Labor Rights of Workers

Spread in various parts of the 1987 Philippine Constitution are specific

pronouncements and mandates on the protection and promotion of the
rights of workers in the public and private sectors, to wit:

1. Sec. 18, Art. II, the State recognizes "labor as a primary social
economic force" and it endeavors to "protect the rights of workers and
promote their welfare";

2. Sec. 8, Art. III, the State recognizes the "right of (workers) xxx in the
public and private sectors to form unions";

3. Sec. 2, Art. XIII, the State pronounces "the promotion of social justice"
as one of its main goals;
Labor Rights of Workers
4. The most specific labor-related provision of the Constitution is
found in Sec.3, Art. XIII thereof, which provides:

a) That the State shall afford "full protection to labor, local and
overseas, organized and unorganized";
b) That the State shall aim to "promote full employment";
c) That the "equality of employment opportunities for all" shall be
respected;
d) That the State shall protect the "right of all workers to:
- self-organization,
- collective bargaining and negotiations,
- peaceful concerted activities, and
- including the right to strike, in accordance with law”.
Labor Rights of Workers
e) That the right to "security of tenure" of workers shall be
respected;

f) That the workers are entitled to "humane conditions of work";

g) That the workers are entitled to "a living wage";

h) That the workers shall be afforded the right to "participate in

policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and
benefits as may be provided by law";

i) That employers and workers must be guided by the precept of

"shared responsibility";
Labor Rights of Workers
j) That the State encourages the "preferential use of voluntary
modes in settling disputes" (i.e., conciliation, mediation, and
voluntary arbitration);

k) That the State has the power to "regulate the relations between
workers and employers";

l) That the State respects the "right of labor to its just share in the
fruits of production"; and

m) That, balancing capital with labor, the State recognizes the "right
of enterprises to reasonable returns on investments, and to
expansion and growth".
Union / Employees’ Organization

 It refers to any labor organization

organized for collective bargaining or
negotiation and for other legitimate
purposes.
Workers’ Association
Sector Number
16,828 unions;
Private
1,391,621
Sector
members
Public 1,776 unions;
Sector 462,835 members
33,522 total
Workers associations;
Association 1,429,966
members

As of September 2013, a total 52,126 labor

organizations are registered in DOLE.
Rights of Legitimate Labor Organizations
(private sector)
Pursuant to the Labor Code of the Philippines, the rights of
the legitimate labor organizations are mentioned in Article
242 which summarized as follows:

1. Undertake activities for the benefit of members.

2. Sue and be sued.
3. Exclusive representative of all employees.
4. Represent union members.
5. Furnished by employers of audited financial statement.
6. Own properties.
7. Exempted from taxes.
Rights of Union Members / Members in an
Employees’ Organization

Article 241 of the Labor Code and Rule III, Sec.1 of the
E.O.180:

1. Political Right
2. Deliberative and decision-making right
3. Rights over money matters
4. Right to information
Employees’ Right to Self-Organization
(private sector)
Article 243 of the Labor Code:

1. To form, join and assist labor organizations for the

purpose collective bargaining through representatives
of their own choosing; and

2. To engage in lawful concerted activities for the same

purpose – for their mutual aid and protection.
Hoya Glass Disk Philippines

2,600 workers
lost their job
Hoya closed the
company to avoid
incurring losses
Nestle Philippines

600 workers
went on strike
23 strike-related
deaths
settled in
December 2013
Employees’ Right to Self-Organization
(public sector)
Sec. 1, E.O. 180:

All government employees can form, join or assist

employees’ organizations of their own choosing for the
furtherance and protection of their interests. They
can also form labor-management committees, work
councils and other forms of workers’ participation
schemes to achieve the same objectives.
 Strike
Strike, as defined by law, means any temporary stoppage of
work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an
industrial or labor dispute. [1] A labor dispute includes any
controversy or matter concerning terms and conditions of
employment; or the association or representation of persons in
negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms
and conditions of employment, regardless of whether the
disputants stand in the proximate relation of employers and
employees. [2]

[1] Lapanday Workers Union vs. National Labor Relations Commission, 248 SCRA 95, September 7, 1995
[2] Gold City Integrated Port Service, Inc. vs. National Labor Relations Commission, 245 SCRA 627, July 6, 1995
Right to Strike
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

Social Security System Employees vs. Court of Appeals

[175 SCRA 686, 1989]
Government employees may, therefore, through their unions or
associations, either petition the Congress for the betterment of the terms
and conditions of employment which are within the ambit of legislation
or negotiate with the appropriate government agencies for the
improvement of those which are not fixed by law. If there be any
unresolved grievances, the dispute may be referred to the Public Sector
Labor-Management Council for appropriate action. But employees in
the civil service may not resort to strikes, walkouts and other
temporary work stoppages, like workers in the private sector, to pressure
the Government to accede to their demands.
Right to Strike
Continued…...

As now provided under Sec. 4, Rule III of the Rules and Regulations to
Govern the Exercise of the Right of Government Employees to Self-
Organization, which took effect after the instant dispute arose, '[t]he
terms and conditions of employment in the government, including any
political subdivision or instrumentality thereof and government-owned
and controlled corporations with original charters are governed by law
and employees therein shall not strike for the purpose of securing
changes [thereto].
Right to Strike
Continued…..

In government employment, however, it is the legislature and,

where properly given delegated power, the administrative
heads of government which fix the terms and conditions of
employment. And this is effected through statutes or administrative
circulars, rules, and regulations, not through collective bargaining
agreements.
Right to Strike
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

Jacinto, et. al., vs. Court of Appeals, et. al.

[G.R. No. 124540. November 14, 1997]
Moreover, the petitioners here, except Merlinda Jacinto, were not
penalized for the exercise of their right to assemble peacefully and to
petition the government for a redress of grievances. Rather, the Civil
Service Commission found them guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best
interest of the service for having absented themselves without proper
authority, from their schools during regular school days, in order to
participate in the mass protest, their absence ineluctably resulting in
the non-holding of classes and in the deprivation of students of
education, for which they were responsible.
Right to Strike
Continued…..

Had petitioners availed themselves of their free time -- recess, after

classes, weekends or holidays -- to dramatize their grievances and to
dialogue with the proper authorities within the bounds of law, no one --
not the DECS, the CSC or even this Court -- could have held them liable
for the valid exercise of their constitutionally guaranteed rights. As it
was, the temporary stoppage of classes resulting from their activity
necessarily disrupted public services, the very evil sought to be
forestalled by the prohibition against strikes by government workers.
Self-Organization: public vs. private sector

Rights Public Sector Private Sector

Right to Strike X a
Limited bargaining rights
(terms of employment Unlimited bargaining
Right to Bargain
not fixed by law) rights
(Sec.13, E.O. 180)
Can only form, join or
Can form, join, or assist
assist labor organization
Purpose of Organization labor organization for
for purposes not
purposes of CBA, etc.
contrary to law.
 Persons/Employees who are NOT granted the
Right to Self-Organization

Provisions Legal Basis/SC Decision

High-level or managerial government
Sec. 3, E.O. 180
employees
Employees of international organizations with International Catholic Migration
immunities Commission vs. Calleja, et.al.

Managerial employees Article 245, Labor Code

a. Whose functions are normally considered

Franklin Baker Company vs. Tarjano
as policy-making or managerial
b. Whose duties are of a highly confidential
Civil Service Commission vs. Javier
or highly technical in nature
 Persons/Employees who are NOT granted the
Right to Self-Organization

Provisions Legal Basis/SC Decision

Members of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, including police officers, firemen Sec. 4, E.O. 180
and jail guards
San Miguel Corp. Supervisors and
Confidential employees Exempt Union, et.al. vs. Laguesma,
et.al.
San Jose Electric Service
(Employees of cooperatives who are its
Cooperative, Inc. vs. Ministry of
members Labor
Non-employees Rosario Bros. vs. Ople
Segregation of Rank-and File Employees
and Supervisors
Article 245 of the Labor Code:

Managerial employees are not eligible to join, assist or

form any labor organization. Supervisory employees shall
not be eligible for membership in a labor organization of
the rank-and-file employees but may join, assist or form
separate labor organizations of their own. (As amended by
Section 18, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989)
Conflict
A conflict is a situation when the interest/s of one or more
persons or groups are or seem to be in opposition to the
interest/s of some person/s or group/s. Exists whenever
people are in disagreement and opposition. Examples are
interpretation or violation of rights arising from law or
from contract, differences over the interpretation or
relevance of data, differing ideologies, religious beliefs and
cultural norms, breakdown in communications and
understanding.
 Conflicts are costly: the longer it lasts, the costlier

Source: F. Steadman – Handbook on Alternative Labour Dispute Resolution

 Conflict Management Style

Other’s &
Other’s Own needs
needs

Avoid Force
Own needs
Other’s &
Own needs

Lussier and Hendon, Human Resources Management

 Effective Dispute Resolution
(union in private and public sectors)

Strikes
Power Lockouts
Adjudication
Rights Arbitration
Mediation
Consensus Negotiation
2008, “Labor Dispute Resolutions Systems in the Asia-Pacific Region”, Atty. Bitonio, Jr. Employee and Labor Relations
Negotiation
Negotiation
Negotiation is a process by which two or
more parties:

1. Seek to exchange with each other or

among themselves things that they
respectively value under terms and
conditions mutually acceptable to all
concerned.
2. An approach at preventing or resolving
conflicts resulting in an agreement or
consensus of the parties.
What can keep parties from negotiating?

1. Principle of economic rationality and self-interest

What can keep parties from negotiating?
2. In an employment relationship, this can translate to
conflicting objectives and interests:

Capital Profits Sharing

Workers Rewards Effort

What can keep parties from negotiating?

Parties negotiate because they

want to satisfy a need or interest.
Planning the Negotiation

 Research the other parties to the

negotiation.
 Set objectives.
 Try to develop options and trade-offs.
 Anticipate questions and objectives
and prepare answers.
Conducting the Negotiation

 Develop rapport and focus on obstacles,

not on the person.
 Let the other party make the first offer.
 Listen and ask questions to focus on
meeting the other party’s needs.
 Don’t be too quick to give in, and
remember to ask for something in return.
Collective Bargaining/Negotiation Agreement

 A specific and specialized type of

negotiation governed by law.

 CBA or CNA is the law between the

parties. It must be respected at all
times.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
Process Output Outcome
• Negotiation • Collective • Fair terms and
• terms and Bargaining conditions of
conditions of Agreement employment
employment (private sector) • Industrial
• the • Collective peace and
mechanism Negotiation stability
to administer Agreement • Increased
the (public sector) productivity
agreement • Effective
and resolve employee
disputes or participation
differences • Shared
arising from responsibility
it
THANK YOU
References:

 1987 Philippine Constitution

 The Labor Code of the Philippines, 7th Edition, 2010, Cesario Alvero
Azucena, Jr.
 Social Dialogue and Collective Bargaining Agreement, Atty. Benedicto
Ernesto Bitonio, Jr.
 F. Steadman – Handbook on Alternative Labour Dispute Resolution
 Robert Lussier and John Hendon, Human Resources Management,
 http://blood-in-your-coffee.blogspot.com/2009/02/struggle-of-
nestle-workers-in.html
 http://www.dole.gov.ph/news/view/2314
 https://pamantik2009.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/2600-workers-
lose-jobs-following-hoya-glass-disk-illegal-closure/