BAR QUESTIONS

Constitutional Provisions on Labor (1998)

What are the salient features of the protection to labor provision of the
Constitution? [5%]
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
The salient features of the Protection to Labor provision of the Constitution
(Article XIII. Section 3) are as follows:
1. Extent of Protection - Full protection to labor;
2. Coverage
unorganized;

of

Protection

Local

and

overseas,

organized

and

3. Employment Policy - Full employment and equality of employment

opportunities for all;
4. Guarantees
4.1. Unionism and Method of Determination Conditions of
Employment - Right of all workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations.
4.2. Concerted Activities - Right to engage in peaceful concerted
activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law.
4.3. Working Conditions - Right to security of tenure, humane
conditions of work and a living wage.
4.4. Decision Making Processes - Right to participate hi policy and
decision making processes affecting their rights and benefits as
way to provided by law.
5. Share in Fruits of production - Recognition of right of labor to its just
share in fruits of production.
ANOTHER SUGGESTED ANSWER:

The Constitution (In Article XIII, Section 3) provides that the State shall
afford protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized.
The State shall afford protection to labor by promoting full employment
and equality of employment opportunities for all.
Workers are entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work
and a living wage. o The State shall guarantee the right of all workers to self
organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted
activities, including the right to strike, in accordance with law.
Workers shall also participate in policy and decision making processes
affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between
workers and employers and the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling
labor disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce mutual compliance
therewith to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers,
recognizing 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.

Labor Standard vs. Labor Relation (1997)

Differentiate labor standards law from labor relations law. Are the two mutually
exclusive?
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
LABOR STANDARDS law is that labor law which prescribes terms and
conditions of employment like Book in Book IV, Title I and Book VI of the Labor
Code. These Books of the Labor Code deal with working conditions, wages,
working conditions for women, minors, househelpers and homeworkers,
medical and dental services, occupational health and safety, termination and
retirement. On the other hand, LABOR RELATIONS law is that labor law
which regulates the relations between employers and workers like Book V of the
Labor Code which deals with labor organizations, collective bargaining, unfair
labor practices and strikes and lockouts. Labor standards laws and labor

relations laws are not mutually exclusive; they are complement to each other.
Thus, the law on strikes and lockouts which is an example of labor relations
law includes some provisions on the security of tenure of workers who go on
strike or who are locked out. These provisions are examples of labor standards
law.

Labor Statutes; Classification (1995 No. 1:)

1. What are the three (3) general classifications of labor statutes? Describe and
give an example of each classification.
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
The three (3) general classifications of labor statutes are:
a) Labor Relations Laws;
b) Labor Standards Laws; and
c) Social Security Laws.
LABOR RELATIONS Laws are those labor statutes that deal with the relations
of labor and management, like the laws on unions, collective bargaining, unfair
labor practices, strikes, lockouts and picketing.
LABOR STANDARDS are those labor statutes that prescribe standards relating
to terms and conditions of employment for compliance by employers, like the
laws on hours of work, weekly rest periods, holiday pay, wages, and laws
dealing with women, minors, house-helpers, and industrial home-workers.
SOCIAL SECURITY Laws are those labor statutes that provide protection not
only to a worker but also to members of his family in case of loss of income or
when there is need for medical care brought about by contingencies like
sickness, disability, death, and old age. Examples of social security laws are the
Social Security Law, Revised Government Service Insurance Act, the Articles of
the Labor Code on Employees Compensation, the State Insurance Fund, and
the National Health Insurance Act.

Social Justice as Guiding Principles in Labor (2003)

May social justice as a guiding principle in labor law be so used by the courts
in sympathy with the working man if it collides with the equal protection clause
of the Constitution? Explain. 5%
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Yes. The State is bound under the Constitution to afford full protection to
Labor; and when conflicting interests collide and they are to be weighed on the
scales of social justice, the law should accord more sympathy and compassion
to the less privileged workingman. (Fuentes v. NLRC. 266 SCRA 24 f 19971)
However, it should be borne in mind that social justice ceases to be an effective
instrument for the equalization of the social and economic forces by the State
when it is used to shield wrongdoing. (Corazon Jamer v. NLRC. 278 SCRA 632
F1 99711).
ANOTHER SUGGESTED ANSWER:
No, social justice as a guiding principle in law may not be used by the courts if
it collides with the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Social justice is
not a magic wand applicable in all circumstances. Not all labor cases will be
automatically decided in favor of the worker. Management has also rights which
are entitled to recognition and protection; justice must be dispensed according
to facts and law; and social justice is not designed to destroy or oppress the
employer.
ANOTHER SUGGESTED ANSWER:
Social justice as a guiding principle in Labor Law can be implemented side by
side with the equal protection clause of the Constitution. In implementation of
the principle of social justice, the Constitution commands that the State shall
afford protection to labor. Thus Labor Law may be pro-labor in the sense that
labor is given certain benefits not given to management. But this is not
necessarily violative of the equal protection clause of the Constitution because
said clause allows reasonable classification.