LABOR LAW REVIEW SYLLABUS NOTES
[Enshrined in the protection to labor clause ARTICLE XIII,
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
A. Legal Basis
SOURCES OF THE POWER TO ENACT LABOR
 ARTICLE XIII, Section 3
 Police Power: Even if there were no provisions in the
Constitution concerning labor, the state would still have the
power to enact labor laws by virtue of the Police Power
which underlies the constitution and is enduring as the state
itself.
1. 1987 constitution
 One of the two sources of the state’s authority to enact
labor laws [other one is police power]
 It defines new state policies on labor
 It guarantees individual and collective rights of workers
 It contains nationalistic provisions protecting filipino labor
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF LABOR
A) INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS OF WORKERS [Article III, Bill
of Rights]
 Right to due process: A worker cannot be deprived of his
labor and to the fruits of his industry without due process of
law. Thus, one’s employment is considered as a property
right
 Freedom of Expression: peaceful picketing is allowed
[Basically allowed pa din ito in all cases even if there is no
employer-employee relationship] But in some cases, courts
may issue an injunction to picketing if the aim of the
activities is to compel an employer to ignore a clear
mandate of the law
 Freedom of Association: The right to join a labor union &
the privilege of NOT joining one and of disaffiliating from
the union
o  union security clause is a provision in
a union contract requiring employees, as a
condition of employment, to
maintain union membership or pay union dues
or requiring an employer to check off dues from
employees' wages.
o A closed shop agreement is a contract between
an employer and a labor union that stipulates that
the employer will only hire workers from a
specific union and those workers can only remain
with that employer while they are a part of the
union that the agreement covers.
o Collective bargaining: negotiation of wages and
other conditions of employment by an organized
body of employees.
 NON-IMPAIRMENT CLAUSE: Limitation: police power
of the state, protects property rights
 FREE ACCESS TO COURTS AND QUASI-JUDICIAL
BODIES
 RIGHT TO SPEEDY DISPOSITION OF CASES
 RIGHT TO INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE
B) COLLECTIVE RIGHTS OF LABOR IN GENERAL
Section 3]
 RIGHT TO SELF ORGANIZATION
 RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
NEGOTIATION
 RIGHT TO PEACEFUL CONCERTED ACTIVITY
 RIGHT TO SECURITY OF TENURE
 RIGHT TO A LIVING WAGE
 RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN POLICY AND DECISION
MAKING
ARTICLE II (Declaration of State Principles and Policies) –
sections 9, 10, 18 and 20
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.
 Full employment is an economic situation in which all
available labor resources are being used in the most
efficient way possible. Full employment embodies the
highest amount of skilled and unskilled labor that can
be employed within an economy at any given time
 it aims to free people from poverty with the end of ensuring
the prosperity and independence of the nation
 Aligned with the ILO ensuring that
(a) there is work for all who are available for and seeking
work (b) such work is as productive as possible (c) there is
freedom of choice of employment and the fullest possible
opportunity for each worker to qualify for, and use his
skills and endowments in a job for which he is well suited
irrespective of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion,
national extraction or social origin
Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases
of national development.
 Social Justice – Those who have less in life should have
more in law
 Clear commands to the state to take affirmative action in
the direction of greater equality
 Legislative, executive and judiciary must translate the
protection to labor in a living reality
 Social justice calls for the humanization of laws and
equalization of social and economic forces by the state so
tjat justice in its rational and objectively secular conception,
may at least be approximated
Calalang v. Williams: 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 by the Government of measures calculated
to insure 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.
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic
force. It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
 [So basically, one of the state policies is that LABOR
should be one of the main sources of revenue
 One of the two protection to labor clauses , Section 2
Article XIII is the other one which provides that:
“SECTION 2. The promotion of social justice shall include
the commitment to create economic opportunities based on
freedom of initiative and self-reliance.”
 Socio-economic importance: as a source of employment,
income, revenue, and other goods and environmental
services;
 [So it is invoked ad the main source of revenue]
 Labor laws must be created for the purpose of alleviating
society from poverty
This state policy is usually invoked when there is ambiguity in the
interpretation of labor laws, employment contracts and collective
bargaining agreements and in the appreciation of evidence presented
in labor proceedings
This policy Basis for 1702 of the civil code which provides that all
labor legislation and labor contracts should be construed in favor of
the safety and decent living for the laborer and (2) Article 4 of the
labor code, which states that all doubts in the implementation and
interpretation of provisions, including its implementing rules and
regulations shall be resolved in favor of labor
Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private
sector, encourages private enterprise, and provides incentives to
needed investments.
 Constitutional basis for the enactment of laws that lay down
a healthy environment which encourages the private sector
to put up businesses that generate employment and provide
much needed goods and services
 State needs the help of the private sector for national
growth and development
 R.A. 7916 (The special economic zone of 1995)
 R.A. 9184 The government procurement reform act
 R.A. 6957 as amended by R.A. 7718 The amended build-
operate transfer law
NOTE: The state policies are not self executing provisions and do
not embody judicially enforceable constitutional rights but only mere
guidelines for legislation.
ARTICLE XII Section 8: The state affirms labor as a primary social
economic force. It shall protect the right of workers and promote
their welfare
 Explicit recognition to the role of labor in social and
economic development and states a policy of protection for
the rights and welfare of workers
 State policy basis to create labor laws that will alleviate
them from poverty
ARTICLE XII Section 12: The state shall promote the preferential
use of Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced
goods, and adopt measures that help make them more competitive.
 Promotion of filipino raw materials
ARTICLE III (Bill of rights) – Sections 4,8,10, 16 and 18 (2)
thereof and;
SECTION 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of
speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of
grievances.
 Applicable only with respect to the right to picket
o Right to picket publicizes the labor dispute and
its incidents to the public
o Not bound by the parameters of the right to
strike, it must be peaceful though, for it to remain
valid
o It involves marching to and fro in front of the
employer’s premises with placards and other
signs making known the facts involved in a labor
dispute
 Right to strike: Section 3, Article XIII
SECTION 8. 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 law shall not be abridged.
 Formation of unions, societies and organizations, so long as
they are NOT contrary to law
 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE XIII, Section 3 is related to this: 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.
 Preference in the method of resolving industrial disputes
through the voluntary modes of negotiation, collective
bargaining, voluntary arbitration, mediation and
conciliation.
 The Labor Code
(a) Protects the rights of workers to self-organization and
to assist labor organizations of their own choosing
(b) Declares a policy of the state the fostering of a free
and voluntary organization of a strong and united
labor movement
(c) Declares that it shall be unlawful for any person to
restrain, coerce, discriminate against or unduly
interfere with employees and workers in their exercise
of right to self-organization, which includes the right
to form, join or assist labor organizations for the
purpose of collective bargaining through
representatives of their own choosing and to engage in
lawful concerted activities for the purpose or for their
mutual aid and protection
SECTION 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be
passed.
 Protection of the integrity of contracts against unwarranted
interference by the State. Thus, contracts should not be
tampered with subsequent law changes the terms of a
contract between the parties, imposes new conditions,
dispenses with those agreed upon or withdraws remedies
for the enforcement of the rights of the parties.
 Freedom of religion is SUPERIOR to Right to enter into
contracts, thus, in case of conflict, the freedom of religion
governs
 Passage of subsequent laws which impair the obligation of
contracts are what are unnecessary
 Police power is SUPERIOR to the Non-impairment clause.
Thus, Police power legislations. Thus, police power
legislations adopted by the state to promote the health,
morals, peace, education, good order, safety, and general
welfare of the people are generally applicable not only to
future contracts but even to those already in future contracts
but even to those already in existence, for all private
contracts must yield to the superior and legitimate measures
taken by the State to promote public welfare.
SECTION 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition
of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative
bodies.
 They all have the right to speedy disposition of cases before
all quasi-judicial and administrative bodies like the NLRC,
Bureau of Labor Relations, DOLE and other agencies
tasked to dispense labor justice as well as before judicial
tribunals like the CA and SC when such labor cases and
disputes are elevated by way of Rule 65 petition or appeal
 Speedy disposition of cases or speedy labor justice
o Depends upon the circumstances of each case
o What is prohibited are unreasonable, arbitrary
and oppressive delays
o Under Article 292 (i) or 277(i) of the Labor
Code: speed alone is not the objective of trial,
further a case/matter shall be deemed submitted
for decision or resolution upon filing of the last
pleading or memorandum required by the rules of
the commission, LA, director of BLR or med-
arbiter or the regional director
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.
Generally, this section under the constitution is only applicable to
criminal cases but however, under labor law it is only applicable to 3
situations
(1) Voluntary resignation
 The worker has the right to terminate his contract with the
employer at any time he wishes, subject to minimum
standards provided for by law
 When there is a merger between two companies, the
absorbing company cannot retain all other employees
without the conformity of the employees as stated in the
articles of merger, such will amount to involuntary
servitude.
(2) Return-to-work order in national interest disputes
 These are issued by the DOLE secretary and are not
violative of the involuntary servitude right protected by the
constitution. Disobedience risks the severance of their
employer-employee relationship.
(3) Compulsory fulfillment of military or civic duty: Survival
of the state is of paramount justification
ARTICLE XIII (Social Justice and Human Rights) – Sections 2,
3, 13 and 14
SECTION 2. The promotion of social justice shall include the
commitment to create economic opportunities based on freedom of
initiative and self-reliance.
 Amplification of the promotion of social justice
 Enhancement of human dignity, reduce social, economic
and political inequalities and remove cultural inequities
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.
 When there is conflict between labor and capital, this
provision is what is looked into
 The law provides humane conditions for work
 Not just the physical workplace, but also the treatment that
employers give their employees
 There must be no discrimination as to sex, race or creed nor
shall there be discrimination as regard to wages
 ULP if employer discriminates wages to discourage
membership in any labor organization
 The policy precludes the state from adopting a laissez fair
policy on labor relations due to the public interest involved
therein. It also provides guidelines by which the states
regulatory power may be exercises
o Laissez fair – leave alone policy [so in short, di
pwedeng di nakikielam yung government dito sa
cases na ganito because of what labor law is and
what it is composed of]
SECTION 13. The State shall establish a special agency for disabled
persons for rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance, and
their integration into the mainstream of society.
SECTION 14. 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
enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full potential
in the service of the nation.
NOTE: ARTICLE XIII are not self executing provisions. As in the
case of Agabon v. NLRC: Subsequent legislation is still needed to
define the parameters of these guaranteed rights to ensure the
protection and promotion, not only of the rights of the labor sector
but of employers’ as well. Without specific and pertinent legislation,
judicial bodies will be at a loss formulating their own conclusion to
approximate at least the aims of the constitution. Thus section 3
cannot be treated as a principal source of direct enforceable rights, for
the violation of which the questioned clause may be declared
unconstitutional.
CONSTITUTIIONAL RIGHTS THAT CANNOT BE INVOKED
IN COMPANY-LEVEL ADMINISTRATIVE CASES
(1) Right to constitutional due process
(2) Right to equal protection of the laws; and
(3) Right to counsel
NOTE: applicable only when finally lodged in the judicial
courts
RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONAL DUE PROCESS IS N/A BUT
STATUTORY DUE PROCESS APPLIES
 Constitutional due process is not applicable [section 1,
Article III of the 1987 constitution]
 Statutory due process is available as laid down is Article
292 (b) of the Labor Code
o Substantive aspect: valid and authorized causes
of employment termination under the Labor Code
o Procedural: Manner of dismissal
 IRR of P.D. 442
 Breaches of due process
requirements violate the labor
code
 Constitutional due process protects the individual from the
government and assures him of his rights in criminal, civil
or administrative proceedings while statutory due process
found in the labor code protects employees from being
unjustly terminated without just cause after notice and
hearing
 Constitutional due process is applicable only when a labor
case has already been filed with the labor courts and when
it reaches the CA and SC. As distinguished from
employer’s company level due process, the government is
now involved; hence, any deprivation of due process of
either party – the employee or employer to the labor suit by
such labor officials/tribunals or superior courts would not
constitute a violation of the right to constitutional due
process under section 1 article III of the constitution
RIGHT TO EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW IS NOT
APPLICABLE: Erects no shield against private conduct, however
discriminatory or wrongful it may be.
RIGHT TO COUNSEL IS INAPPLICABLE: It is only applicable
in custodial investigations conducted by police officers, when there is
no longer a general inquiry of the crime but a particular suspect has
been pinpointed. It is thus, not applicable in administrative cases
EFFECT OF FAILURE OF EMPLOYER TO INFORM
EMPLOYEE OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL:
(1) When the employee himself requests for counsel; or
(2) When he manifests that he wants a formal hearing on the
charges against him
When the employee does not request either of the two, there can be
no deprivation of due process and right to counsel is not mandatory in
such proceedings
2. Civil Code
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.
  Contracts of employment are different as they are imbued
with public interest
 Employment contracts are subject to regulatory review by
the labor tribunals and the courts of law; not ordinary
contracts and are thus, subject to the police power of the
State.
 Matters of unionism, CBA, strikes and lockouts, closed
shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar
subjects and the private agreement of parties cannot prevail
over ARTICLE 1700 of the civil code
 Thus labor contracts must yield to the common good
 Labor laws are not governed by the ordinary laws on
obligations and contracts
TWO KINDS OF LABOR CONTRACTS
 Employment contract
 Collective bargaining agreement (CBA)
Article 1701. Neither capital nor labor shall act oppressively against
the other, or impair the interest or convenience of the public.
 There is preferential treatment given to labor because they
are not in equal footing with capital, as those with capital
are the ones with power but this should not become a
license for abuse
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.
 To be discussed in relation to ARTICLE 4 of the LABOR
CODE
Article 1703. No contract which practically amounts to involuntary
servitude, under any guise whatsoever, shall be valid.
Article 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the
performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and
observe honesty and good faith.
Article 20. Every person who, contrary to law, willfully or
negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for
the same.
Article 21. Any person who willfully causes loss or injury to another
in manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy
shall compensate the latter for the damage.
3. Labor Code
 P.D. 442 as amended and is a set of substantive and
procedural laws that prescribe the principal rights and
responsibilities of industrial participants as to institute
social justice.
 Fundamental rights, correlative obligations of employers
and employees to each other, work days, work hours, wage
and wage protection, validity of dismissal and unionization
and collective bargaining
 Labor is any economically productive application of
physical, mental and material resources
 Employment relationship, collective bargaining and
employment termination affecting both employers and
employees
 The objective of labor is socio-economic: the well being of
the people as they are instruments of socio-economic
development
 Labor Laws as an Equalizing Economic Force
o Force to equalize economic opportunities and
thus improve our quality of life: Law of
minimum wage, 13th month pay SSS coverage on
retirement benefits etc.
 Labor in its broadest sense, includes every human exertion
mental or physical or even spiritual. It refers to any bodily
or intellectual exertion done wholly or partly for a purpose
other than the pleasure derived from its permanence
o [So basically it is anything and everything na
ginagawa mo basta di for mere pleasure]
 Philippine law, labor is used to embrace all work without
reference to whether it is done by an employee for an
employer or not.
 Labor includes in its broad sense physical and mental work
performed by an employee, and physical work performed
by anyone whether by another or not
 Labor law is that body of statutes, rules and doctrines that
defines state policies on labor and employment and
governs the rights and duties of workers and employers
respecting terms and conditions of employment by
prescribing certain standards therefor, or by establishing a
legal framework within which better terms and conditions
of work could be obtained through collective bargaining or
any concerted activity
ELEMENTS OF LABOR LAW
a) Labor policies
 These are principles/guidelines that define state policies
regarding labor and employment.
 Constitutional Policies (ART XIII, Section 3 & Statutory
policies Books I and II)
b) Labor standards law
 Body of statutes, rules and doctrines that govern the rights
and duties of workers and employers respecting terms and
conditions of employment by prescribing standards
 Terms and Conditions of employment and are essentially
substantive
 Cost of living allowance
 13th month pay
 Can be found in the law itself
c) Labor Relations
 Legal parameters whereby workers may undertake
concerted activities to secure better conditions of
employment than those prescribed by labor standards law.
 Basically, ito yung legal framework kung paano pwedeng
palitan nung employee yung terms of employment niya with
the employer
 They are largely procedural in character
 CBA, arbitration awards and decisions
B. State Policy Towards Labor
1. Security of tenure
 The right to security of tenure was guaranteed by the
Constitution. Tenure means the right to continue in
employment until the same is terminated under conditions
required by law
  You can only be terminated through just and authorized  But the decisions should not and do not amount to injustice,
causes as provided for under ARTICLE 10 of the civil code
 An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be
entitled reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and MANAGERIAL RIGHTS
other privileges and to his full back wages, inclusive of
 Right to ROI (Return of investment) and to make profit
allowances and to his other benefits or their monetary
 Right to prescribe rules: They have the right to make
equivalent computed from the time his compensation was
reasonable rules and regulations for the government of their
withheld from the time of his actual reinstatement
employees
 Right to select employees: Employer can also select when
2. Social justice
to engage them
“The state shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will  Right to transfer or discharge employees:
ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the
people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social LIMITATIONS OF MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living and an 1) Law
improved quality of life for all.” 2) Contract (w/not individual/collective)
3) General principles of fair play and justice
 Social justice guarantees the equality of opportunity,
equality of political rights, equality before the law, equality
6. Burden of proof and quantum of evidence
between values given and received and equitable sharing of
the social and material goods on the basis of efforts exerted substantial evidence is required in administrative and quasi-judicial
in production. proceedings and is defined as "that amount of relevant evidence
 Juridical principle and societal goal which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to justify a
3. Equal work opportunities conclusion." The burden of proof rests upon the party who asserts the
4. Right to self- organization and collective bargaining affirmative of an issue.
RIGHT TO SELF-ORGANIZATION in illegal dismissal cases, the employer bears the burden of proving
that the termination was for a valid or authorized cause. However,
 The rationale for this is that workers and their employers
there are cases wherein the facts and the evidence do not
are not placed upon a position of equality, but of inequality.
establish prima facie that the employee was dismissed from
And a high-minded labor-union vs an employer will give
employment. Before the employer must bear the burden of proving
equality more or less
that the dismissal was legal, the employee must first establish by
 All workers – thus, government employees are also substantial evidence the fact of his dismissal from service. If there is
included in this case, also GOCCs no dismissal, then there can be no question as to the legality or
o Managerial employees and high level employees illegality thereof.
who are considered as policy-making or
managerial or whose duties are of a highly
confidential nature share not be eligible to join
the organization o rank-and-file govt employees
o AFP members are not allowed [police officers,
policemen, firemen and jail guards]

RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATION

 Also given by the protection to labor clause [Article XIII,

Section 3] corollary to the self-organization [Because, you
cannot collectively bargain if you do not have an
organization]
 They basically represent the employer for negotiation
purposes
 Collective bargaining: normally takes the form of
negotiation when major conditions of employment to be
written into an agreement are under consideration and
grievance committee meetings and arbitration when
questions arising from the administration of an agreement
are at stake

5. Construction in favor of labor

“All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the

provisions of this code, including its implementing rules and
regulations shall be resolved in favor of labor”

 The supreme court adopts the liberal approach which favors

the exercise of labor rights
 The employer stands on higher footing that the employee.