Oliva, Ma. Stephanie Faye M.

Labor Standards and Social Legislation (Prelims)

Atty. Panganiban

1. State and explain the case of Calalang vs Williams

Facts: The case itself has no connection to labor. It is a case wherein the Mayor of Manila and
the Acting Chief of Police of Manila have enforced the rules and regulations to regulate and
control the traffic on national roads by prohibiting animal-drawn vehicles from passing along
certain streets at designated times. The petitioner Maximo Calalang, in his capacity as a private
citizen and as a taxpayer of Manila, brought before the Supreme Court the petition for a writ of
prohibition against A. D. Williams, Chairman of the National Traffic Commission, on the ground
that said promulgated rules and regulations are an infringement to the constitutional precept of
the promotion of social justice.
It is in this case where Justice Laurel gave the definition of social justice which is still being used
and invoked until now. Justice Laurel said in his ruling:
Social justice is "neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy," but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that
justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be approximated. Social
justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption of measures by the
Government calculated to insure the economic stability of all the competent elements of society,
through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the
members of the community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally
justifiable, or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of
all governments on the time-honored principle of salus populi est suprema lex.” (The welfare of
the people is the supreme law.)

2. In 4 sentences, explain the significance of Social Justice in Labor Laws.

 Labor Laws are considered as social legislations. Social Legislations are defined as those
laws that provide particular kinds of protection or benefits to society or segments
thereof in furtherance of Social Justice. With this being the case, Social Justice is
considered as the aim and reason and therefore, the justification of labor laws. The
Constitution likewise supports this idea as manifested in Art. 2, sec. 10 of the 1987
Constitution which provides that “The State shall promote Social Justice in all phases of
national development.”
3. State at least 5 Constitutional Provisions related to labor.
 Art. 13, sec. 3 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The State shall afford full protection to labor local and overseas,
organized and unorganized and promote full employment and equality of
employment opportunities for all.
o It shall guarantee the rights of the workers to: self-organization,
collective bargaining and negotiation and peaceful concerted activities
including right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to
security of tenure, human conditions of work and a living wage. They
shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting
their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.
o The state shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between
workers and employers and the preferential use of voluntary modes in
settling disputes including conciliation and shall enforce their mutual
compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.
o The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers
recognizing the right of labor and its just share in the fruits of production
and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns of investments and to
expansion and growth.
 Art. 2, sec. 9 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure
the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from
 poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote
full employment, a rising standard of living and an improved quality of
life for all.
 Art. 2, sec. 10 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national
development.
 Art. 2, sec. 18 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The State affirms labor as the primary social economic force. It shall
protect the rights of the workers and promote their welfare.
 Art. 2, sec. 20 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector,
encourages private enterprise and provides incentives to needed
investments.
 Art. 12, sec. 1 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The goals of national economy are more equitable distribution of
opportunities, income and wealth, a sustained increase in the amounts of
goods and services produced by the nation for the benefit of the people
and an expanding productivity as the key to raising the quality of life for
all especially the underprivileged.
o The State shall promote full industrialization and full employment based
on sound agricultural development and agrarian reform through
industries that make full and efficient use of human and natural
resources and which are competitive in both domestic and foreign
markets. However, the State shall protect Filipino enterprise against
unfair foreign competition and trade practices.
 Art. 13, sec. 14 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The State shall protect working women by providing safe and healthful
working conditions taking into account their maternal functions and such
 facilities and opportunities that will enable them to realize their full
potential in the service of the nation.
 Art. 3, Bill of Rights, sec. 8 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
o The right of the people including those employed in the public and
private sectors to form unions, associations or societies for purposes not
contrary to laws shall not be abridged.
4. What are the Normal Hours of Work? What is the purpose if the law in imposing such
standard?
Art. 83 of the Labor Code provides that the normal hours of work shall not exceed 8
hours a day. The Eight-hour labor law was enacted to safeguard the health and welfare
of the laborer or employee, to minimize unemployment and to utilize different shifts of
labourers or employees working only for 8 hours each.
5. Is there a special rule when it comes to normal working hours? State and explain them.
Yes. There are special rules when it comes to normal working hours. It is not prohibited
to have normal hours of work of less than 8 hours a day or normal hours of work of
more than 8 hours a day. The law does not say that the work should be exactly 8 hours
but rather, it states that it shall not exceed 8. Therefore, a day’s work of less than 8
hours is not prohibited. On the other hand, overtime pay is mandatory as provided in
Art. 87 of the Labor Code. Work may exceed 8 hours provided that the worker shall be
entitled to the corresponding overtime pay.
6. State and explain the 7 Cardinal Rights of Workers
Art. 13, sec. 3 of the 1987 Constitution provides that:
“The State shall guarantee the rights of the workers to self-organization,
collective bargaining and negotiation and peaceful concerted activities including
right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure,
human conditions of work and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy
and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be
provided by law.”
 The workingman’s welfare should be the primordial and paramount
consideration. There is greater need for protection of employees because there
is a greater supply than demand for labor and the need for employment by labor
comes from vital and even desperate necessity. Because of these reasons, the
law must protect the worker to the extent of raising him to equal footing in
bargaining relations and capital and shield him from abuses brought about by
necessities of survival.
7. When may an employer require his employees to work on any day even on a rest day?
Art. 92 of the Labor Code provides instances when an employer may require his
employees to work on any day even on a rest day.
 In case of actual or impending emergencies caused by serious accidents, fire,
flood, typhoon, earthquake, epidemic or other disaster or calamity to prevent
loss of life and property or imminent danger to public safety.
 In case of urgent work to be performed on machinery, equipment or installation
to avoid serious loss which the employer would otherwise suffer.
 In the event of abnormal pressure of work due to special circumstances where
the employer cannot ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures.
 To prevent loss or damage to perishable goods.
 Where the nature of the work requires continuous operations and the stoppage
of work may result in irreparable injury or loss to the employer and
 Under circumstances analogous or similar to the foregoing as determined by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment.
8. Is it always required by law that in order to be non-compensable, meal periods should
not be less than 1 hour? Why or Why not? Explain with legal basis.
No. In Drilon’s letter to Kodak Philippines dated Nov. 27, 1989, the employees
themselves may request that their meal be shortened so they can leave work earlier
than the previously established schedule. In such a situation, the shortened meal time is
not compensable. The Department of Labor and Employment, in allowing such
arrangement imposes certain conditions:
  The employees voluntarily agree in writing to a shortened meal period of 30
minutes and are willing to waive the overtime pay for such shortened meal
period.
 There will be no diminution whatsoever in the salary and other fringe benefits of
the employees existing before the effectivity of the shortened meal period.
 The work of the employee does not involve strenuous physical exertion and they
are provided with adequate “coffee breaks” in the morning and afternoon.
 The value of the benefits derived by the employees from the proposed work
arrangement is equal to or commensurate with the compensation due them for
shortened meal period as well as the overtime pay for 30 minutes as determined
by the employees concerned.
 The overtime pay of the employees will become due and demandable if ever
they are permitted or made to work beyond 4:30pm and
 The effectivity of the proposed working time arrangement shall be of temporary
duration as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
9. Define exhaustively the following:
 Employee
o Art. 97 of the Labor Code defines an employee as “any individual
employed by an employer.” A more comprehensive definition of an
employee is expressed in R.A 1161 or the Social Security Law, as
amended. It states that an employee is “any person who performs
services for an employer in which both mental and physical efforts are
used and who receives compensation for such services where there is an
employer-employee relationship.”
 Employer
o Art. 97 of the Labor Code defines an employer as “any person acting
directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
employee and shall include the government and all its branches,
subdivisions and instrumentalities, all government-owned or controlled
 corporations and institutions as well as non-profit private institutions or
organizations.”
o Moreover, R.A 1161 or the Social Security Law, as amended defines an
employer as “any person, natural or judicial, domestic or foreign, who
carries in the Philippines any trade, business, industry, undertaking or
activity of any kind and uses the services of another person who is under
his order as regards the employment.”
 Labor
o Labor is understood as physical toil although it does not necessarily
exclude the application of skill, thus there is skilled and unskilled labor.
 Labor Law
o Labor laws are necessarily social legislations but not all social legislations
are labor laws. To differentiate, labor laws directly affect employment
and are a concept narrower while social legislations govern effects of
employment and are broader in concept.
 Labor Legislation
o Labor Legislation consists of statutes, regulations and jurisprudence
governing the relations between capital and labor by providing for certain
employment standards and a legal framework for negotiating, adjusting
and administering those standards and other incidents of employment. It
is broadly subdivided into 2: Labor Standards and Labor Relations.
 Labor Standards
o Labor Standards are the minimum requirements prescribed by existing
laws, rules and regulations relating to wages, hours of work, cost-of-living
allowance and other monetary and welfare benefits including
occupational, safety and health standards.
 Labor Relations
 o Labor Relations defines the status, rights and duties and the institutional
mechanisms that govern the individual and collective interactions of
employers, employees or their representatives.
 Social Legislation
o Social Legislations are those laws that provide particular kinds of
protection or benefits to society or segments thereof in furtherance of
social justice. An example of social legislation is the Agrarian Reform Law
and so is the law providing for a Social Security System.
10. Who is the Father of the Labor Code? When did the Labor Code take effect? Is the Labor
Code a Republic Act, Commonwealth Act, Batas Pambansa, Letter of Instruction or
Presidential Decree?
Blas F. Ople, the then Minister of Labor back in 1968, is the Father of Labor Code. On
May 1, 1974, the Labor Code was signed into law as Presidential Decree No. 442. Art. 2
states that, “This Code shall take effect 6 months after its promulgation.” Hence, the
Labor Code took effect in Nov. 1, 1974. The Labor Code is a Presidential Decree because
it was issued by the President (Pres. Ferdinand Marcos) in the exercise of his legislative
power.