workers that are enumerated in the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as standards and also as a
useful way of classifying such rights, the rights of workers in the Philippine
could be given the following summary presentation.
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II.RIGHT UNDER
LABOR STANDARDS LAWS
A. ON WAGES
The Covenant speaks of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just
and favorable conditions of work which ensure, in particular: Remuneration
which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
(i)Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without
distinction of any kind, in particular, women being guaranteed
conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal
pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families xxx (Art. 7)
In connection with the above, Philippine Labor Law provides for these
rights:
5.The right to minimum wages prescribed by law or by the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards and also the further right to have the
wage distortion resulting from the application of any prescribed wage increase
by virtue of a law or Wage Order corrected (Rep. Act No. 6727; 99, 124). But
see Rep. Act No. 9178 exempting barangay micro-business enterprises from the
coverage of the Minimum Wage Law.
6. The right to the payment of fair and reasonable wage rates when the
payment of wages is by results (101).
7. The right to a 13th month pay (Pres. Decree No. 851, as amended).
8.The right to share in the service charges collected by hotels, restaurants
and similar establishments as regards those working in these establishments
(96).
Related to the above rights that help bring about a fair and a living wage,
Philippine Labor Law provides for the protection of wages by recognizing these
rights:
9.The right to be paid wages in legal tender (102), at certain regular
intervals (103) and at nor near the place of the undertaking (104).
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21.Considering that the normal hours of work shall not exceed eight
hours a day, (83), the right not to be required to perform overtime work except
emergency overtime work (89), and the right to overtime pay for overtime work
(87).
22. The right of healthy personnel to a five-day work week (83).
23. The right to a meal period (85).
24. The right to a night shift differential pay (86).
25. The right to a weekly rest day (91). The right not to be required to
work on ones weekly rest day except for emergency work (92). The right to an
additional compensation for work on ones weekly rest day work (93).
26. The right to an additional compensation for work on a special nonworking holiday (93).
27. The right to holiday pay for a regular holiday (i.e. the right to be paid
even if a worker does not work, and the right to be paid twice his regular rate, if
he works, on a regular holiday) as differentiated from one which is not a regular
but a special holiday (94). See also Exec. Order No. 203. On Muslim Holidays,
Pres. Decree No. 1083. See also Rep. Act No. 9177.
28. The right to a service incentive leave (95).
E. ON WOMEN
The Covenant declares that special protection should be accorded to
mothers during a reasonable period before and after child birth. During such
period, mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social
security benefits (Art. 10).
In connection with a woman employee, Philippine Labor Law provides
for the following rights:
29. The right to maternity leave benefits (Social Security Law, (Sec. 14A)). There is also a right to a paternity leave benefit, Rep. Act No. 8187.
30. The right to a woman employee against discrimination on account of
her pregnancy (137).
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Philippine Labor Law also provides for the following rights re: a woman
employee:
31. The right against discrimination with respect to terms and conditions
of employment solely on account of her sex (135 as amended by Rep. Act No.
6725).
32. The right against discrimination merely by reason of marriage (136).
33. The right against certain night work (130).
34. The right to certain facilities and standards that the Secretary of Labor
and Employment may establish to ensure the safety and health of woman
employee (132).
35. The right of a woman working in a night club, cocktail lounge,
massage clinic, bar or similar establishments to be considered as employee of
such establishments for purposes of labor and social legislation (138).
36. A special right against sexual harassment (Rep. Act No. 7877). It is
not impossible for a male employee to invoke also his right against sexual
harassment.
F. ON MINORS
The Covenant declares that children and young persons should be
protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in work
harmful to their morals or health, dangerous to life or likely to hamper their
normal development should be punishable by law. States should also set age
limits below which paid employment of child laborer should be prohibited and
punishable by law (Art. 10).
In connection with the above, Philippine Labor Law provides for this
right:
37. As regards the employment of a minor, the right of such minor to
certain protection, i.e. minimum employable age, certain standards as regards
the number of hours and periods of the day they may be employed, and the
prohibition against employment in an undertaking which is hazardous or
deleterious in nature (139).
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III.RIGHT UNDER
SOCIAL SECURITY LAWS
The Covenant speaks of the right of everyone to social security,
including social insurance (Art. 9).
In connection with the above, Philippine Labor Law provides for the
following rights:
47. In the event of work-connected disability or death, the right to
employees compensation i.e. income benefits and medical or related benefits
(166), medical benefits (185), including rehabilitation benefits (190), disability
benefits i.e. temporary total disability (191), permanent total disability (192)
and permanent partial disability (193) and death benefits (194).
48. In the event of death, disability or sickness which is not workconnected, the right to death, also funeral, disability or sickness benefits, and in
the event of old age, retirement benefits. (Social Security Law of 1997, Rep.
Act No. 8282 for those in the private sector; similar benefits, also separation
benefits and life insurance benefits, are provided for by the Government Service
Insurance System Act of 1997, Rep. Act No. 8291 for those in the government
service.)
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49. The right to medical care (209). (National Health Insurance Act of
1995, Rep. Act No. 7875).
IV. RIGHT UNDER
LABOR RELATIONS LAWS
The Covenant speaks of (a) The right of everyone to form trade unions
and join the trade unions of his choice, subject only to the rules of the
organization concerned, for the promotion and protection of his economic and
social interest. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
than those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society
in the interests of national security or public order or for the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others; (b) The right of trade unions to establish national
federations or confederations and the right of the latter to form or join
international trade-union organizations; (c) The right of trade unions to
function subject to no limitations other than those prescribed by law and which
are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or
public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others; (d) The
right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity with the laws of the
particular country.
In connection with the above, there have been different laws enacted to
implement the above rights in the Philippines, namely, Commonwealth Act No.
103. An Act to afford protection of labor by creating a Court of Industrial
Relations empowered to fix minimum wages for laborers and maximum rentals
to be paid by tenants, and to enforce compulsory arbitration between employers
or landlords, and employees or tenants respectively; and by prescribing
penalties for the violation of the orders; Commonwealth Act No. 213 An Act
to define and regulate legitimate labor organizations; Rep. Act No. 875 An
Act punishing obstruction and/or interference with peaceful picketing during
any labor controversy; Rep. Act No. 3600 An Act to prohibit the employment
of strike breakers and the transporting or escorting by peace officers and/or
armed persons of persons seeking to replace strikers in entering and/or leaving
the strike areas, and to provide penalties therefore; General Order No. 5; Pres.
Decree No. 442 Labor Code, particularly its Book V on Labor Relations; Pres.
Decree No. 823, as amended by Pres. Decree No. 849; Batas Pambansa Blg. 70,
130 and 227.
After the People Power Revolution in 1986, Exec. Orders Nos. 111 and
180 were promulgated. The former strengthened the rights to self-organization
and collective bargaining of those in the private sector; the latter provided
guidelines on the right to organize of government employees.
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and workers organizations to uphold basic human values values that are vital
to our social and economic lives. These principles and rights are:
x Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to
collective bargaining;
x The elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
x The effective abolition of child labour;
x The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and
occupation.
The above declaration now has been given authoritative elaboration in the
following ILO statements and it can also be in its most recent restatement in the
statement of the ILO Director General.
Decent work for all
Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General
The primary goal of the ILO today is to promote opportunities for women
and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity,
security and human dignity. Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General
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partnership with the principal institutions and actors of the multilateral system
and the global economy.
Progress requires action at the global level. The ILO is developing an
agenda for the community of work, represented by its tripartite constituents, to
mobilize their considerable resources to create those opportunities and to help
reduce and eradicate poverty. The Decent Work Agenda offers a basis for a
more just and stable framework for global development.
The ILO provides support through integrated decent work country
programmes developed in coordination with ILO constituents. They define the
priorities and targets within national development frameworks and aim to
tackle major decent work deficits through efficient programmes that embrace
each of the strategic objectives.
Concluding Remarks:
In connection with the above quoted statement issued by the ILO, the
Congress of the Philippines has been positively responding.
A think tank, the Center for Research and Special Studies (CRSS), in
compliance with a directive it received from the Congressional Oversight
Committee on Labor and Employment has submitted an Omnibus Amendment
of the Labor Code which is now in the agenda of the 15th Congress.
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