LABOR POLICIES OF THE PHILIPPINES

1987 Constitution

ARTICLE II
Declaration of Principles and State Policies

SECTION 9. 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.

SECTION 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.

SECTION 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for
human rights.

SECTION 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the
family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and
the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the
rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the
support of the Government.

SECTION 13. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote
and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in
the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.

SECTION 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the
fundamental equality before the law of women and men.

SECTION 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights
of workers and promote their welfare.
SECTION 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector, encourages
private enterprise, and provides incentives to needed investments.

ARTICLE III
Bill of Rights

SECTION 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

SECTION 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and
aspirations.
(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted.

ARTICLE XIII
Labor

SECTION 3. 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.

It shall 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. They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane 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 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.
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.
 CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

SECTION 2
Contract of Labor (n)

Article 1700. The relations between capital and labor are not merely contractual. They are so
impressed with public interest that labor contracts must yield to the common good. Therefore,
such contracts are subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and
lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects.

Article 1701. Neither capital nor labor shall act oppressively against the other, or impair the
interest or convenience of the public.

Article 1702. In case of doubt, all labor legislation and all labor contracts shall be construed in
favor of the safety and decent living for the laborer.

Article 1703. No contract which practically amounts to involuntary servitude, under any guise
whatsoever, shall be valid.

Article 1704. In collective bargaining, the labor union or members of the board or committee
signing the contract shall be liable for non-fulfillment thereof.

Article 1705. The laborer's wages shall be paid in legal currency.

Article 1706. Withholding of the wages, except for a debt due, shall not be made by the employer.
Article 1707. The laborer's wages shall be a lien on the goods manufactured or the work done.

Article 1708. The laborer's wages shall not be subject to execution or attachment, except for
debts incurred for food, shelter, clothing and medical attendance.
Article 1709. The employer shall neither seize nor retain any tool or other articles belonging to
the laborer.

Article 1710. Dismissal of laborers shall be subject to the supervision of the Government, under
special laws.

Article 1711. Owners of enterprises and other employers are obliged to pay compensation for the
death of or injuries to their laborers, workmen, mechanics or other employees, even though the
event may have been purely accidental or entirely due to a fortuitous cause, if the death or
personal injury arose out of and in the course of the employment. The employer is also liable for
compensation if the employee contracts any illness or disease caused by such employment or
as the result of the nature of the employment. If the mishap was due to the employee's own
notorious negligence, or voluntary act, or drunkenness, the employer shall not be liable for
compensation. When the employee's lack of due care contributed to his death or injury, the
compensation shall be equitably reduced.

Article 1712. If the death or injury is due to the negligence of a fellow worker, the latter and the
employer shall be solidarily liable for compensation. If a fellow worker's intentional or malicious
act is the only cause of the death or injury, the employer shall not be answerable, unless it should
be shown that the latter did not exercise due diligence in the selection or supervision of the
plaintiff's fellow worker.

LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS