What are the legal basis of labor laws?

Police power of the State

Consti provisions including international law
Other laws like the Civil Code

What is police power?

authority to enact legislation that may interfere with personal liberty or property
in order to promote the general welfare

Was the X-Ray Tech illegally dismissed for violating her right to security of
tenure when the hospital fired her on the basis of her inability to pass the board
of radiologic technology licensure exam?

NO. While the right of workers to security of tenure is guaranteed by the

Constitution, its exercise may be
of the State to safeguard health,
general welfare of the people. It
practice of radiologic technology
the public from the hazards posed
reasonably regulated pursuant to the police power
morals, peace, education, order, safety, and the
is the policy of the State to upgrade the
in the Philippines for the purpose of protecting
by radiation.

What is the most essential, insistent and illimitable power of the State

Police power

General social justice mandate

Social justice is the duty of the State to protect the right of the people to human
dignity and reduce social, economic, and political inequalities

Is a labor dispute complaint dismissed in cases of equipoise of evidence?

NO. Dispute must be resolved din favor of labor because of social justice policy

GR: An employee dismissed for cause is not entitled to separation pay.

XPN: Social justice mandate of the Court justifies the award of separation pay even
if the dismissal was for cause where the employee was a first offender and with
long years of service + when there’s valid dismissal upon analogous causes
Examples of analogous causes where separation pay may be awarded on social justice
precept
Absenteeism
Abandonment
Inefficiency
Obesity (Yrasuegui v. PAL - obesity was deemed to be analogous to gross and
habitual neglect of duty in connection)

XPN to XPN: Separation pay or financial assistance may be allowed as measure of

social justice only where the employee is validly dismissed for causes other than
serious misconduct or those reflecting on his or her moral character. no separation
pay award based on social justice when dismissal of employee is based on serious
misconduct or grounds under Article 282 of the Labor Code such as like willful
disobedience, gross and habitual neglect of duty, fraud or willful breach of trust,
and commission of a crime against the employer or his family

Did the university professors waive their right to contest their dismissal with
their acceptance of their 30-day termination pay
No. private respondents cannot waive their rights protected by no less than the
Constitution.

Was Quitoriano entitled to permanent disability compensation under the CBA given
the Company Doctor’s finding that he was fit to work already?

Yes. Applied concept of permanent total disability to Filipino seafarers in keeping

with the policy of the State to give maximum aid and full protection to labor.
What’s “permanent total disability?”
Notion of disability is intimately related to the worker’s capacity to earn
What is compensated is not his injury or illness, but his inability to work
resulting in impairment of his earning capacity. 120-day period is extendible to a
max of 240 days if no declaration is made during the 120 days because the seafarer
may need further medical attention.

If the 120-day initial period is exceeded and no such declaration is made because
the seafarer requires further medical attention, then the temporary total
disability period may be extended up to a maximum of 240 days, subject to the right
of the employer to declare within this period that a permanent partial or total
disability already exists. The seaman may of course also be declared fit to work at
any time such declaration is justified by his medical condition.

WON additional 1B bond required by the CA to be posted by Sara Lee et. al. was
valid
NO. SC did balancing act requiring P3.45 bond is really to deny the corporation
the opportunity to appeal since no insurance company should be willing to issue
such bond
To require that extraordinary bond would settle the issue on technicality and not
on the merits
SC affirmed the constitutional duty of the State to afford protection of labor

Whether or not the seafarer's death that happened after medical repatriation--which
had technically ended his employment already--was work-related

Yes. in case of medical repatriation, the work-related death did not precisely
accord during the term of his employment. It is enough that the seafarer's work-
related injury or illness, which eventually causes his death, had occurred during
the term of employment. This interpretation is necessary to protect labor and to
protect the seafarers as the Constitution mandates.

8 cardinal rights of workers

Cardinal Rights of Workers
in par. 2:
Right to self-organization
collective bargaining and negotiations
peaceful concerted activities including the right to strike in accordance with law
security of tenure
humane conditions of work
living wage
participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and
benefits

In par. 4
just share in the fruits of production

What is the right to self-organization

Right to form, join, assist labor organizations. Workers unionize for the purpose
of collective bargaining and for their mutual aid and protection
Private sector employees - have the right to self-organization, which includes the
right to concerted activities, or either or both collective bargaining or mutual
aid and protection
BUT private sector workers who are NOT employees (e.g. self-employed) bc they do
not have definite employers are given the right to self-organization and concerted
acts ONLY for mutual aid and protection
Not for collective bargaining
Because they do not have employers to bargain with
Will only form workers association

Is an employee duty-bound to become a member of a labor union.

No. the right to self-organization is a right. it is NOT a duty. The right to form
or join a labor organization necessarily includes the right to refuse or refrain
from exercising said right.

What is the right to concerted activities

Concerted activities are those participated in by two or more employees for
collective bargaining and mutual aid and protection through action generally
directed at the employer to induce its desired behavior.

What are the limitations to concerted activities

Constitution says concerted activities should be peaceful, and the strike should be
in accordance with law.
Labor Code says this should only be for the purposes of collective bargaining and
mutual aid and protection, and they should be consistent with the national interest
ICESCR says this should be exercised in conformity with the laws of the particular
country
Limitations as to the means
these concerted activities should be peaceful and in accordance with law
Limitations as to the purpose
they should only be for collective bargaining and mutual aid and protection
consistent with national interest

What is a strike
defined by Article 2190 of the Labor Code as a temporary work stoppage by workers’
concerted action because of a labor dispute

What is picketing
marching to and fro at the employer's premises, accompanied by the display of
placards and other signs making known the facts involved in the labor dispute
there is always picketing when there is a strike, but picketing can be an
independent activity

What is a boycott
concerted refusal to patronize an employer's goods or services and to persuade
others to do the same

What is collective bargaining

Collective bargaining - the negotiations conducted by the union with its employer
about the terms and conditions of work, wages, benefits and the like
the negotiation is done by and for the body of employees composing and represented
by the union

Who needs to observe the provisions of the CBA

It is a mutual responsibility of the employer and the Union and is characterized as
a legal obligation. Pag hindi ka sumunod dito, you can be criminally proceeded
against because you have committed an unfair labor practice which is a criminal
offense under the Labor Code

What are Unfair Labor practices

According to Art. 258, unfair labor practices must be related to the right to self-
organization; but we must emphasize that according to Art. 257, the right to self-
organization includes the right to collective bargaining and the right to concerted
activities
Thus, the unfair labor practices particularly defined in Arts. 259 and 260 of the
Labor Code really referred to prohibited acts relating to the workers’ right to
self-organization and to their rights to collective bargaining and concerted
activities

What is the right to security of tenure

the right security of tenure is the right not to be dismissed from work except for
a just and authorized cause

If an employee is unjustly dismissed, what should Court do

order his reinstatement and paid back wages

What is the right to a just and humane conditions of work

this right refers to the right to safe and healthy work conditions to rest to
leisure

What is the difference between a living wage and a minimum wage

Min wage - maintain the worker and his family in decency and comfort from day-to-
day; essentially, a minimum wage is subsistence wage

Living wage - provides more than minimum wage; on top of that required for the
workers and his family's subsistence and maintenance

a living wage should have more to allow the worker to save for old age graphically

What is the present min wage = P537/day

What is the Right to Participate in Policy and Decision-making Processes

right does not entitle them to a sit in the board of directors for them to be able
to participate in charting corporate programs and policies
but it gives them the right to forum to discuss their grievances and to amicably
settle disputes with management

right to participate in policy and decision making processes mean:

to be informed
to be consulted

What's a worker to do after unsuccessfully voicing an objection to a particular

exercise of a management prerogative which affects his right or his welfare?
All that the worker can do is to file a grievance and let the grievance machinery
of this collective bargaining agreement resolve that dispute

Is the right to labor a property right subject to the due process guarantee of the
Constitution?
Yes, the SC has even noted that often, a worker has no property and that his job
may possibly be his only possession or means of livelihood
Since the right to work is property, it is therefore covered by the due process
clause of the Constitution

What is the prescriptive period for illegal dimissal complaint

when one is arbitrarily and unjustly deprived of his job or means of livelihood,
the action instituted to contest the legality of one's dismissal from employment
constitutes in essence an action predicated “upon an injury to the rights of the
plaintiff,” as contemplated under Article 1146 of the New Civil Code which must be
brought within 4 years.
The SC was emphatic that an action for illegal dismissal is neither a penal offense
nor a mere money claim.

Is the right to labor a property right? YES.

Is it covered by the consequential due process guarantee? In general, YES. An
employee may not be deprived of his job without observance of due process, but we
must not forget that this property right is subject to the exercise of the state of
its police power.

Why are the principles of international law considered basis for Labor Law?
Art II, Sec 2, 1987 Constitution
The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the
generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land
and adheres to the policy of peace, equally, justice, freedom, cooperation, and
amity with all nations.

Core Labor Standards (4 sets of convention that was set by the ILO)
These are a set of four internationally recognized basic rights and fundamental
principles at work
freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective
bargaining (set forth in Convention Nos. 87 and 98)
elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor [set forth in Convention
Nos. 29 and 105]
effective abolition of child labor (set forth in Convention Nos. 138 and 182)
elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation (set forth in
Convention Nos. 100 and 111)

Principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work: Persons who work with substantially equal
qualifications, skill, effort, and responsibility under similar conditions should
be paid similar salaries

The SC applied the BONA FIDE OCCUPATIONAL QUALIFICATION (BFOQ) exception rule:
UNLESS the employer CAN PROVE that
(1) the REASONABLE DEMANDS of the BUSINESS REQUIRE a DISTINCTION BASED on MARITAL
STATUS, and
(2) there is NO BETTER AVAILABLE or ACCEPTABLE POLICY which would be BETTER
ACCOMPLISH the BUSINESS PURPOSE.
The employer may NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST the concerned employee BASED on the
IDENTITY of his/her SPOUSE.

When is publication of DOLE issuance required to be effective

· If the purpose is to enforce or implement the labor code, or any special
labor law, pursuant to a valid delegation with issuance of an implementing rule or
regulation

When is publication of DOLE issuance not needed

· If the purpose of the rule or regulation is merely to regulate only the
personnel of the concerned gov. agency or that republic
For an administrative order to be valid, it must
1. be issued on the authority of law and
2. it must not be contrary to the law and the Constitution.

Who are “managerial employees”

refer to those whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment
in which they are employed or of a department or subdivision thereof, and to other
officers or members of the managerial staff.

Who are “Field personnel”

refer to non-agricultural employees who regularly perform their duties away from
the principal place of business or branch office of the employer and whose actual
hours of work in the field cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.

2 conditions precedents for rights and benefits under the Labor Code to apply to
workers:
1. Workers must be employees. There must be an employee-employer relationship
between the enterprise that hired the workers on one hand, and the workers or the
other.
2. Workers must not be civil service employees

Labor Standards law is that branch of labor law that sets the minimum in working
conditions that employers must provide their employees.

Four ways how the DOLE + related agencies enforce labor laws:
Promulgating IRRs of the Labor Code and special labor laws
Having Regional Offices implement basic programs
Exercising powers under Art. 128 and 129 of the LC
Imposing sanctions on violators

The DOLE exercises the following powers to enforce labor laws:

Visitorial or inspection power (Art. 128a)
Enforcement power (Art 128b)
Adjudicatory power (Art. 129)

Who wields the visitorial/inspection power?

Secretary of Labor and Employment (SOLE)
SOLE’s duly authorized representatives, which may be:
Regional directors or Heads of Regional Offices, or
Labor inspectors who are based mostly in the regional offices.

3 modes of inspections by labor inspectors:

Routine inspection
Complaint inspection
Occupational safety and health standards investigation
At SOLE’s discretion, inspection by his/her’s Special Inspection Team (SIT)

What is the purpose of the enforcement power? To enforce labor standards in the
labor code and other laws as found in the inspection that are not being implemented
by the employer. And who wields the power? The Secretary of Labor and Employment or
his duly authorized representatives.

Can the regional director issue a compliance order when the employer does not
adduce any new evidence and says simply that he is contesting the inspection
finding based on the very same documents already inspected by the labor inspector?
YES.

retirement benefits must specifically be granted under existing laws, a collective

bargaining agreement or employment contract, or an established employer policy.21