THE

LABOR CODE
OF THE
PHILIPPINES

(PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 442,
AS AMENDED)
 PRELIMINARY TITLE
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ART. 1. Name of Decree. - This Decree shall be known as
the "Labor Code of the Philippines".
ART. 2. Date of effectivity. - This Code shall take effect six
(6) months after its promulgation.
ART. 3. Declaration of basic policy. - The State shall afford
protection to labor, promote full employment, ensure
equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed
and regulate the relations between workers and
employers. The State shall assure the rights of workers
to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of
tenure, and just and humane conditions of work.
ART. 4. 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.
ART. 5. Rules and regulations. - The Department of Labor
and other government agencies charged with the
administration and enforcement of this Code or any of
its parts shall promulgate the necessary implementing
rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations shall
become effective fifteen (15) days after announcement of
their adoption in newspapers of general circulation.
ART. 6. Applicability. - All rights and benefits granted to
workers under this Code shall, except as may otherwise
be provided herein, apply alike to all workers, whether
agricultural or non-agricultural. (As amended by
Presidential Decree No. 570-A, November 1, 1974).

Chapter II
EMANCIPATION OF TENANTS
ART. 7. Statement of Objectives. – Inasmuch as the old
concept of land ownership by a few has spawned valid
and legitimate grievances that gave rise to violent
conflict and social tension and the redress of such
legitimate grievances being one of the fundamental
objectives of the New Society, it has become imperative
to start reformation with the emancipation of the tiller of
the soil from his bondage.
ART. 8. Transfer of lands to tenant-workers. - Being a vital
part of the labor force, tenant-farmers on private
agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn
under a system of share crop or lease tenancy whether
classified as landed estate or not shall be deemed owner
of a portion constituting a family-size farm of five (5)
hectares, if not irrigated and three (3) hectares, if
irrigated.
In all cases, the land owner may retain a n area of not
more than seven (7) hectares if such landowner is
cultivating such area or will now cultivate it.
ART. 9. Determination of land value. - For the purpose of
determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the
tenant-farmer, the value of the land shall be equivalent
to two and one-half (2-1/2) times the average harvest of
three (3) normal crop years immediately preceding the
promulgation of Presidential Decree No. 27 on October
21, 1972.
The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of
six percent (6%) per annum, shall be paid by the tenant
in fifteen (15) years of fifteen (15) equal annual
amortizations.
In case of default, the amortization due shall be paid by
the farmers’ cooperative in which the defaulting tenant-
farmer is a member, with the cooperative having a right
of recourse against him.
The government shall guarantee such amortizations
with shares of stock in government-owned and
government-controlled corporations.
ART. 10. Conditions of ownership. - No title to the land
acquired by the tenant-farmer under Presidential Decree
No. 27 shall be actually issued to him unless and until he
has become a full-fledged member of a duly recognized
farmers’ cooperative.
Title to the land acquired pursuant to Presidential
Decree No. 27 or the Land Reform Program of the
Government shall not be transferable except by
hereditary succession or to the Government in
accordance with the provisions of Presidential Decree
No. 27, the Code of Agrarian Reforms and other existing
laws and regulations.
ART. 11. Implementing agency. - The Department of
Agrarian Reform shall promulgate the necessary rules
and regulations to implement the provisions of this
Chapter.
BOOK ONE
PRE-EMPLOYMENT

ART. 12. Statement of objectives. - It is the policy of the

State:
a) To promote and maintain a state of full employment
through improved manpower training, allocation and
utilization;
b) To protect every citizen desiring to work locally or
overseas by securing for him the best possible terms and
conditions of employment;
c) To facilitate a free choice of available employment by
persons seeking work in conformity with the national
interest;
d) To facilitate and regulate the movement of workers in
conformity with the national interest;
e) To regulate the employment of aliens, including the
establishment of a registration and/or work permit
system;
f) To strengthen the network of public employment
offices and rationalize the participation of the private
sector in the recruitment and placement of workers,
locally and overseas, to serve national development
objectives;
g) To insure careful selection of Filipino workers for
overseas employment in order to protect the good name
of the Philippines abroad.
Title I
 RECRUITMENT
AND
PLACEMENT OF WORKERS
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
ART. 13. Definitions. - (a) "Worker" means any member of
the labor force, whether employed or unemployed.
(b) "Recruitment and placement" refers to any act of
canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing,
hiring or procuring workers, and includes referrals,
contract services, promising or advertising for
employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not:
Provided, That any person or entity which, in any
manner, offers or promises for a fee, employment to two
or more persons shall be deemed engaged in recruitment
and placement.
(c) "Private fee-charging employment agency" means any
person or entity engaged in recruitment and placement
of workers for a fee which is charged, directly or
indirectly, from the workers or employers or both.
(d) "License" means a document issued by the
Department of Labor authorizing a person or entity to
operate a private employment agency.
(e) "Private recruitment entity" means any person or
association engaged in the recruitment and placement of
workers, locally or overseas, without charging, directly
or indirectly, any fee from the workers or employers.
(f) "Authority" means a document issued by the
Department of Labor authorizing a person or association
to engage in recruitment and placement activities as a
private recruitment entity.
(g) "Seaman" means any person employed in a vessel
engaged in maritime navigation.
(h) "Overseas employment" means employment of a
worker outside the Philippines.
(i) "Emigrant" means any person, worker or otherwise,
who emigrates to a foreign country by virtue of an
immigrant visa or resident permit or its equivalent in the
country of destination.
ART. 14. Employment promotion. - The Secretary of Labor
shall have the power and authority:
(a) To organize and establish new employment offices in
addition to the existing employment offices under the
Department of Labor as the need arises;
(b) To organize and establish a nationwide job clearance
and information system to inform applicants registering
with a particular employment office of job opportunities
in other parts of the country as well as job opportunities
abroad;
(c) To develop and organize a program that will
facilitate occupational, industrial and geographical
mobility of labor and provide assistance in the relocation
of workers from one area to another; and
(d) To require any person, establishment, organization
or institution to submit such employment information as
may be prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.
ART. 15. Bureau of Employment Services. - (a) The Bureau
of Employment Services shall be primarily responsible
for developing and monitoring a comprehensive
employment program. It shall have the power and duty:
1. To formulate and develop plans and programs to
implement the employment promotion objectives of this
Title;
2. To establish and maintain a registration and/or
licensing system to regulate private sector participation
in the recruitment and placement of workers, locally and
overseas, and to secure the best possible terms and
conditions of employment for Filipino contract workers
and compliance therewith under such rules and
regulations as may be issued by the Minister of Labor;
3. To formulate and develop employment programs
designed to benefit disadvantaged groups and
communities;
4. To establish and maintain a registration and/or work
permit system to regulate the employment of aliens;
5. To develop a labor market information system in aid
of proper manpower and development planning;
6. To develop a responsive vocational guidance and
testing system in aid of proper human resources
allocation; and
7. To maintain a central registry of skills, except seamen.
(b) The regional offices of the Ministry of Labor shall
have the original and exclusive jurisdiction over all
matters or cases involving employer-employee relations
including money claims, arising out of or by virtue of
any law or contracts involving Filipino workers for
overseas employment except seamen: Provided, That the
Bureau of Employment Services may, in the case of the
National Capital Region, exercise such power, whenever
the Minister of Labor deems it appropriate. The
decisions of the regional offices of the Bureau of
Employment Services, if so authorized by the Minister of
Labor as provided in this ART. , shall be appealable to
the National Labor Relations Commission upon the
same grounds provided in ART. 223 hereof. The
decisions of the National Labor Relations Commission
shall be final and inappealable. (Superseded by Exec.
Order 797, May 1, 1982).
(c) The Minister of Labor shall have the power to impose
and collect fees based on rates recommended by the
Bureau of Employment Services. Such fees shall be
deposited in the National Treasury as a special account
of the General Fund, for the promotion of the objectives
of the Bureau of Employment Services, subject to the
provisions of Section 40 of Presidential Decree No. 1177.
ART. 16. Private recruitment. - Except as provided in
Chapter II of this Title, no person or entity other than the
public employment offices, shall engage in the
recruitment and placement of workers.
ART. 17. Overseas Employment Development Board. - An
Overseas Employment Development Board is hereby
created to undertake, in cooperation with relevant
entities and agencies, a systematic program for overseas
employment of Filipino workers in excess of domestic
needs and to protect their rights to fair and equitable
employment practices. It shall have the power and duty:
1. To promote the overseas employment of Filipino
workers through a comprehensive market promotion
and development program;
2. To secure the best possible terms and conditions of
employment of Filipino contract workers on a
government-to-government basis and to ensure
compliance therewith;
3. To recruit and place workers for overseas employment
on a government-to-government arrangement and in
such other sectors as policy may dictate; and
4. To act as secretariat for the Board of Trustees of the
Welfare and Training Fund for Overseas Workers.
ART. 18. Ban on direct-hiring. - No employer may hire a
Filipino worker for overseas employment except
through the Boards and entities authorized by the
Secretary of Labor. Direct-hiring by members of the
diplomatic corps, international organizations and such
other employers as may be allowed by the Secretary of
Labor is exempted from this provision.
ART. 19. Office of Emigrant Affairs. - (a) Pursuant to the
national policy to maintain close ties with Filipino
migrant communities and promote their welfare as well
as establish a data bank in aid of national manpower
policy formulation, an Office of Emigrant Affairs is
hereby created in the Department of Labor. The Office
shall be a unit at the Office of the Secretary and shall
initially be manned and operated by such personnel and
through such funding as are available within the
Department and its attached agencies. Thereafter, its
appropriation shall be made part of the regular General
Appropriations Decree.
(b) The office shall, among others, promote the well-
being of emigrants and maintain their close link to the
homeland by:
1) serving as a liaison with migrant communities;
2) provision of welfare and cultural services;
3) promote and facilitate re-integration of migrants into
the national mainstream;
4) promote economic; political and cultural ties with the
communities; and
5) generally to undertake such activities as may be
appropriate to enhance such cooperative links.
ART. 20. National Seamen Board. - (a) A National
Seamen Board is hereby created which shall develop and
maintain a comprehensive program for Filipino seamen
employed overseas. It shall have the power and duty:
1. To provide free placement services for seamen;
2. To regulate and supervise the activities of agents or
representatives of shipping companies in the hiring of
seamen for overseas employment and secure the best
possible terms of employment for contract seamen
workers and secure compliance therewith;
3. To maintain a complete registry of all Filipino seamen.
(b) The Board shall have original and exclusive
jurisdiction over all matters or cases including money
claims, involving employer-employee relations, arising
out of or by virtue of any law or contracts involving
Filipino seamen for overseas employment. The decisions
of the Board shall be appealable to the National Labor
Relations Commission upon the same grounds provided
in ART. 223 hereof. The decisions of the National Labor
Relations Commission shall be final and inappealable.
ART. 21. Foreign service role and participation. - To provide
ample protection to Filipino workers abroad, the labor
attaches, the labor reporting officers duly designated by
the Secretary of Labor and the Philippine diplomatic or
consular officials concerned shall, even without prior
instruction or advice from the home office, exercise the
power and duty:
(a) To provide all Filipino workers within their
jurisdiction assistance on all matters arising out of
employment;
(b) To insure that Filipino workers are not exploited or
discriminated against;
(c) To verify and certify as requisite to authentication
that the terms and conditions of employment in
contracts involving Filipino workers are in accordance
with the Labor Code and rules and regulations of the
Overseas Employment Development Board and
National Seamen Board;
(d) To make continuing studies or researches and
recommendations on the various aspects of the
employment market within their jurisdiction;
(e) To gather and analyze information on the
employment situation and its probable trends, and to
make such information available; and
(f) To perform such other duties as may be required of
them from time to time.
ART. 22. Mandatory remittance of foreign exchange earnings.
- It shall be mandatory for all Filipino workers abroad to
remit a portion of their foreign exchange earnings to
their families, dependents, and/or beneficiaries in the
country in accordance with rules and regulations
prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.
ART. 23. Composition of the Boards. - (a) The OEDB shall
be composed of the Secretary of Labor and Employment
as Chairman, the Undersecretary of Labor as Vice-
Chairman, and a representative each of the Department
of Foreign Affairs, the Department of National Defense,
the Central Bank, the Department of Education, Culture
and Sports, the National Manpower and Youth Council,
the Bureau of Employment Services, a workers’
organization and an employers’ organization and the
Executive Director of the OEDB as members.
(b) The National Seamen Board shall be composed of the
Secretary of Labor and Employment as Chairman, the
Undersecretary of Labor as Vice-Chairman, the
Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, and a
representative each of the Department of Foreign Affairs,
the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, the
Central Bank, the Maritime Industry Authority, the
Bureau of Employment Services, a national shipping
association and the Executive Director of the NSB as
members.
The members of the Boards shall receive allowances to
be determined by the Board which shall not be more
than P2,000.00 per month.
(c) The Boards shall be attached to the Department of
Labor for policy and program coordination. They shall
each be assisted by a Secretariat headed by an Executive
Director who shall be a Filipino citizen with sufficient
experience in manpower administration, including
overseas employment activities. The Executive Director
shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines
upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and
shall receive an annual salary as fixed by law. The
Secretary of Labor shall appoint the other members of
the Secretariat.
(d) The Auditor General shall appoint his representative
to the Boards to audit their respective accounts in
accordance with auditing laws and pertinent rules and
regulations.
ART. 24. Boards to issue rules and collect fees. - The Boards
shall issue appropriate rules and regulations to carry out
their functions. They shall have the power to impose and
collect fees from employers concerned, which shall be
deposited in the respective accounts of said Boards and
be used by them exclusively to promote their objectives.
Chapter II
REGULATION OF RECRUITMENT AND PLACEMENT
ACTIVITIES
ART. 25. Private sector participation in the recruitment and
placement of workers. - Pursuant to national development
objectives and in order to harness and maximize the use
of private sector resources and initiative in the
development and implementation of a comprehensive
employment program, the private employment sector
shall participate in the recruitment and placement of
workers, locally and overseas, under such guidelines,
rules and regulations as may be issued by the Secretary
of Labor.
ART. 26. Travel agencies prohibited to recruit. - Travel
agencies and sales agencies of airline companies are
prohibited from engaging in the business of recruitment
and placement of workers for overseas employment
whether for profit or not.
ART. 27. Citizenship requirement. - Only Filipino citizens
or corporations, partnerships or entities at least seventy-
five percent (75%) of the authorized and voting capital
stock of which is owned and controlled by Filipino
citizens shall be permitted to participate in the
recruitment and placement of workers, locally or
overseas.
ART. 28. Capitalization. - All applicants for authority to
hire or renewal of license to recruit are required to have
such substantial capitalization as determined by the
Secretary of Labor.
ART. 29. Non-transferability of license or authority. - No
license or authority shall be used directly or indirectly
by any person other than the one in whose favor it was
issued or at any place other than that stated in the
license or authority be transferred, conveyed or assigned
to any other person or entity. Any transfer of business
address, appointment or designation of any agent or
representative including the establishment of additional
offices anywhere shall be subject to the prior approval of
the Department of Labor.
ART. 30. Registration fees. - The Secretary of Labor shall
promulgate a schedule of fees for the registration of all
applicants for license or authority.
ART. 31. Bonds. - All applicants for license or authority
shall post such cash and surety bonds as determined by
the Secretary of Labor to guarantee compliance with
prescribed recruitment procedures, rules and
regulations, and terms and conditions of employment as
may be appropriate.
ART. 32. Fees to be paid by workers. - Any person
applying with a private fee-charging employment
agency for employment assistance shall not be charged
any fee until he has obtained employment through its
efforts or has actually commenced employment. Such
fee shall be always covered with the appropriate receipt
clearly showing the amount paid. The Secretary of Labor
shall promulgate a schedule of allowable fees.
ART. 33. Reports on employment status. - Whenever the
public interest requires, the Secretary of Labor may
direct all persons or entities within the coverage of this
Title to submit a report on the status of employment,
including job vacancies, details of job requisitions,
separation from jobs, wages, other terms and conditions
and other employment data.
ART. 34. Prohibited practices. - It shall be unlawful for
any individual, entity, licensee, or holder of authority:
(a) To charge or accept, directly or indirectly, any
amount greater than that specified in the schedule of
allowable fees prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, or to
make a worker pay any amount greater than that
actually received by him as a loan or advance;
(b) To furnish or publish any false notice or information
or document in relation to recruitment or employment;
(c) To give any false notice, testimony, information or
document or commit any act of misrepresentation for
the purpose of securing a license or authority under this
Code.
(d) To induce or attempt to induce a worker already
employed to quit his employment in order to offer him
to another unless the transfer is designed to liberate the
worker from oppressive terms and conditions of
employment;
(e) To influence or to attempt to influence any person or
entity not to employ any worker who has not applied for
employment through his agency;
(f) To engage in the recruitment or placement of workers
in jobs harmful to public health or morality or to the
dignity of the Republic of the Philippines;
(g) To obstruct or attempt to obstruct inspection by the
Secretary of Labor or by his duly authorized
representatives;
(h) To fail to file reports on the status of employment,
placement vacancies, remittance of foreign exchange
earnings, separation from jobs, departures and such
other matters or information as may be required by the
Secretary of Labor.
(i) To substitute or alter employment contracts approved
and verified by the Department of Labor from the time
of actual signing thereof by the parties up to and
including the periods of expiration of the same without
the approval of the Secretary of Labor;
(j) To become an officer or member of the Board of any
corporation engaged in travel agency or to be engaged
directly or indirectly in the management of a travel
agency; and
(k) To withhold or deny travel documents from
applicant workers before departure for monetary or
financial considerations other than those authorized
under this Code and its implementing rules and
regulations.
ART. 35. Suspension and/or cancellation of license or
authority. - The Minister of Labor shall have the power to
suspend or cancel any license or authority to recruit
employees for overseas employment for violation of
rules and regulations issued by the Ministry of Labor,
the Overseas Employment Development Board, or for
violation of the provisions of this and other applicable
laws, General Orders and Letters of Instructions.
Chapter III
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
ART. 36. Regulatory power. - The Secretary of Labor shall
have the power to restrict and regulate the recruitment
and placement activities of all agencies within the
coverage of this Title and is hereby authorized to issue
orders and promulgate rules and regulations to carry
out the objectives and implement the provisions of this
Title.
ART. 37. Visitorial Power. - The Secretary of Labor or his
duly authorized representatives may, at any time,
inspect the premises, books of accounts and records of
any person or entity covered by this Title, require it to
submit reports regularly on prescribed forms, and act on
violation of any provisions of this Title.
ART. 38. Illegal recruitment. - (a) Any recruitment
activities, including the prohibited practices enumerated
under ART. 34 of this Code, to be undertaken by non-
licensees or non-holders of authority, shall be deemed
illegal and punishable under ART. 39 of this Code. The
Department of Labor and Employment or any law
enforcement officer may initiate complaints under this
ART. .
(b) Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or
in large scale shall be considered an offense involving
economic sabotage and shall be penalized in accordance
with ART. 39 hereof.
Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate
if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons
conspiring and/or confederating with one another in
carrying out any unlawful or illegal transaction,
enterprise or scheme defined under the first paragraph
hereof. Illegal recruitment is deemed committed in large
scale if committed against three (3) or more persons
individually or as a group.
(c) The Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly
authorized representatives shall have the power to cause
the arrest and detention of such non-licensee or non-
holder of authority if after investigation it is determined
that his activities constitute a danger to national security
and public order or will lead to further exploitation of
job-seekers. The Secretary shall order the search of the
office or premises and seizure of documents,
paraphernalia, properties and other implements used in
illegal recruitment activities and the closure of
companies, establishments and entities found to be
engaged in the recruitment of workers for overseas
employment, without having been licensed or
authorized to do so.
ART. 39. Penalties. - (a) The penalty of life imprisonment
and a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos
(P1000,000.00) shall be imposed if illegal recruitment
constitutes economic sabotage as defined herein;
(b) Any licensee or holder of authority found violating
or causing another to violate any provision of this Title
or its implementing rules and regulations shall, upon
conviction thereof, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of
not less than two years nor more than five years or a fine
of not less than P10,000 nor more than P50,000, or both
such imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the
court;
(c) Any person who is neither a licensee nor a holder of
authority under this Title found violating any provision
thereof or its implementing rules and regulations shall,
upon conviction thereof, suffer the penalty of
imprisonment of not less than four years nor more than
eight years or a fine of not less than P20,000 nor more
than P100,000 or both such imprisonment and fine, at
the discretion of the court;
(d) If the offender is a corporation, partnership,
association or entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon
the officer or officers of the corporation, partnership,
association or entity responsible for violation; and if
such officer is an alien, he shall, in addition to the
penalties herein prescribed, be deported without further
proceedings;
(e) In every case, conviction shall cause and carry the
automatic revocation of the license or authority and all
the permits and privileges granted to such person or
entity under this Title, and the forfeiture of the cash and
surety bonds in favor of the Overseas Employment
Development Board or the National Seamen Board, as
the case may be, both of which are authorized to use the
same exclusively to promote their objectives.
Title II
EMPLOYMENT OF NON-RESIDENT
 ALIENS

ART. 40. Employment permit of non-resident aliens. - Any

alien seeking admission to the Philippines for
employment purposes and any domestic or foreign
employer who desires to engage an alien for
employment in the Philippines shall obtain an
employment permit from the Department of Labor.
The employment permit may be issued to a non-resident
alien or to the applicant employer after a determination
of the non-availability of a person in the Philippines who
is competent, able and willing at the time of application
to perform the services for which the alien is desired.
For an enterprise registered in preferred areas of
investments, said employment permit may be issued
upon recommendation of the government agency
charged with the supervision of said registered
enterprise.
ART. 41. Prohibition against transfer of employment. - (a)
After the issuance of an employment permit, the alien
shall not transfer to another job or change his employer
without prior approval of the Secretary of Labor.
(b) Any non-resident alien who shall take up
employment in violation of the provision of this Title
and its implementing rules and regulations shall be
punished in accordance with the provisions of ART. s
289 and 290 of the Labor Code.
In addition, the alien worker shall be subject to
deportation after service of his sentence.
ART. 42. Submission of list. - Any employer employing
non-resident foreign nationals on the effective date of
this Code shall submit a list of such nationals to the
Secretary of Labor within thirty (30) days after such date
indicating their names, citizenship, foreign and local
addresses, nature of employment and status of stay in
the country. The Secretary of Labor shall then determine
if they are entitled to an employment permit.
BOOK TWO
HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Title I
NATIONAL MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
Chapter I
NATIONAL POLICIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE
MACHINERY
FOR THEIR IMPLEMENTATION
ART. 43. Statement of objective. - It is the objective of this
Title to develop human resources, establish training
institutions, and formulate such plans and programs as
will ensure efficient allocation, development and
utilization of the nation’s manpower and thereby
promote employment and accelerate economic and
social growth.
ART. 44. Definitions. - As used in this Title:
(a) "Manpower" shall mean that portion of the nation’s
population which has actual or potential capability to
contribute directly to the production of goods and
services.
(b) "Entrepreneurship" shall mean training for self-
employment or assisting individual or small industries
within the purview of this Title.
ART. 45. National Manpower and Youth Council;
Composition. - To carry out the objectives of this Title, the
National Manpower and Youth Council, which is
attached to the Department of Labor for policy and
program coordination and hereinafter referred to as the
Council, shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor as
ex-officio chairman, the Secretary of Education and
Culture as ex-officio vice-chairman, and as ex-officio
members, the Secretary of Economic Planning, the
Secretary of Natural Resources, the Chairman of the
Civil Service Commission, the Secretary of Social
Welfare, the Secretary of Local Government, the
Secretary of Science and Technology, the Secretary of
Trade and Industry and the Director-General of the
Council. The Director General shall have no vote.
In addition, the President shall appoint the following
members from the private sector: two (2) representatives
of national organizations of employers; two (2)
representatives of national workers’ organizations; and
one representative of national family and youth
organizations, each for a term of three (3) years.
ART. 46. National Manpower Plan. - The Council shall
formulate a long-term national manpower plan for the
optimum allocation, development and utilization of
manpower for employment, entrepreneurship and
economic and social growth. This manpower plan shall,
after adoption by the Council, be updated annually and
submitted to the President for his approval. Thereafter,
it shall be the controlling plan for the development of
manpower resources for the entire country in
accordance with the national development plan. The
Council shall call upon any agency of the Government
or the private sector to assist in this effort.
ART. 47. National Manpower Skills Center. - The Council
shall establish a National Manpower Skills Center and
regional and local training centers for the purpose of
promoting the development of skills. The centers shall
be administered and operated under such rules and
regulations as may be established by the Council.
ART. 48. Establishment and formulation of skills standards. -
There shall be national skills standards for industry
trades to be established by the Council in consultation
with employers’ and workers’ organizations and
appropriate government authorities. The Council shall
thereafter administer the national skills standards.
ART. 49. Administration of training programs. - The
Council shall provide, through the Secretariat, instructor
training, entrepreneurship development, training in
vocations, trades and other fields of employment, and
assist any employer or organization in training schemes
designed to attain its objectives under rules and
regulations which the Council shall establish for this
purpose.
The Council shall exercise, through the Secretariat,
authority and jurisdiction over, and administer, on-
going technical assistance programs and/or grants-in-
aid for manpower and youth development including
those which may be entered into between the
Government of the Philippines and international and
foreign organizations and nations, as well as persons
and organizations in the Philippines.
In order to integrate the national manpower
development efforts, all manpower training schemes as
provided for in this Code shall be coordinated with the
Council, particularly those having to do with the setting
of skills standards. For this purpose, existing manpower
training programs in the government and in the private
sector shall be reported to the Council which may
regulate such programs to make them conform with
national development programs.
This ART. shall not include apprentices, learners and
handicapped workers as governed by appropriate
provisions of this Code.
ART. 50. Industry boards. - The Council shall establish
industry boards to assist in the establishment of
manpower development schemes, trades and skills
standards and such other functions as will provide
direct participation of employers and workers in the
fulfillment of the Council’s objectives, in accordance
with guidelines to be established by the Council and in
consultation with the National Economic and
Development Authority.
The maintenance and operations of the industry boards
shall be financed through a funding scheme under such
rates of fees and manners of collection and
disbursements as may be determined by the Council.
ART. 51. Employment service training functions. - The
Council shall utilize the employment service of the
Department of Labor for the placement of its graduates.
The Bureau of Employment Services shall render
assistance to the Council in the measurement of
unemployment and underemployment, conduct of local
manpower resource surveys and occupational studies
including an inventory of the labor force, establishment
and maintenance without charge of a national register of
technicians who have successfully completed a training
program under this Act, and skilled manpower
including its publication, maintenance of an adequate
and up-to-date system of employment information.
ART. 52. Incentive Scheme. - An additional deduction
from taxable income of one-half (1/2) of the value of
labor training expenses incurred for development
programs shall be granted to the person or enterprise
concerned provided that such development programs,
other than apprenticeship, are approved by the Council
and the deduction does not exceed ten percent (10%) of
the direct labor wage.
There shall be a review of the said scheme two years
after its implementation.
ART. 53. Council Secretariat. - The Council shall have a
Secretariat headed by a Director-General who shall be
assisted by a Deputy Director-General, both of whom
shall be career administrators appointed by the
President of the Philippines on recommendation of the
Secretary of Labor. The Secretariat shall be under the
administrative supervision of the Secretary of Labor and
shall have an Office of Manpower Planning and
Development, an Office of Vocational Preparation, a
National Manpower Skills Center, regional manpower
development offices and such other offices as may be
necessary.
The Director-General shall have the rank and
emoluments of an undersecretary and shall serve for a
term of ten (10) years. The Executive-Directors of the
Office of Manpower Planning and Development, the
Office of Vocational Preparation and the National
Manpower Skills Center shall have the rank and
emoluments of a bureau director and shall be subject to
Civil Service Law, rules and regulations. The Director-
General, Deputy Director-General and Executive
Directors shall be natural-born citizens, between thirty
and fifty years of age at the time of appointment, with a
master’s degree or its equivalent, and experience in
national planning and development of human resources.
The Executive Director of the National Manpower Skills
Center shall, in addition to the foregoing qualifications,
have undergone training in center management.
Executive Directors shall be appointed by the President
on the recommendations of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment.
The Director-General shall appoint such personnel
necessary to carry out the objectives, policies and
functions of the Council subject to Civil Service rules.
The regular professional and technical personnel shall be
exempt from WAPCO rules and regulations.
The Secretariat shall have the following functions and
responsibilities:
(a) To prepare and recommend the manpower plan for
approval by the Council;
(b) To recommend allocation of resources for the
implementation of the manpower plan as approved by
the Council;
(c) To carry out the manpower plan as the implementing
arm of the Council;
(d) To effect the efficient performance of the functions of
the Council and the achievement of the objectives of this
Title;
(e) To determine specific allocation of resources for the
projects to be undertaken pursuant to approved
manpower plans;
(f) To submit to the Council periodic reports on progress
and accomplishment of work programs;
(g) To prepare for approval by the Council an annual
report to the President on plans, programs and projects
on manpower and out-of-school youth development;
(h) To enter into agreements to implement approved
plans and programs and perform any and all such acts
as will fulfill the objectives of this Code as well as ensure
the efficient performance of the functions of the Council;
and
(i) To perform such other functions as may be
authorized by the Council.
ART. 54. Regional manpower development offices. - The
Council shall create regional manpower development
offices which shall determine the manpower needs of
the industry, agriculture and other sectors of the
economy within their respective jurisdictions; provide
the Council’s central planners with the data for updating
the national manpower plan; recommend programs for
the regional level agencies engaged in manpower and
youth development within the policies formulated by
the Council; and administer and supervise Secretariat
training programs within the region and perform such
other functions as may be authorized by the Council.
ART. 55. Consultants and technical assistance, publication
and research. - In pursuing its objectives, the Council is
authorized to set aside a portion of its appropriation for
the hiring of the services of qualified consultants,
and/or private organizations for research work and
publication. It shall avail itself of the services of the
Government as may be required.
ART. 56. Rules and regulations. - The Council shall define
its broad functions and issue appropriate rules and
regulations necessary to implement the provision of this
Code.
Title II
TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
OF SPECIAL WORKERS
Chapter I
APPRENTICES
ART. 57. Statement of objectives. - This Title aims:
(1) To help meet the demand of the economy for trained
manpower;
(2) To establish a national apprenticeship program
through the participation of employers, workers and
government and non-government agencies; and
(3) To establish apprenticeship standards for the
protection of apprentices.
ART. 58. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Title:
(a) "Apprenticeship" means practical training on the job
supplemented by related theoretical instruction.
(b) An "apprentice" is a worker who is covered by a
written apprenticeship agreement with an individual
employer or any of the entities recognized under this
Chapter.
(c) An "apprenticeable occupation" means any trade, form
of employment or occupation which requires more than
three (3) months of practical training on the job
supplemented by related theoretical instruction.
(d) "Apprenticeship agreement" is an employment contract
wherein the employer binds himself to train the
apprentice and the apprentice in turn accepts the terms
of training.
ART. 59. Qualifications of apprentice. - To qualify as an
apprentice, a person shall:
(a) Be at least fourteen (14) years of age;
(b) Possess vocational aptitude and capacity for
appropriate tests; and
(c) Possess the ability to comprehend and follow oral
and written instructions.
Trade and industry associations may recommend to the
Secretary of Labor appropriate educational requirements
for different occupations.
ART. 60. Employment of apprentices. - Only employers in
the highly technical industries may employ apprentices
and only in apprenticeable occupations approved by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment. (As amended by
Section 1, Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986).
ART. 61. Contents of apprenticeship agreements. -
Apprenticeship agreements, including the wage rates of
apprentices, shall conform to the rules issued by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment. The period of
apprenticeship shall not exceed six months.
Apprenticeship agreements providing for wage rates
below the legal minimum wage, which in no case shall
start below 75 percent of the applicable minimum wage,
may be entered into only in accordance with
apprenticeship programs duly approved by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment. The Department
shall develop standard model programs of
apprenticeship. (As amended by Section 1, Executive
Order No. 111, December 24, 1986).
ART. 62. Signing of apprenticeship agreement. -Every
apprenticeship agreement shall be signed by the
employer or his agent, or by an authorized
representative of any of the recognized organizations,
associations or groups and by the apprentice.
An apprenticeship agreement with a minor shall be
signed in his behalf by his parent or guardian, if the
latter is not available, by an authorized representative of
the Department of Labor, and the same shall be binding
during its lifetime.
Every apprenticeship agreement entered into under this
Title shall be ratified by the appropriate apprenticeship
committees, if any, and a copy thereof shall be furnished
both the employer and the apprentice.
ART. 63. Venue of apprenticeship programs. - Any firm,
employer, group or association, industry organization or
civic group wishing to organize an apprenticeship
program may choose from any of the following
apprenticeship schemes as the training venue for
apprentice:
(a) Apprenticeship conducted entirely by and within the
sponsoring firm, establishment or entity;
(b) Apprenticeship entirely within a Department of
Labor and Employment training center or other public
training institution; or
(c) Initial training in trade fundamentals in a training
center or other institution with subsequent actual work
participation within the sponsoring firm or entity during
the final stage of training.
ART. 64. Sponsoring of apprenticeship program. - Any of
the apprenticeship schemes recognized herein may be
undertaken or sponsored by a single employer or firm or
by a group or association thereof or by a civic
organization. Actual training of apprentices may be
undertaken:
(a) In the premises of the sponsoring employer in the
case of individual apprenticeship programs;
(b) In the premises of one or several designated firms in
the case of programs sponsored by a group or
association of employers or by a civic organization; or
(c) In a Department of Labor and Employment training
center or other public training institution.
ART. 65. Investigation of violation of apprenticeship
agreement. - Upon complaint of any interested person or
upon its own initiative, the appropriate agency of the
Department of Labor and Employment or its authorized
representative shall investigate any violation of an
apprenticeship agreement pursuant to such rules and
regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment.
ART. 66. Appeal to the Secretary of Labor and Employment. -
The decision of the authorized agency of the Department
of Labor and Employment may be appealed by any
aggrieved person to the Secretary of Labor and
Employment within five (5) days from receipt of the
decision. The decision of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment shall be final and executory.
ART. 67. Exhaustion of administrative remedies. - No
person shall institute any action for the enforcement of
any apprenticeship agreement or damages for breach of
any such agreement, unless he has exhausted all
available administrative remedies.
ART. 68. Aptitude testing of applicants. - Consonant with
the minimum qualifications of apprentice-applicants
required under this Chapter, employers or entities with
duly recognized apprenticeship programs shall have
primary responsibility for providing appropriate
aptitude tests in the selection of apprentices. If they do
not have adequate facilities for the purpose, the
Department of Labor and Employment shall perform the
service free of charge.
ART. 69. Responsibility for theoretical instruction. -
Supplementary theoretical instruction to apprentices in
cases where the program is undertaken in the plant may
be done by the employer. If the latter is not prepared to
assume the responsibility, the same may be delegated to
an appropriate government agency.
ART. 70. Voluntary organization of apprenticeship programs;
exemptions. - (a) The organization of apprenticeship
program shall be primarily a voluntary undertaking by
employers;
(b) When national security or particular requirements of
economic development so demand, the President of the
Philippines may require compulsory training of
apprentices in certain trades, occupations, jobs or
employment levels where shortage of trained manpower
is deemed critical as determined by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment. Appropriate rules in this
connection shall be promulgated by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment as the need arises; and
(c) Where services of foreign technicians are utilized by
private companies in apprenticeable trades, said
companies are required to set up appropriate
apprenticeship programs.
ART. 71. Deductibility of training costs. - An additional
deduction from taxable income of one-half (1/2) of the
value of labor training expenses incurred for developing
the productivity and efficiency of apprentices shall be
granted to the person or enterprise organizing an
apprenticeship program: Provided, That such program
is duly recognized by the Department of Labor and
Employment: Provided, further, That such deduction
shall not exceed ten (10%) percent of direct labor wage:
and Provided, finally, That the person or enterprise who
wishes to avail himself or itself of this incentive should
pay his apprentices the minimum wage.
ART. 72. Apprentices without compensation. - The
Secretary of Labor and Employment may authorize the
hiring of apprentices without compensation whose
training on the job is required by the school or training
program curriculum or as requisite for graduation or
board examination.
Chapter II
LEARNERS
ART. 73. Learners defined. - Learners are persons hired as
trainees in semi-skilled and other industrial occupations
which are non-apprenticeable and which may be learned
through practical training on the job in a relatively short
period of time which shall not exceed three (3) months.
ART. 74. When learners may be hired. - Learners may be
employed when no experienced workers are available,
the employment of learners is necessary to prevent
curtailment of employment opportunities, and the
employment does not create unfair competition in terms
of labor costs or impair or lower working standards.
ART. 75. Learnership agreement. - Any employer desiring
to employ learners shall enter into a learnership
agreement with them, which agreement shall include:
(a) The names and addresses of the learners;
(b) The duration of the learnership period, which shall
not exceed three (3) months;
(c) The wages or salary rates of the learners which shall
begin at not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the
applicable minimum wage; and
(d) A commitment to employ the learners if they so
desire, as regular employees upon completion of the
learnership. All learners who have been allowed or
suffered to work during the first two (2) months shall be
deemed regular employees if training is terminated by
the employer before the end of the stipulated period
through no fault of the learners.
The learnership agreement shall be subject to inspection
by the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly
authorized representative.
ART. 76. Learners in piecework. - Learners employed in
piece or incentive-rate jobs during the training period
shall be paid in full for the work done.
ART. 77. Penalty clause. - Any violation of this Chapter or
its implementing rules and regulations shall be subject
to the general penalty clause provided for in this Code.
Chapter III
HANDICAPPED WORKERS
ART. 78. Definition. - Handicapped workers are those
whose earning capacity is impaired by age or physical or
mental deficiency or injury.
ART. 79. When employable. - Handicapped workers may
be employed when their employment is necessary to
prevent curtailment of employment opportunities and
when it does not create unfair competition in labor costs
or impair or lower working standards.
ART. 80. Employment agreement. - Any employer who
employs handicapped workers shall enter into an
employment agreement with them, which agreement
shall include:
a. The names and addresses of the
handicapped workers to be employed;
b. The rate to be paid the handicapped workers
which shall not be less than seventy five (75%) percent of
the applicable legal minimum wage;
c. The duration of employment period; and
d. The work to be performed by handicapped
workers.
The employment agreement shall be subject to
inspection by the Secretary of Labor or his duly
authorized representative.
ART. 81. Eligibility for apprenticeship. - Subject to the
appropriate provisions of this Code, handicapped
workers may be hired as apprentices or learners if their
handicap is not such as to effectively impede the
performance of job operations in the particular
occupations for which they are hired.

BOOK THREE
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Title I
WORKING CONDITIONS
 AND REST PERIODS
Chapter I
HOURS OF WORK
ART. 82. Coverage. - The provisions of this Title shall
apply to employees in all establishments and
undertakings whether for profit or not, but not to
government employees, managerial employees, field
personnel, members of the family of the employer who
are dependent on him for support, domestic helpers,
persons in the personal service of another, and workers
who are paid by results as determined by the Secretary
of Labor in appropriate regulations.
As used herein, "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.
"Field personnel" shall 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.
ART. 83. Normal hours of work. - The normal hours of
work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a
day.
Health personnel in cities and municipalities with a
population of at least one million (1,000,000) or in
hospitals and clinics with a bed capacity of at least one
hundred (100) shall hold regular office hours for eight (8)
hours a day, for five (5) days a week, exclusive of time
for meals, except where the exigencies of the service
require that such personnel work for six (6) days or
forty-eight (48) hours, in which case, they shall be
entitled to an additional compensation of at least thirty
percent (30%) of their regular wage for work on the sixth
day. For purposes of this ART. , "health personnel" shall
include resident physicians, nurses, nutritionists,
dietitians, pharmacists, social workers, laboratory
technicians, paramedical technicians, psychologists,
midwives, attendants and all other hospital or clinic
personnel.
ART. 84. Hours worked. - Hours worked shall include (a)
all time during which an employee is required to be on
duty or to be at a prescribed workplace; and (b) all time
during which an employee is suffered or permitted to
work.
Rest periods of short duration during working hours
shall be counted as hours worked.
ART. 85. Meal periods. - Subject to such regulations as the
Secretary of Labor may prescribe, it shall be the duty of
every employer to give his employees not less than sixty
(60) minutes time-off for their regular meals.
ART. 86. Night shift differential. - Every employee shall be
paid a night shift differential of not less than ten percent
(10%) of his regular wage for each hour of work
performed between ten o’clock in the evening and six
o’clock in the morning.
ART. 87. Overtime work. - Work may be performed
beyond eight (8) hours a day provided that the
employee is paid for the overtime work, an additional
compensation equivalent to his regular wage plus at
least twenty-five percent (25%) thereof. Work performed
beyond eight hours on a holiday or rest day shall be
paid an additional compensation equivalent to the rate
of the first eight hours on a holiday or rest day plus at
least thirty percent (30%) thereof.
ART. 88. Undertime not offset by overtime. - Undertime
work on any particular day shall not be offset by
overtime work on any other day. Permission given to
the employee to go on leave on some other day of the
week shall not exempt the employer from paying the
additional compensation required in this Chapter.
ART. 89. Emergency overtime work. - Any employee may
be required by the employer to perform overtime work
in any of the following cases: virtual law
(a) When the country is at war or when any other
national or local emergency has been declared by the
National Assembly or the Chief Executive;
(b) When it is necessary to prevent loss of life or
property or in case of imminent danger to public safety
due to an actual or impending emergency in the locality
caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon,
earthquake, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity;
(c) When there is urgent work to be performed on
machines, installations, or equipment, in order to avoid
serious loss or damage to the employer or some other
cause of similar nature;
(d) When the work is necessary to prevent loss or
damage to perishable goods; and
(e) Where the completion or continuation of the work
started before the eighth hour is necessary to prevent
serious obstruction or prejudice to the business or
operations of the employer.
Any employee required to render overtime work under
this ART. shall be paid the additional compensation
required in this Chapter.
ART. 90. Computation of additional compensation. - For
purposes of computing overtime and other additional
remuneration as required by this Chapter, the "regular
wage" of an employee shall include the cash wage only,
without deduction on account of facilities provided by
the employer.

Chapter II
WEEKLY REST PERIODS
ART. 91. Right to weekly rest day. - (a) It shall be the duty
of every employer, whether operating for profit or not,
to provide each of his employees a rest period of not less
than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours after every six
(6) consecutive normal work days.
(b) The employer shall determine and schedule the
weekly rest day of his employees subject to collective
bargaining agreement and to such rules and regulations
as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may provide.
However, the employer shall respect the preference of
employees as to their weekly rest day when such
preference is based on religious grounds.
ART. 92. When employer may require work on a rest day. -
The employer may require his employees to work on
any day:
(a) In case of actual or impending emergencies caused
by serious accident, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake,
epidemic or other disaster or calamity to prevent loss of
life and property, or imminent danger to public safety;
(b) In cases of urgent work to be performed on the
machinery, equipment, or installation, to avoid serious
loss which the employer would otherwise suffer;
(c) In the event of abnormal pressure of work due to
special circumstances, where the employer cannot
ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures;
(d) To prevent loss or damage to perishable goods;
(e) Where the nature of the work requires continuous
operations and the stoppage of work may result in
irreparable injury or loss to the employer; and
(f) Under other circumstances analogous or similar to
the foregoing as determined by the Secretary of Labor
and Employment.
ART. 93. Compensation for rest day, Sunday or holiday work.
- (a) Where an employee is made or permitted to work
on his scheduled rest day, he shall be paid an additional
compensation of at least thirty percent (30%) of his
regular wage. An employee shall be entitled to such
additional compensation for work performed on Sunday
only when it is his established rest day.
(b) When the nature of the work of the employee is such
that he has no regular workdays and no regular rest
days can be scheduled, he shall be paid an additional
compensation of at least thirty percent (30%) of his
regular wage for work performed on Sundays and
holidays.
(c) Work performed on any special holiday shall be paid
an additional compensation of at least thirty percent
(30%) of the regular wage of the employee. Where such
holiday work falls on the employee’s scheduled rest day,
he shall be entitled to an additional compensation of at
least fifty per cent (50%) of his regular wage.
(d) Where the collective bargaining agreement or other
applicable employment contract stipulates the payment
of a higher premium pay than that prescribed under this
ART. , the employer shall pay such higher rate.
Chapter III
HOLIDAYS, SERVICE INCENTIVE LEAVES
AND SERVICE CHARGES
ART. 94. Right to holiday pay. - (a) Every worker shall be
paid his regular daily wage during regular holidays,
except in retail and service establishments regularly
employing less than ten (10) workers;
(b) The employer may require an employee to work on
any holiday but such employee shall be paid a
compensation equivalent to twice his regular rate; and
(c) As used in this ART. , "holiday" includes: New Year’s
Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the ninth of April,
the first of May, the twelfth of June, the fourth of July,
the thirtieth of November, the twenty-fifth and thirtieth
of December and the day designated by law for holding
a general election.
ART. 95. Right to service incentive leave. - (a) Every
employee who has rendered at least one year of service
shall be entitled to a yearly service incentive leave of five
days with pay.
(b) This provision shall not apply to those who are
already enjoying the benefit herein provided, those
enjoying vacation leave with pay of at least five days
and those employed in establishments regularly
employing less than ten employees or in establishments
exempted from granting this benefit by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment after considering the viability or
financial condition of such establishment.
(c) The grant of benefit in excess of that provided herein
shall not be made a subject of arbitration or any court or
administrative action.
ART. 96. Service charges. - All service charges collected by
hotels, restaurants and similar establishments shall be
distributed at the rate of eighty-five percent (85%) for all
covered employees and fifteen percent (15%) for
management.
The share of the employees shall be equally distributed
among them. In case the service charge is abolished, the
share of the covered employee shall be considered
integrated in their wages.
Title II
WAGES
Chapter I
PRELIMINARY MATTERS
ART. 97. Definitions. - As used in this Title:
(a) "Person" means an individual, partnership,
association, corporation, business trust, legal
representatives, or any organized group of persons.
(b) "Employer" includes any person acting directly or
indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
employee and shall include the government and all its
branches, subdivisions and instrumentalities, all
government-owned or controlled corporations and
institutions, as well as non-profit private institutions, or
organizations.
(c) "Employee" includes any individual employed by an
employer.
(d) "Agriculture" includes farming in all its branches and,
among other things, includes cultivation and tillage of
soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and
harvesting of any agricultural and horticultural
commodities, the raising of livestock or poultry, and any
practices performed by a farmer on a farm as an incident
to or in conjunction with such farming operations, but
does not include the manufacturing or processing of
sugar, coconuts, abaca, tobacco, pineapples or other
farm products.
(e) "Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.
(f) "Wage" paid to any employee shall mean the
remuneration or earnings, however designated, capable
of being expressed in terms of money, whether fixed or
ascertained on a time, task, piece, or commission basis,
or other method of calculating the same, which is
payable by an employer to an employee under a written
or unwritten contract of employment for work done or
to be done, or for services rendered or to be rendered
and includes the fair and reasonable value, as
determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment,
of board, lodging, or other facilities customarily
furnished by the employer to the employee. "Fair and
reasonable value" shall not include any profit to the
employer, or to any person affiliated with the employer.
ART. 98. Application of Title. - This Title shall not apply to
farm tenancy or leasehold, domestic service and persons
working in their respective homes in needle work or in
any cottage industry duly registered in accordance with
law.
Chapter II
MINIMUM WAGE RATES
ART. 99. Regional minimum wages. - The minimum wage
rates for agricultural and non-agricultural employees
and workers in each and every region of the country
shall be those prescribed by the Regional Tripartite
Wages and Productivity Boards. (As amended by
Section 3, Republic Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 100. Prohibition against elimination or diminution of
benefits. - Nothing in this Book shall be construed to
eliminate or in any way diminish supplements, or other
employee benefits being enjoyed at the time of
promulgation of this Code.
ART. 101. Payment by results. - (a) The Secretary of Labor
and Employment shall regulate the payment of wages
by results, including pakyao, piecework, and other non-
time work, in order to ensure the payment of fair and
reasonable wage rates, preferably through time and
motion studies or in consultation with representatives of
workers’ and employers’ organizations.
Chapter III
PAYMENT OF WAGES
ART. 102. Forms of payment. - No employer shall pay the
wages of an employee by means of promissory notes,
vouchers, coupons, tokens, tickets, chits, or any object
other than legal tender, even when expressly requested
by the employee.
Payment of wages by check or money order shall be
allowed when such manner of payment is customary on
the date of effectivity of this Code, or is necessary
because of special circumstances as specified in
appropriate regulations to be issued by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment or as stipulated in a collective
bargaining agreement.
ART. 103. Time of payment. - Wages shall be paid at least
once every two (2) weeks or twice a month at intervals
not exceeding sixteen (16) days. If on account of force
majeure or circumstances beyond the employer’s control,
payment of wages on or within the time herein provided
cannot be made, the employer shall pay the wages
immediately after such force majeure or circumstances
have ceased. No employer shall make payment with less
frequency than once a month.
The payment of wages of employees engaged to perform
a task which cannot be completed in two (2) weeks shall
be subject to the following conditions, in the absence of a
collective bargaining agreement or arbitration award:
(1) That payments are made at intervals not exceeding
sixteen (16) days, in proportion to the amount of work
completed;
(2) That final settlement is made upon completion of the
work.
ART. 104. Place of payment. - Payment of wages shall be
made at or near the place of undertaking, except as
otherwise provided by such regulations as the Secretary
of Labor and Employment may prescribe under
conditions to ensure greater protection of wages.
ART. 105. Direct payment of wages. - Wages shall be paid
directly to the workers to whom they are due, except:
(a) In cases of force majeure rendering such payment
impossible or under other special circumstances to be
determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment
in appropriate regulations, in which case, the worker
may be paid through another person under written
authority given by the worker for the purpose; or
(b) Where the worker has died, in which case, the
employer may pay the wages of the deceased worker to
the heirs of the latter without the necessity of intestate
proceedings. The claimants, if they are all of age, shall
execute an affidavit attesting to their relationship to the
deceased and the fact that they are his heirs, to the
exclusion of all other persons. If any of the heirs is a
minor, the affidavit shall be executed on his behalf by
his natural guardian or next-of-kin. The affidavit shall be
presented to the employer who shall make payment
through the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his
representative. The representative of the Secretary of
Labor and Employment shall act as referee in dividing
the amount paid among the heirs. The payment of
wages under this ART. shall absolve the employer of
any further liability with respect to the amount paid.
ART. 106. Contractor or subcontractor. - Whenever an
employer enters into a contract with another person for
the performance of the former’s work, the employees of
the contractor and of the latter’s subcontractor, if any,
shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of this
Code.
In the event that the contractor or subcontractor fails to
pay the wages of his employees in accordance with this
Code, the employer shall be jointly and severally liable
with his contractor or subcontractor to such employees
to the extent of the work performed under the contract,
in the same manner and extent that he is liable to
employees directly employed by him.
The Secretary of Labor and Employment may, by
appropriate regulations, restrict or prohibit the
contracting-out of labor to protect the rights of workers
established under this Code. In so prohibiting or
restricting, he may make appropriate distinctions
between labor-only contracting and job contracting as
well as differentiations within these types of contracting
and determine who among the parties involved shall be
considered the employer for purposes of this Code, to
prevent any violation or circumvention of any provision
of this Code.
There is "labor-only" contracting where the person
supplying workers to an employer does not have
substantial capital or investment in the form of tools,
equipment, machineries, work premises, among others,
and the workers recruited and placed by such person are
performing activities which are directly related to the
principal business of such employer. In such cases, the
person or intermediary shall be considered merely as an
agent of the employer who shall be responsible to the
workers in the same manner and extent as if the latter
were directly employed by him.
ART. 107. Indirect employer. - The provisions of the
immediately preceding ART. shall likewise apply to any
person, partnership, association or corporation which,
not being an employer, contracts with an independent
contractor for the performance of any work, task, job or
project.
ART. 108. Posting of bond. - An employer or indirect
employer may require the contractor or subcontractor to
furnish a bond equal to the cost of labor under contract,
on condition that the bond will answer for the wages
due the employees should the contractor or
subcontractor, as the case may be, fail to pay the same.
ART. 109. Solidary liability. - The provisions of existing
laws to the contrary notwithstanding, every employer or
indirect employer shall be held responsible with his
contractor or subcontractor for any violation of any
provision of this Code. For purposes of determining the
extent of their civil liability under this Chapter, they
shall be considered as direct employers.
ART. 110. Worker preference in case of bankruptcy. - In the
event of bankruptcy or liquidation of an employer’s
business, his workers shall enjoy first preference as
regards their wages and other monetary claims, any
provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding. Such
unpaid wages and monetary claims shall be paid in full
before claims of the government and other creditors may
be paid. (As amended by Section 1, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 111. Attorney’s fees. - (a) In cases of unlawful
withholding of wages, the culpable party may be
assessed attorney’s fees equivalent to ten percent of the
amount of wages recovered.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to demand or
accept, in any judicial or administrative proceedings for
the recovery of wages, attorney’s fees which exceed ten
percent of the amount of wages recovered.

Chapter IV
 PROHIBITIONS REGARDING WAGES

ART. 112. Non-interference in disposal of wages. - No

employer shall limit or otherwise interfere with the
freedom of any employee to dispose of his wages. He
shall not in any manner force, compel, or oblige his
employees to purchase merchandise, commodities or
other property from any other person, or otherwise
make use of any store or services of such employer or
any other person.
ART. 113. Wage deduction. - No employer, in his own
behalf or in behalf of any person, shall make any
deduction from the wages of his employees, except:
(a) In cases where the worker is insured with his consent
by the employer, and the deduction is to recompense the
employer for the amount paid by him as premium on
the insurance;
(b) For union dues, in cases where the right of the
worker or his union to check-off has been recognized by
the employer or authorized in writing by the individual
worker concerned; and
(c) In cases where the employer is authorized by law or
regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor and
Employment.
ART. 114. Deposits for loss or damage. - No employer shall
require his worker to make deposits from which
deductions shall be made for the reimbursement of loss
of or damage to tools, materials, or equipment supplied
by the employer, except when the employer is engaged
in such trades, occupations or business where the
practice of making deductions or requiring deposits is a
recognized one, or is necessary or desirable as
determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment
in appropriate rules and regulations.
ART. 115. Limitations. - No deduction from the deposits
of an employee for the actual amount of the loss or
damage shall be made unless the employee has been
heard thereon, and his responsibility has been clearly
shown.
ART. 116. Withholding of wages and kickbacks prohibited. - It
shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly,
to withhold any amount from the wages of a worker or
induce him to give up any part of his wages by force,
stealth, intimidation, threat or by any other means
whatsoever without the worker’s consent.
ART. 117. Deduction to ensure employment. - It shall be
unlawful to make any deduction from the wages of any
employee for the benefit of the employer or his
representative or intermediary as consideration of a
promise of employment or retention in employment.
ART. 118. Retaliatory measures. - It shall be unlawful for
an employer to refuse to pay or reduce the wages and
benefits, discharge or in any manner discriminate
against any employee who has filed any complaint or
instituted any proceeding under this Title or has testified
or is about to testify in such proceedings.
ART. 119. False reporting. - It shall be unlawful for any
person to make any statement, report, or record filed or
kept pursuant to the provisions of this Code knowing
such statement, report or record to be false in any
material respect.
Chapter V
WAGE STUDIES, WAGE AGREEMENTS
AND WAGE DETERMINATION
ART. 120. Creation of National Wages and Productivity
Commission. - There is hereby created a National Wages
and Productivity Commission, hereinafter referred to as
the Commission, which shall be attached to the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for
policy and program coordination. (As amended by
Republic Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 121. Powers and functions of the Commission. - The
Commission shall have the following powers and
functions:
(a) To act as the national consultative and advisory body
to the President of the Philippines and Congress on
matters relating to wages, incomes and productivity;
(b) To formulate policies and guidelines on wages,
incomes and productivity improvement at the enterprise,
industry and national levels;
(c) To prescribe rules and guidelines for the
determination of appropriate minimum wage and
productivity measures at the regional, provincial, or
industry levels;
(d) To review regional wage levels set by the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards to determine
if these are in accordance with prescribed guidelines and
national development plans;
(e) To undertake studies, researches and surveys
necessary for the attainment of its functions and
objectives, and to collect and compile data and
periodically disseminate information on wages and
productivity and other related information, including,
but not limited to, employment, cost-of-living, labor
costs, investments and returns;
(f) To review plans and programs of the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards to determine
whether these are consistent with national development
plans;
(g) To exercise technical and administrative supervision
over the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity
Boards;
(h) To call, from time to time, a national tripartite
conference of representatives of government, workers
and employers for the consideration of measures to
promote wage rationalization and productivity; and
(i) To exercise such powers and functions as may be
necessary to implement this Act.
The Commission shall be composed of the Secretary of
Labor and Employment as ex-officio chairman, the
Director-General of the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) as ex-officio vice-
chairman, and two (2) members each from workers’ and
employers’ sectors who shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines upon recommendation of
the Secretary of Labor and Employment to be made on
the basis of the list of nominees submitted by the
workers’ and employers’ sectors, respectively, and who
shall serve for a term of five (5) years. The Executive
Director of the Commission shall also be a member of
the Commission.
The Commission shall be assisted by a Secretariat to be
headed by an Executive Director and two (2) Deputy
Directors, who shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Secretary
of Labor and Employment.
The Executive Director shall have the same rank, salary,
benefits and other emoluments as that of a Department
Assistant Secretary, while the Deputy Directors shall
have the same rank, salary, benefits and other
emoluments as that of a Bureau Director. The members
of the Commission representing labor and management
shall have the same rank, emoluments, allowances and
other benefits as those prescribed by law for labor and
management representatives in the Employees’
Compensation Commission. (As amended by Republic
Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 122. Creation of Regional Tripartite Wages and
Productivity Boards. - There is hereby created Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards, hereinafter
referred to as Regional Boards, in all regions, including
autonomous regions as may be established by law. The
Commission shall determine the offices/headquarters of
the respective Regional Boards.
The Regional Boards shall have the following powers
and functions in their respective territorial jurisdictions:
(a) To develop plans, programs and projects relative to
wages, incomes and productivity improvement for their
respective regions;
(b) To determine and fix minimum wage rates applicable
in their regions, provinces or industries therein and to
issue the corresponding wage orders, subject to
guidelines issued by the Commission;
(c) To undertake studies, researches, and surveys
necessary for the attainment of their functions, objectives
and programs, and to collect and compile data on wages,
incomes, productivity and other related information and
periodically disseminate the same;
(d) To coordinate with the other Regional Boards as may
be necessary to attain the policy and intention of this
Code;
(e) To receive, process and act on applications for
exemption from prescribed wage rates as may be
provided by law or any Wage Order; and
(f) To exercise such other powers and functions as may
be necessary to carry out their mandate under this Code.
Implementation of the plans, programs, and projects of
the Regional Boards referred to in the second paragraph,
letter (a) of this ART. , shall be through the respective
regional offices of the Department of Labor and
Employment within their territorial jurisdiction; Provided,
however, That the Regional Boards shall have technical
supervision over the regional office of the Department of
Labor and Employment with respect to the
implementation of said plans, programs and projects.
Each Regional Board shall be composed of the Regional
Director of the Department of Labor and Employment as
chairman, the Regional Directors of the National
Economic and Development Authority and the
Department of Trade and Industry as vice-chairmen and
two (2) members each from workers’ and employers’
sectors who shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Secretary
of Labor and Employment, to be made on the basis of
the list of nominees submitted by the workers’ and
employers’ sectors, respectively, and who shall serve for
a term of five (5) years.
Each Regional Board to be headed by its chairman shall
be assisted by a Secretariat. (As amended by Republic
Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 123. Wage Order. - Whenever conditions in the
region so warrant, the Regional Board shall investigate
and study all pertinent facts; and based on the standards
and criteria herein prescribed, shall proceed to
determine whether a Wage Order should be issued. Any
such Wage Order shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
from its complete publication in at least one (1)
newspaper of general circulation in the region.
In the performance of its wage-determining functions,
the Regional Board shall conduct public
hearings/consultations, giving notices to employees’
and employers’ groups, provincial, city and municipal
officials and other interested parties.
Any party aggrieved by the Wage Order issued by the
Regional Board may appeal such order to the
Commission within ten (10) calendar days from the
publication of such order. It shall be mandatory for the
Commission to decide such appeal within sixty (60)
calendar days from the filing thereof.
The filing of the appeal does not stay the order unless
the person appealing such order shall file with the
Commission, an undertaking with a surety or sureties
satisfactory to the Commission for the payment to the
employees affected by the order of the corresponding
increase, in the event such order is affirmed. (As
amended by Republic Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 124. Standards/Criteria for minimum wage fixing. -
The regional minimum wages to be established by the
Regional Board shall be as nearly adequate as is
economically feasible to maintain the minimum
standards of living necessary for the health, efficiency
and general well-being of the employees within the
framework of the national economic and social
development program. In the determination of such
regional minimum wages, the Regional Board shall,
among other relevant factors, consider the following:
(a) The demand for living wages;
(b) Wage adjustment vis-à-vis the consumer price index;
(c) The cost of living and changes or increases therein;
(d) The needs of workers and their families;
(e) The need to induce industries to invest in the
countryside;
(f) Improvements in standards of living;
(g) The prevailing wage levels;
(h) Fair return of the capital invested and capacity to pay
of employers;
(i) Effects on employment generation and family income;
and
(j) The equitable distribution of income and wealth along
the imperatives of economic and social development.
The wages prescribed in accordance with the provisions
of this Title shall be the standard prevailing minimum
wages in every region. These wages shall include wages
varying with industries, provinces or localities if in the
judgment of the Regional Board, conditions make such
local differentiation proper and necessary to effectuate
the purpose of this Title.
Any person, company, corporation, partnership or any
other entity engaged in business shall file and register
annually with the appropriate Regional Board,
Commission and the National Statistics Office, an
itemized listing of their labor component, specifying the
names of their workers and employees below the
managerial level, including learners, apprentices and
disabled/handicapped workers who were hired under
the terms prescribed in the employment contracts, and
their corresponding salaries and wages.
Where the application of any prescribed wage increase
by virtue of a law or wage order issued by any Regional
Board results in distortions of the wage structure within
an establishment, the employer and the union shall
negotiate to correct the distortions. Any dispute arising
from wage distortions shall be resolved through the
grievance procedure under their collective bargaining
agreement and, if it remains unresolved, through
voluntary arbitration. Unless otherwise agreed by the
parties in writing, such dispute shall be decided by the
voluntary arbitrators within ten (10) calendar days from
the time said dispute was referred to voluntary
arbitration.
In cases where there are no collective agreements or
recognized labor unions, the employers and workers
shall endeavor to correct such distortions. Any dispute
arising therefrom shall be settled through the National
Conciliation and Mediation Board and, if it remains
unresolved after ten (10) calendar days of conciliation,
shall be referred to the appropriate branch of the
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). It shall
be mandatory for the NLRC to conduct continuous
hearings and decide the dispute within twenty (20)
calendar days from the time said dispute is submitted
for compulsory arbitration.
The pendency of a dispute arising from a wage
distortion shall not in any way delay the applicability of
any increase in prescribed wage rates pursuant to the
provisions of law or wage order.
As used herein, a wage distortion shall mean a situation
where an increase in prescribed wage rates results in the
elimination or severe contraction of intentional
quantitative differences in wage or salary rates between
and among employee groups in an establishment as to
effectively obliterate the distinctions embodied in such
wage structure based on skills, length of service, or other
logical bases of differentiation.
All workers paid by result, including those who are paid
on piecework, takay, pakyaw or task basis, shall receive
not less than the prescribed wage rates per eight (8)
hours of work a day, or a proportion thereof for working
less than eight (8) hours.
All recognized learnership and apprenticeship
agreements shall be considered automatically modified
insofar as their wage clauses are concerned to reflect the
prescribed wage rates. (As amended by Republic Act No.
6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 125. Freedom to bargain. - No wage order shall be
construed to prevent workers in particular firms or
enterprises or industries from bargaining for higher
wages with their respective employers. (As amended by
Republic Act No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
ART. 126. Prohibition against injunction. – No preliminary
or permanent injunction or temporary restraining order
may be issued by any court, tribunal or other entity
against any proceedings before the Commission or the
Regional Boards. (As amended by Republic Act No. 6727,
June 9, 1989).
ART. 127. Non-diminution of benefits. - No wage order
issued by any regional board shall provide for wage
rates lower than the statutory minimum wage rates
prescribed by Congress. (As amended by Republic Act
No. 6727, June 9, 1989).
Chapter VI
ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
ART. 128. Visitorial and enforcement power. - (a) The
Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly
authorized representatives, including labor regulation
officers, shall have access to employer’s records and
premises at any time of the day or night whenever work
is being undertaken therein, and the right to copy
therefrom, to question any employee and investigate
any fact, condition or matter which may be necessary to
determine violations or which may aid in the
enforcement of this Code and of any labor law, wage
order or rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of ART. s 129 and
217 of this Code to the contrary, and in cases where the
relationship of employer-employee still exists, the
Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly
authorized representatives shall have the power to issue
compliance orders to give effect to the labor standards
provisions of this Code and other labor legislation based
on the findings of labor employment and enforcement
officers or industrial safety engineers made in the course
of inspection. The Secretary or his duly authorized
representatives shall issue writs of execution to the
appropriate authority for the enforcement of their orders,
except in cases where the employer contests the findings
of the labor employment and enforcement officer and
raises issues supported by documentary proofs which
were not considered in the course of inspection. (As
amended by Republic Act No. 7730, June 2, 1994).
An order issued by the duly authorized representative
of the Secretary of Labor and Employment under this
ART. may be appealed to the latter. In case said order
involves a monetary award, an appeal by the employer
may be perfected only upon the posting of a cash or
surety bond issued by a reputable bonding company
duly accredited by the Secretary of Labor and
Employment in the amount equivalent to the monetary
award in the order appealed from. (As amended by
Republic Act No. 7730, June 2, 1994).
(c) The Secretary of Labor and Employment may
likewise order stoppage of work or suspension of
operations of any unit or department of an
establishment when non-compliance with the law or
implementing rules and regulations poses grave and
imminent danger to the health and safety of workers in
the workplace. Within twenty-four hours, a hearing shall
be conducted to determine whether an order for the
stoppage of work or suspension of operations shall be
lifted or not. In case the violation is attributable to the
fault of the employer, he shall pay the employees
concerned their salaries or wages during the period of
such stoppage of work or suspension of operation.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to
obstruct, impede, delay or otherwise render ineffective
the orders of the Secretary of Labor and Employment or
his duly authorized representatives issued pursuant to
the authority granted under this ART. , and no inferior
court or entity shall issue temporary or permanent
injunction or restraining order or otherwise assume
jurisdiction over any case involving the enforcement
orders issued in accordance with this ART. .
(e) Any government employee found guilty of violation
of, or abuse of authority, under this ART. shall, after
appropriate administrative investigation, be subject to
summary dismissal from the service.
(f) The Secretary of Labor and Employment may, by
appropriate regulations, require employers to keep and
maintain such employment records as may be necessary
in aid of his visitorial and enforcement powers under
this Code.
ART. 129. Recovery of wages, simple money claims and other
benefits. - Upon complaint of any interested party, the
Regional Director of the Department of Labor and
Employment or any of the duly authorized hearing
officers of the Department is empowered, through
summary proceeding and after due notice, to hear and
decide any matter involving the recovery of wages and
other monetary claims and benefits, including legal
interest, owing to an employee or person employed in
domestic or household service or househelper under this
Code, arising from employer-employee relations:
Provided, That such complaint does not include a claim
for reinstatement: Provided further, That the aggregate
money claims of each employee or househelper does not
exceed Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00). The Regional
Director or hearing officer shall decide or resolve the
complaint within thirty (30) calendar days from the date
of the filing of the same. Any sum thus recovered on
behalf of any employee or househelper pursuant to this
ART. shall be held in a special deposit account by, and
shall be paid on order of, the Secretary of Labor and
Employment or the Regional Director directly to the
employee or househelper concerned. Any such sum not
paid to the employee or househelper because he cannot
be located after diligent and reasonable effort to locate
him within a period of three (3) years, shall be held as a
special fund of the Department of Labor and
Employment to be used exclusively for the amelioration
and benefit of workers.
Any decision or resolution of the Regional Director or
hearing officer pursuant to this provision may be
appealed on the same grounds provided in ART. 223 of
this Code, within five (5) calendar days from receipt of a
copy of said decision or resolution, to the National Labor
Relations Commission which shall resolve the appeal
within ten (10) calendar days from the submission of the
last pleading required or allowed under its rules.
The Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly
authorized representative may supervise the payment of
unpaid wages and other monetary claims and benefits,
including legal interest, found owing to any employee or
househelper under this Code. (As amended by Section 2,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
Title III
WORKING CONDITIONS FOR
 SPECIAL GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES
Chapter I
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
ART. 130. Nightwork prohibition. - No woman, regardless
of age, shall be employed or permitted or suffered to
work, with or without compensation:
(a) In any industrial undertaking or branch thereof
between ten o’clock at night and six o’clock in the
morning of the following day; or
(b) In any commercial or non-industrial undertaking or
branch thereof, other than agricultural, between
midnight and six o’clock in the morning of the following
day; or
(c) In any agricultural undertaking at nighttime unless
she is given a period of rest of not less than nine (9)
consecutive hours.
ART. 131. Exceptions. - The prohibitions prescribed by
the preceding ART. shall not apply in any of the
following cases:
(a) In cases of actual or impending emergencies caused
by serious accident, fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake,
epidemic or other disasters or calamity, to prevent loss
of life or property, or in cases of force majeure or
imminent danger to public safety;
(b) In case of urgent work to be performed on
machineries, equipment or installation, to avoid serious
loss which the employer would otherwise suffer;
(c) Where the work is necessary to prevent serious loss
of perishable goods;
(d) Where the woman employee holds a responsible
position of managerial or technical nature, or where the
woman employee has been engaged to provide health
and welfare services;
(e) Where the nature of the work requires the manual
skill and dexterity of women workers and the same
cannot be performed with equal efficiency by male
workers;
(f) Where the women employees are immediate
members of the family operating the establishment or
undertaking; and
(g) Under other analogous cases exempted by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate
regulations.
ART. 132. Facilities for women. - The Secretary of Labor
and Employment shall establish standards that will
ensure the safety and health of women employees. In
appropriate cases, he shall, by regulations, require any
employer to:
(a) Provide seats proper for women and permit them to
use such seats when they are free from work and during
working hours, provided they can perform their duties
in this position without detriment to efficiency;
(b) To establish separate toilet rooms and lavatories for
men and women and provide at least a dressing room
for women;
(c) To establish a nursery in a workplace for the benefit
of the women employees therein; and
(d) To determine appropriate minimum age and other
standards for retirement or termination in special
occupations such as those of flight attendants and the
like.
ART. 133. Maternity leave benefits. - (a) Every employer
shall grant to any pregnant woman employee who has
rendered an aggregate service of at least six (6) months
for the last twelve (12) months, maternity leave of at
least two (2) weeks prior to the expected date of delivery
and another four (4) weeks after normal delivery or
abortion with full pay based on her regular or average
weekly wages. The employer may require from any
woman employee applying for maternity leave the
production of a medical certificate stating that delivery
will probably take place within two weeks.
(b) The maternity leave shall be extended without pay
on account of illness medically certified to arise out of
the pregnancy, delivery, abortion or miscarriage, which
renders the woman unfit for work, unless she has earned
unused leave credits from which such extended leave
may be charged.
(c) The maternity leave provided in this ART. shall be
paid by the employer only for the first four (4) deliveries
by a woman employee after the effectivity of this Code.
ART. 134. Family Planning Services; Incentives for Family
Planning. - (a) Establishments which are required by law
to maintain a clinic or infirmary shall provide free family
planning services to their employees which shall include,
but not be limited to, the application or use of
contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices.
(b) In coordination with other agencies of the government
engaged in the promotion of family planning, the
Department of Labor and Employment shall develop and
prescribe incentive bonus schemes to encourage family
planning among female workers in any establishment or
enterprise.
ART. 135. Discrimination Prohibited. – It shall be unlawful
for any employer to discriminate against any woman
employee with respect to terms and conditions of
employment solely on account of her sex.
The following are acts of discrimination:
(a) Payment of a lesser compensation, including wage,
salary or other form of remuneration and fringe benefits,
to a female employee as against a male employee, for
work of equal value; and
(b) Favoring a male employee over a female employee
with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study
and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes.

Criminal liability for the willful commission of any

unlawful act as provided in this ART. or any violation of
the rules and regulations issued pursuant to Section 2
hereof shall be penalized as provided in ART. s 288 and
289 of this Code: Provided, That the institution of any
criminal action under this provision shall not bar the
aggrieved employee from filing an entirely separate and
distinct action for money claims, which may include
claims for damages and other affirmative reliefs. The
actions hereby authorized shall proceed independently of
each other. (As amended by Republic Act No. 6725, May
12, 1989).
ART. 137. Prohibited Acts. – (a) It shall be unlawful for any
employer:
(1) To deny any woman employee the benefits provided
for in this Chapter or to discharge any woman employed
by him for the purpose of preventing her from enjoying
any of the benefits provided under this Code;
(2) To discharge such woman on account of her
pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to her
pregnancy;
(3) To discharge or refuse the admission of such woman
upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be
pregnant.
ART. 138. Classification of Certain Women Workers. – Any
woman who is permitted or suffered to work, with or
without compensation, in any night club, cocktail lounge,
massage clinic, bar or similar establishments under the
effective control or supervision of the employer for a
substantial period of time as determined by the Secretary
of Labor and Employment, shall be considered as an
employee of such establishment for purposes of labor and
social legislation.
Chapter II
 EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS
ART. 139. Minimum Employable Age. - (a) No child below
fifteen (15) years of age shall be employed, except when
he works directly under the sole responsibility of his
parents or guardian, and his employment does not in any
way interfere with his schooling.
(b) Any person between fifteen (15) and eighteen (18)
years of age may be employed for such number of hours
and such periods of the day as determined by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment in appropriate
regulations.
(c) The foregoing provisions shall in no case allow the
employment of a person below eighteen (18) years of age
in an undertaking which is hazardous or deleterious in
nature as determined by the Secretary of Labor and
Employment.
ART. 140. Prohibition Against Child Discrimination. - No
employer shall discriminate against any person in respect
to terms and conditions of employment on account of his
age.
Chapter III
EMPLOYMENT OF HOUSEHELPERS
ART. 141. Coverage. - This Chapter shall apply to all
persons rendering services in households for
compensation.
“Domestic or household service” shall mean service in the
employer’s home which is usually necessary or desirable
for the maintenance and enjoyment thereof and includes
ministering to the personal comfort and convenience of
the members of the employer’s household, including
services of family drivers.

ART. 142. Contract of Domestic Service. – The original

contract of domestic service shall not last for more than
two (2) years but it may be renewed for such periods as
may be agreed upon by the parties.
ART. 143. Minimum Wage. – (a) Househelpers shall be
paid the following minimum wage rates:
(1) Eight hundred pesos (P800.00) a month for
househelpers in Manila, Quezon, Pasay, and Caloocan
cities and municipalities of Makati, San Juan,
Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Malabon,
Paranaque, Las Piñas, Pasig, Marikina, Valenzuela,
Taguig and Pateros in Metro Manila and in highly
urbanized cities;
(2) Six hundred fifty pesos (P650.00) a month for those in
other chartered cities and first-class municipalities; and
(3) Five hundred fifty pesos (P550.00) a month for those in
other municipalities.
Provided, That the employers shall review the
employment contracts of their househelpers every three
(3) years with the end in view of improving the terms and
conditions thereof.
Provided, further, That those househelpers who are
receiving at least One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) shall be
covered by the Social Security System (SSS) and be
entitled to all the benefits provided thereunder. (As
amended by Republic Act No. 7655, August 19, 1993).
ART. 144. Minimum Cash Wage. – The minimum wage
rates prescribed under this Chapter shall be the basic cash
wages which shall be paid to the househelpers in addition
to lodging, food and medical attendance.
ART. 145. Assignment to Non-Household Work. – No
househelper shall be assigned to work in a commercial,
industrial or agricultural enterprise at a wage or salary
rate lower than that provided for agricultural or non-
agricultural workers as prescribed herein.
ART. 146. Opportunity for Education. – If the househelper is
under the age of eighteen (18) years, the employer shall
give him or her an opportunity for at least elementary
education. The cost of education shall be part of the
househelper’s compensation, unless there is a stipulation
to the contrary.
ART. 147. Treatment of Househelpers. – The employer shall
treat the househelper in a just and humane manner. In no
case shall physical violence be used upon the househelper.
ART. 148. Board, Lodging, and Medical Attendance. – The
employer shall furnish the househelper, free of charge,
suitable and sanitary living quarters as well as adequate
food and medical attendance.
ART. 149. Indemnity for Unjust Termination of Services. – If
the period of household service is fixed, neither the
employer nor the househelper may terminate the contract
before the expiration of the term, except for a just cause. If
the househelper is unjustly dismissed, he or she shall be
paid the compensation already earned plus that for fifteen
(15) days by way of indemnity.
If the househelper leaves without justifiable reason, he or
she shall forfeit any unpaid salary due him or her not
exceeding fifteen (15) days.
ART. 150. Service of Termination Notice. – If the duration of
the household service is not determined either in
stipulation or by the nature of the service, the employer
or the househelper may give notice to put an end to the
relationship five (5) days before the intended termination
of the service.
ART. 151. Employment Certification. – Upon the severance
of the household service relation, the employer shall give
the househelper a written statement of the nature and
duration of the service and his or her efficiency and
conduct as househelper.
ART. 152. Employment Record. – The employer may keep
such records as he may deem necessary to reflect the
actual terms and conditions of employment of his
househelper, which the latter shall authenticate by
signature or thumbmark upon request of the employer.
Chapter IV
EMPLOYMENT OF HOMEWORKERS
ART. 153. Regulation of Industrial Homeworkers. - The
employment of industrial homeworkers and field
personnel shall be regulated by the government through
the appropriate regulations issued by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment to ensure the general welfare and
protection of homeworkers and field personnel and the
industries employing them.
ART. 154. Regulations of Secretary of Labor. – The
regulations or orders to be issued pursuant to this
Chapter shall be designed to assure the minimum terms
and conditions of employment applicable to the industrial
homeworkers or field personnel involved.
ART. 155. Distribution of Homework. – For purposes of this
Chapter, the “employer” of homeworkers includes any
person, natural or artificial who, for his account or benefit,
or on behalf of any person residing outside the country,
directly or indirectly, or through an employee, agent
contractor, sub-contractor or any other person:
(1) Delivers, or causes to be delivered, any goods, ART. s
or materials to be processed or fabricated in or about a
home and thereafter to be returned or to be disposed of or
distributed in accordance with his directions; or
(2) Sells any goods, ART. s or materials to be processed or
fabricated in or about a home and then rebuys them after
such processing or fabrication, either by himself or
through some other person.
BOOK FOUR
HEALTH, SAFETY
AND SOCIAL WELFARE BENEFITS
Title I
MEDICAL, DENTAL
 AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
Chapter I
MEDICAL AND DENTAL SERVICES
ART. 156. First-Aid Treatment. – Every employer shall
keep in his establishment such first-aid medicines and
equipment as the nature and conditions of work may
require, in accordance with such regulations as the
Department of Labor and Employment shall prescribe.
The employer shall take steps for the training of a
sufficient number of employees in first-aid treatment.

ART. 157. Emergency Medical and Dental Services. – It shall

be the duty of every employer to furnish his employees in
any locality with free medical and dental attendance and
facilities consisting of:
(a) The services of a full-time registered nurse when the
number of employees exceeds fifty (50) but not more than
two hundred (200) except when the employer does not
maintain hazardous workplaces, in which case, the
services of a graduate first-aider shall be provided for the
protection of workers, where no registered nurse is
available. The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall
provide by appropriate regulations, the services that shall
be required where the number of employees does not
exceed fifty (50) and shall determine by appropriate order,
hazardous workplaces for purposes of this ART. ;
(b) The services of a full-time registered nurse, a part-time
physician and dentist, and an emergency clinic, when the
number of employees exceeds two hundred (200) but not
more than three hundred (300); and
(c) The services of a full-time physician, dentist and a full-
time registered nurse as well as a dental clinic and an
infirmary or emergency hospital with one bed capacity
for every one hundred (100) employees when the number
of employees exceeds three hundred (300).
In cases of hazardous workplaces, no employer shall
engage the services of a physician or a dentist who cannot
stay in the premises of the establishment for at least two
(2) hours, in the case of those engaged on part-time basis,
and not less than eight (8) hours, in the case of those
employed on full-time basis. Where the undertaking is
non-hazardous in nature, the physician and dentist may
be engaged on retainer basis, subject to such regulations
as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may prescribe
to insure immediate availability of medical and dental
treatment and attendance in case of emergency. (As
amended by Section 26, Presidential Decree No. 570-A,
November 1, 1974).
ART. 158. When Emergency Hospital Not Required. – The
requirement for an emergency hospital or dental clinic
shall not be applicable in case there is a hospital or dental
clinic which is accessible from the employer’s
establishment and he makes arrangement for the
reservation therein of the necessary beds and dental
facilities for the use of his employees.
ART. 159. Health Program. – The physician engaged by an
employer shall, in addition to his duties under this
Chapter, develop and implement a comprehensive
occupational health program for the benefit of the
employees of his employer.
ART. 160. Qualifications of Health Personnel. – The
physicians, dentists and nurses employed by employers
pursuant to this Chapter shall have the necessary training
in industrial medicine and occupational safety and health.
The Secretary of Labor and Employment, in consultation
with industrial, medical, and occupational safety and
health associations, shall establish the qualifications,
criteria and conditions of employment of such health
personnel.
ART. 161. Assistance of employer. - It shall be the duty of
any employer to provide all the necessary assistance to
ensure the adequate and immediate medical and dental
attendance and treatment to an injured or sick employee
in case of emergency.
Chapter II
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
ART. 162. Safety and health standards. - The Secretary of
Labor and Employment shall, by appropriate orders, set
and enforce mandatory occupational safety and health
standards to eliminate or reduce occupational safety and
health hazards in all workplaces and institute new, and
update existing, programs to ensure safe and healthful
working conditions in all places of employment.
ART. 163. Research. - It shall be the responsibility of the
Department of Labor and Employment to conduct
continuing studies and research to develop innovative
methods, techniques and approaches for dealing with
occupational safety and health problems; to discover
latent diseases by establishing causal connections
between diseases and work in environmental conditions;
and to develop medical criteria which will assure insofar
as practicable that no employee will suffer impairment
or diminution in health, functional capacity, or life
expectancy as a result of his work and working
conditions.
ART. 164. Training programs. - The Department of Labor
and Employment shall develop and implement training
programs to increase the number and competence of
personnel in the field of occupational safety and
industrial health.
ART. 165. Administration of safety and health laws. - (a) The
Department of Labor and Employment shall be solely
responsible for the administration and enforcement of
occupational safety and health laws, regulations and
standards in all establishments and workplaces
wherever they may be located; however, chartered cities
may be allowed to conduct industrial safety inspections
of establishments within their respective jurisdictions
where they have adequate facilities and competent
personnel for the purpose as determined by the
Department of Labor and Employment and subject to
national standards established by the latter.
(b) The Secretary of Labor and Employment may,
through appropriate regulations, collect reasonable fees
for the inspection of steam boilers, pressure vessels and
pipings and electrical installations, the test and approval
for safe use of materials, equipment and other safety
devices and the approval of plans for such materials,
equipment and devices. The fee so collected shall be
deposited in the national treasury to the credit of the
occupational safety and health fund and shall be
expended exclusively for the administration and
enforcement of safety and other labor laws administered
by the Department of Labor and Employment.

Title II
EMPLOYEES’ COMPENSATION
AND STATE INSURANCE FUND
Chapter I
POLICY AND DEFINITIONS
ART. 166. Policy. - The State shall promote and develop a
tax-exempt employees’ compensation program whereby
employees and their dependents, in the event of work-
connected disability or death, may promptly secure
adequate income benefit and medical related benefits.
ART. 167. Definition of terms. - As used in this Title,
unless the context indicates otherwise:
(a) "Code" means the Labor Code of the Philippines
instituted under Presidential Decree Numbered four
hundred forty-two, as amended.
(b) "Commission" means the Employees’ Compensation
Commission created under this Title.
(c) "SSS" means the Social Security System created
under Republic Act Numbered Eleven hundred sixty-
one, as amended.
(d) "GSIS" means the Government Service Insurance
System created under Commonwealth Act Numbered
One hundred eighty-six, as amended.
(e) "System" means the SSS or GSIS, as the case may be.
(f) "Employer" means any person, natural or juridical,
employing the services of the employee.
(g) "Employee" means any person compulsorily covered
by the GSIS under Commonwealth Act Numbered One
hundred eighty-six, as amended, including the members
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and any person
employed as casual, emergency, temporary, substitute
or contractual, or any person compulsorily covered by
the SSS under Republic Act Numbered Eleven hundred
sixty-one, as amended.
(h) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm,
association, trust, corporation or legal representative
thereof.
(i) "Dependent" means the legitimate, legitimated or
legally adopted or acknowledged natural child who is
unmarried, not gainfully employed, and not over
twenty-one (21) years of age or over twenty-one (21)
years of age provided he is incapacitated and incapable
of self-support due to a physical or mental defect which
is congenital or acquired during minority; the legitimate
spouse living with the employee and the parents of said
employee wholly dependent upon him for regular
support.
(j) "Beneficiaries" means the dependent spouse until
he/she remarries and dependent children, who are the
primary beneficiaries. In their absence, the dependent
parents and subject to the restrictions imposed on
dependent children, the illegitimate children and
legitimate descendants, who are the secondary
beneficiaries: Provided, That the dependent
acknowledged natural child shall be considered as a
primary beneficiary when there are no other dependent
children who are qualified and eligible for monthly
income benefit.
(k) "Injury" means any harmful change in the human
organism from any accident arising out of and in the
course of the employment.
(l) "Sickness" means any illness definitely accepted as an
occupational disease listed by the Commission, or any
illness caused by employment subject to proof that the
risk of contracting the same is increased by working
conditions. For this purpose, the Commission is
empowered to determine and approve occupational
diseases and work-related illnesses that may be
considered compensable based on peculiar hazards of
employment.
(m) "Death" means loss of life resulting from injury or
sickness.
(n) "Disability" means loss or impairment of a physical
or mental function resulting from injury or sickness.
(o) "Compensation" means all payments made under this
Title for income benefits and medical or related benefits.
(p) "Income benefit" means all payments made under this
Title to the providers of medical care, rehabilitation
services and hospital care.
(q) "Medical benefit" means all payments made under
this Title to the providers of medical care, rehabilitation
services and hospital care.
(r) "Related benefit" means all payments made under this
Title for appliances and supplies.
(s) "Appliances" means crutches, artificial aids and other
similar devices.
(t) "Supplies" means medicine and other medical, dental
or surgical items.
(u) "Hospital" means any medical facility, government or
private, authorized by law, an active member in good
standing of the Philippine Hospital Association and
accredited by the Commission.
(v) "Physician" means any doctor of medicine duly
licensed to practice in the Philippines, an active member
in good standing of the Philippine Medical Association
and accredited by the Commission.
(w) "Wages" or "Salary", insofar as they refer to the
computation of benefits defined in Republic Act No.
1161, as amended, for SSS and Presidential Decree No.
1146, as amended, for GSIS, respectively, except that
part in excess of Three Thousand Pesos.
(x) "Monthly salary credit" means the wage or salary base
for contributions as provided in Republic Act Numbered
Eleven hundred sixty-one, as amended, or the wages or
salary.
(y) "Average monthly salary credit" in the case of the SSS
means the result obtained by dividing the sum of the
monthly salary credits in the sixty-month period
immediately following the semester of death or
permanent disability by sixty (60), except where the
month of death or permanent disability falls within
eighteen (18) calendar months from the month of
coverage, in which case, it is the result obtained by
dividing the sum of all monthly salary credits paid prior
to the month of contingency by the total number of
calendar months of coverage in the same period.
(z) "Average daily salary credit" in the case of the SSS
means the result obtained by dividing the sum of the six
(6) highest monthly salary credits in the twelve-month
period immediately preceding the semester of sickness
or injury by one hundred eighty (180), except where the
month of injury falls within twelve (12) calendar months
from the first month of coverage, in which case it is the
result obtained by dividing the sum of all monthly
salary credits by thirty (30) times the number of calendar
months of coverage in the period.
In the case of the GSIS, the average daily salary credit
shall be the actual daily salary or wage, or the monthly
salary or wage divided by the actual number of working
days of the month of contingency.
(aa) "Quarter" means a period of three (3) consecutive
months ending on the last days of March, June,
September and December.
(bb) "Semester" means a period of two consecutive
quarters ending in the quarter of death, permanent
disability, injury or sickness.
(cc) "Replacement ratio" - The sum of twenty percent and
the quotient obtained by dividing three hundred by the
sum of three hundred forty and the average monthly
salary credit.
(dd) "Credited years of service" - For a member covered
prior to January, 1975, nineteen hundred seventy-five
minus the calendar year of coverage, plus the number of
calendar years in which six or more contributions have
been paid from January, 1975 up to the calendar year
containing the semester prior to the contingency. For a
member covered on or after January, 1975, the number
of calendar years in which six or more contributions
have been paid from the year of coverage up to the
calendar year containing the semester prior to the
contingency.
(ee) "Monthly income benefit" means the amount
equivalent to one hundred fifteen percent of the sum of
the average monthly salary credit multiplied by the
replacement ratio, and one and a half percent of the
average monthly salary credit for each credited year of
service in excess of ten years: Provided, That the
monthly income benefit shall in no case be less than two
hundred fifty pesos.

Chapter II
 COVERAGE AND LIABILITY
ART. 168. Compulsory coverage. - Coverage in the State
Insurance Fund shall be compulsory upon all employers
and their employees not over sixty (60) years of age:
Provided, That an employee who is over (60) years of
age and paying contributions to qualify for the
retirement or life insurance benefit administered by the
System shall be subject to compulsory coverage.
ART. 169. Foreign employment. - The Commission shall
ensure adequate coverage of Filipino employees
employed abroad, subject to regulations as it may
prescribe.
ART. 170. Effective date of coverage. - Compulsory
coverage of the employer during the effectivity of this
Title shall take effect on the first day of his operation,
and that of the employee, on the date of his employment.
ART. 171. Registration. - Each employer and his
employees shall register with the System in accordance
with its regulations.
ART. 172. Limitation of liability. - The State Insurance
Fund shall be liable for compensation to the employee or
his dependents, except when the disability or death was
occasioned by the employee’s intoxication, willful
intention to injure or kill himself or another, notorious
negligence, or otherwise provided under this Title.
ART. 173. Extent of liability. - Unless otherwise provided,
the liability of the State Insurance Fund under this Title
shall be exclusive and in place of all other liabilities of
the employer to the employee, his dependents or anyone
otherwise entitled to receive damages on behalf of the
employee or his dependents. The payment of
compensation under this Title shall not bar the recovery
of benefits as provided for in Section 699 of the Revised
Administrative Code, Republic Act Numbered Eleven
hundred sixty-one, as amended, Republic Act
Numbered Forty-eight hundred sixty-four as amended,
and other laws whose benefits are administered by the
System or by other agencies of the government. (As
amended by Presidential Decree No. 1921).
ART. 174. Liability of third party/ies. - (a) When the
disability or death is caused by circumstances creating a
legal liability against a third party, the disabled
employee or the dependents, in case of his death, shall
be paid by the System under this Title. In case benefit is
paid under this Title, the System shall be subrogated to
the rights of the disabled employee or the dependents, in
case of his death, in accordance with the general law.
(b) Where the System recovers from such third party
damages in excess of those paid or allowed under this
Title, such excess shall be delivered to the disabled
employee or other persons entitled thereto, after
deducting the cost of proceedings and expenses of the
System.
ART. 175. Deprivation of the benefits. - Except as otherwise
provided under this Title, no contract, regulation or
device whatsoever shall operate to deprive the employee
or his dependents of any part of the income benefits and
medical or related services granted under this Title.
Existing medical services being provided by the
employer shall be maintained and continued to be
enjoyed by their employees.
Chapter III
ADMINISTRATION
ART. 176. Employees’ Compensation Commission. - (a) To
initiate, rationalize, and coordinate the policies of the
employees’ compensation program, the Employees’
Compensation Commission is hereby created to be
composed of five ex-officio members, namely: the
Secretary of Labor and Employment as Chairman, the
GSIS General Manager, the SSS Administrator, the
Chairman of the Philippine Medical Care Commission,
and the Executive Director of the ECC Secretariat, and
two appointive members, one of whom shall represent
the employees and the other, the employers, to be
appointed by the President of the Philippines for a term
of six years. The appointive member shall have at least
five years experience in workmen’s compensation or
social security programs. All vacancies shall be filled for
the unexpired term only. (As amended by Section 19 [c],
Executive Order No. 126).
(b) The Vice Chairman of the Commission shall be
alternated each year between the GSIS General Manager
and the SSS Administrator. The presence of four
members shall constitute a quorum. Each member shall
receive a per diem of two hundred pesos for every
meeting that is actually attended by him, exclusive of
actual, ordinary and necessary travel and representation
expenses. In his absence, any member may designate an
official of the institution he serves on full-time basis as
his representative to act in his behalf. (As amended by
Section 2, Presidential Decree No. 1368).
(c) The general conduct of the operations and
management functions of the GSIS or SSS under this
Title shall be vested in its respective chief executive
officers, who shall be immediately responsible for
carrying out the policies of the Commission.
(d) The Commission shall have the status and category
of a government corporation, and it is hereby deemed
attached to the Department of Labor and Employment
for policy coordination and guidance. (As amended by
Section 2, Presidential Decree No. 1368).
ART. 177. Powers and duties. - The Commission shall
have the following powers and duties:
(a) To assess and fix a rate of contribution from all
employers;
(b) To determine the rate of contribution payable by an
employer whose records show a high frequency of work
accidents or occupational diseases due to failure by the
said employer to observe adequate safety measures;
(c) To approve rules and regulations governing the
processing of claims and the settlement of disputes
arising therefrom as prescribed by the System;
(d) To initiate policies and programs toward adequate
occupational health and safety and accident prevention
in the working environment, rehabilitation other than
those provided for under ART. 190 hereof, and other
related programs and activities, and to appropriate
funds therefor; (As amended by Section 3, Presidential
Decree No. 1368).
(e) To make the necessary actuarial studies and
calculations concerning the grant of constant help and
income benefits for permanent disability or death and
the rationalization of the benefits for permanent
disability and death under the Title with benefits
payable by the System for similar contingencies:
Provided, That the Commission may upgrade benefits
and add new ones subject to approval of the President:
and Provided, further, That the actuarial stability of the
State Insurance Fund shall be guaranteed: Provided,
finally, That such increases in benefits shall not require
any increases in contribution, except as provided for in
paragraph (b) hereof; (As amended by Section 3,
Presidential Decree No. 1641).
(f) To appoint the personnel of its staff, subject to civil
service law and rules, but exempt from WAPCO law
and regulations;
(g) To adopt annually a budget of expenditures of the
Commission and its staff chargeable against the State
Insurance Fund: Provided, That the SSS and GSIS shall
advance on a quarterly basis, the remittances of
allotment of the loading fund for the Commission’s
operational expenses based on its annual budget as duly
approved by the Department of Budget and
Management; (As amended by Section 3, Presidential
Decree No. 1921).
(h) To have the power to administer oath and
affirmation, and to issue subpoena and subpoena duces
tecum in connection with any question or issue arising
from appealed cases under this Title;
(i) To sue and be sued in court;
(j) To acquire property, real or personal, which may be
necessary or expedient for the attainment of the
purposes of this Title;
(k) To enter into agreements or contracts for such
services and as may be needed for the proper, efficient
and stable administration of the program;
(l) To perform such other acts as it may deem
appropriate for the attainment of the purposes of the
Commission and proper enforcement of the provisions
of this Title. (As amended by Section 18, Presidential
Decree No. 850).
ART. 178. Management of funds. - All revenues collected
by the System under this Title shall be deposited,
invested, administered and disbursed in the same
manner and under the same conditions, requirements
and safeguards as provided by Republic Act Numbered
eleven hundred sixty-one, as amended, with regard to
such other funds as are thereunder being paid to or
collected by the SSS and GSIS, respectively: Provided,
That the Commission, SSS and GSIS may disburse each
year not more than twelve percent of the contribution
and investment earnings collected for operational
expenses, including occupational health and safety
programs, incidental to the carrying out of this Title.
ART. 179. Investment of funds. - Provisions of existing
laws to the contrary notwithstanding, all revenues as are
not needed to meet current operational expenses under
this Title shall be accumulated in a fund to be known as
the State Insurance Fund, which shall be used
exclusively for payment of the benefits under this Title,
and no amount thereof shall be used for any other
purpose. All amounts accruing to the State Insurance
Fund, which is hereby established in the SSS and GSIS,
respectively, shall be deposited with any authorized
depository bank approved by the Commission, or
invested with due and prudent regard for the liquidity
needs of the System. (As amended by Section 4,
Presidential Decree No. 1368).
ART. 180. Settlement of claims. - The System shall have
original and exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute
arising from this Title with respect to coverage,
entitlement to benefits, collection and payment of
contributions and penalties thereon, or any other matter
related thereto, subject to appeal to the Commission,
which shall decide appealed cases within twenty (20)
working days from the submission of the evidence.
ART. 181. Review. - Decisions, orders or resolutions of
the Commission may be reviewed on certiorari by the
Supreme Court on question of law upon petition of an
aggrieved party within ten (10) days from notice thereof.
ART. 182. Enforcement of decisions. - (a) Any decision,
order or resolution of the Commission shall become final
and executory if no appeal is taken therefrom within ten
(10) days from notice thereof. All awards granted by the
Commission in cases appealed from decisions of the
System shall be effected within fifteen days from receipt
of notice.
(b) In all other cases, decisions, orders and resolutions of
the Commission which have become final and executory
shall be enforced and executed in the same manner as
decisions of the Court of First Instance, and the
Commission shall have the power to issue to the city or
provincial sheriff or to the sheriff whom it may appoint,
such writs of execution as may be necessary for the
enforcement of such decisions, orders or resolutions, and
any person who shall fail or refuse to comply therewith
shall, upon application by the Commission, be punished
by the proper court for contempt.
Chapter IV
 CONTRIBUTIONS
ART. 183. Employers’ contributions. - (a) Under such
regulations as the System may prescribe, beginning as of
the last day of the month when an employee’s
compulsory coverage takes effect and every month
thereafter during his employment, his employer shall
prepare to remit to the System a contribution equivalent
to one percent of his monthly salary credit.
(b) The rate of contribution shall be reviewed
periodically and subject to the limitations herein
provided, may be revised as the experience in risk, cost
of administration and actual or anticipated as well as
unexpected losses, may require.
(c) Contributions under this Title shall be paid in their
entirety by the employer and any contract or device for
the deductions of any portion thereof from the wages or
salaries of the employees shall be null and void.
(d) When a covered employee dies, becomes disabled or
is separated from employment, his employer’s
obligation to pay the monthly contribution arising from
that employment shall cease at the end of the month of
contingency and during such months that he is not
receiving wages or salary.
ART. 184. Government guarantee. - The Republic of the
Philippines guarantees the benefits prescribed under
this Title, and accepts general responsibility for the
solvency of the State Insurance Fund. In case of any
deficiency, the same shall be covered by supplemental
appropriations from the national government.
Chapter V
MEDICAL BENEFITS
ART. 185. Medical services. - Immediately after an
employee contracts sickness or sustains an injury, he
shall be provided by the System during the subsequent
period of his disability with such medical services and
appliances as the nature of his sickness or injury and
progress of his recovery may require, subject to the
expense limitation prescribed by the Commission.
ART. 186. Liability. - The System shall have the authority
to choose or order a change of physician, hospital or
rehabilitation facility for the employee, and shall not be
liable for compensation for any aggravation of the
employee’s injury or sickness resulting from
unauthorized changes by the employee of medical
services, appliances, supplies, hospitals, rehabilitation
facilities or physicians.
ART. 187. Attending physician. - Any physician attending
an injured or sick employee shall comply with all the
regulations of the System and submit reports in
prescribed forms at such time as may be required
concerning his condition or treatment. All medical
information relevant to the particular injury or sickness
shall, on demand, be made available to the employee or
the System. No information developed in connection
with treatment or examination for which compensation
is sought shall be considered as privileged
communication.
ART. 188. Refusal of examination or treatment. - If the
employee unreasonably refuses to submit to medical
examination or treatment, the System shall stop the
payment of further compensation during such time as
such refusal continues. What constitutes an
unreasonable refusal shall be determined by the System
which may, on its own initiative, determine the necessity,
character and sufficiency of any medical services
furnished or to be furnished.
ART. 189. Fees and other charges. - All fees and other
charges for hospital services, medical care and
appliances, including professional fees, shall not be
higher than those prevailing in wards of hospitals for
similar services to injured or sick persons in general and
shall be subject to the regulations of the Commission.
Professional fees shall only be appreciably higher than
those prescribed under Republic Act Numbered sixty-
one hundred eleven, as amended, otherwise known as
the Philippine Medical Care Act of 1969.
ART. 190. Rehabilitation services. - (a) The System shall, as
soon as practicable, establish a continuing program, for
the rehabilitation of injured and handicapped employees
who shall be entitled to rehabilitation services, which
shall consist of medical, surgical or hospital treatment,
including appliances if they have been handicapped by
the injury, to help them become physically independent.
(b) As soon as practicable, the System shall establish
centers equipped and staffed to provide a balanced
program of remedial treatment, vocational assessment
and preparation designed to meet the individual needs
of each handicapped employee to restore him to suitable
employment, including assistance as may be within its
resources, to help each rehabilitee to develop his mental,
vocational or social potential.
Chapter VI
DISABILITY BENEFITS
ART. 191. Temporary total disability. - (a) Under such
regulations as the Commission may approve, any
employee under this Title who sustains an injury or
contracts sickness resulting in temporary total disability
shall, for each day of such a disability or fraction thereof,
be paid by the System an income benefit equivalent to
ninety percent of his average daily salary credit, subject
to the following conditions: the daily income benefit
shall not be less than Ten Pesos nor more than Ninety
Pesos, nor paid for a continuous period longer than one
hundred twenty days, except as otherwise provided for
in the Rules, and the System shall be notified of the
injury or sickness. (As amended by Section 2, Executive
Order No. 179).
(b) The payment of such income benefit shall be in
accordance with the regulations of the Commission. (As
amended by Section 19, Presidential Decree No. 850).
ART. 192. Permanent total disability. - (a) Under such
regulations as the Commission may approve, any
employee under this Title who contracts sickness or
sustains an injury resulting in his permanent total
disability shall, for each month until his death, be paid
by the System during such a disability, an amount
equivalent to the monthly income benefit, plus ten
percent thereof for each dependent child, but not
exceeding five, beginning with the youngest and
without substitution: Provided, That the monthly
income benefit shall be the new amount of the monthly
benefit for all covered pensioners, effective upon
approval of this Decree.
(b) The monthly income benefit shall be guaranteed for
five years, and shall be suspended if the employee is
gainfully employed, or recovers from his permanent
total disability, or fails to present himself for
examination at least once a year upon notice by the
System, except as otherwise provided for in other laws,
decrees, orders or Letters of Instructions. (As amended
by Section 5, Presidential Decree No. 1641).
(c) The following disabilities shall be deemed total and
permanent:
(1) Temporary total disability lasting continuously for
more than one hundred twenty days, except as
otherwise provided for in the Rules;
(2) Complete loss of sight of both eyes;
(3) Loss of two limbs at or above the ankle or wrist;
(4) Permanent complete paralysis of two limbs;
(5) Brain injury resulting in incurable imbecility or
insanity; and
(6) Such cases as determined by the Medical Director of
the System and approved by the Commission.
(d) The number of months of paid coverage shall be
defined and approximated by a formula to be approved
by the Commission.
ART. 193. Permanent partial disability. - (a) Under such
regulations as the Commission may approve, any
employee under this Title who contracts sickness or
sustains an injury resulting in permanent partial
disability shall, for each month not exceeding the period
designated herein, be paid by the System during such a
disability an income benefit for permanent total
disability.
(b) The benefit shall be paid for not more than the period
designated in the following schedules:
Complete and permanent No. of Months
loss of the use of

One thumb - 10
One index finger - 8
One middle finger - 6
One ring finger - 5
One little finger - 3
One big toe - 6
One toe - 3
One arm - 50
One hand - 39
One foot - 31
One leg - 46
One ear - 10
Both ears - 20
Hearing of one ear - 10
Hearing of both ears - 50
Sight of one eye - 25
(c) A loss of a wrist shall be considered as a loss of the
hand, and a loss of an elbow shall be considered as a loss
of the arm. A loss of an ankle shall be considered as loss
of a foot, and a loss of a knee shall be considered as a
loss of the leg. A loss of more than one joint shall be
considered as a loss of one-half of the whole finger or toe:
Provided, That such a loss shall be either the functional
loss of the use or physical loss of the member. (As
amended by Section 7, Presidential Decree No. 1368).
(d) In case of permanent partial disability less than the
total loss of the member specified in the preceding
paragraph, the same monthly income benefit shall be
paid for a portion of the period established for the total
loss of the member in accordance with the proportion
that the partial loss bears to the total loss. If the result is
a decimal fraction, the same shall be rounded off to the
next higher integer.
(e) In cases of simultaneous loss of more than one
member or a part thereof as specified in this ART. , the
same monthly income benefit shall be paid for a period
equivalent to the sum of the periods established for the
loss of the member or the part thereof. If the result is a
decimal fraction, the same shall be rounded off to the
next higher integer.
(f) In cases of injuries or illnesses resulting in a
permanent partial disability not listed in the preceding
schedule, the benefit shall be an income benefit
equivalent to the percentage of the permanent loss of the
capacity to work. (As added by Section 7, Presidential
Decree No. 1368).
(g) Under such regulations as the Commission may
approve, the income benefit payable in case of
permanent partial disability may be paid in monthly
pension or in lump sum if the period covered does not
exceed one year. (As added by Section 7, Presidential
Decree No. 1368).
Chapter VII
DEATH BENEFITS
ART. 194. Death. - (a) Under such regulations as the
Commission may approve, the System shall pay to the
primary beneficiaries upon the death of the covered
employee under this Title, an amount equivalent to his
monthly income benefit, plus ten percent thereof for
each dependent child, but not exceeding five, beginning
with the youngest and without substitution, except as
provided for in paragraph (j) of ART. 167 hereof:
Provided, however, That the monthly income benefit
shall be guaranteed for five years: Provided, further,
That if he has no primary beneficiary, the System shall
pay to his secondary beneficiaries the monthly income
benefit but not to exceed sixty months: Provided, finally,
That the minimum death benefit shall not be less than
fifteen thousand pesos. (As amended by Section 4,
Presidential Decree No. 1921).
(b) Under such regulations as the Commission may
approve, the System shall pay to the primary
beneficiaries upon the death of a covered employee who
is under permanent total disability under this Title,
eighty percent of the monthly income benefit and his
dependents to the dependents’ pension: Provided, That
the marriage must have been validly subsisting at the
time of disability: Provided, further, That if he has no
primary beneficiary, the System shall pay to his
secondary beneficiaries the monthly pension excluding
the dependents’ pension, of the remaining balance of the
five-year guaranteed period: Provided, finally, That the
minimum death benefit shall not be less than fifteen
thousand pesos. (As amended by Section 4, Presidential
Decree No. 1921).
(c) The monthly income benefit provided herein shall be
the new amount of the monthly income benefit for the
surviving beneficiaries upon the approval of this decree.
(As amended by Section 8, Presidential Decree No. 1368).
(d) Funeral benefit. - A funeral benefit of Three thousand
pesos (P3,000.00) shall be paid upon the death of a
covered employee or permanently totally disabled
pensioner. (As amended by Section 3, Executive Order
No. 179).
Chapter VIII
PROVISIONS COMMON TO INCOME BENEFITS
ART. 195. Relationship and dependency. - All questions of
relationship and dependency shall be determined as of
the time of death.
ART. 196. Delinquent contributions. - (a) An employer
who is delinquent in his contributions shall be liable to
the System for the benefits which may have been paid
by the System to his employees or their dependents, and
any benefit and expenses to which such employer is
liable shall constitute a lien on all his property, real or
personal, which is hereby declared to be preferred to
any credit, except taxes. The payment by the employer
of the lump sum equivalent of such liability shall
absolve him from the payment of the delinquent
contribution and penalty thereon with respect to the
employee concerned.
(b) Failure or refusal of the employer to pay or remit the
contribution herein prescribed shall not prejudice the
right of the employee or his dependents to the benefits
under this Title. If the sickness, injury, disability or
death occurs before the System receives any report of the
name of his employee, the employer shall be liable to the
System for the lump sum equivalent to the benefits to
which such employee or his dependents may be entitled.
ART. 197. Second injuries. - If any employee under
permanent partial disability suffers another injury which
results in a compensable disability greater than the
previous injury, the State Insurance Fund shall be liable
for the income benefit of the new disability: Provided,
That if the new disability is related to the previous
disability, the System shall be liable only for the
difference in income benefits.
ART. 198. Assignment of benefits. - No claim for
compensation under this Title is transferable or liable to
tax, attachment, garnishment, levy or seizure by or
under any legal process whatsoever, either before or
after receipt by the person or persons entitled thereto,
except to pay any debt of the employee to the System.
ART. 199. Earned benefits. - Income benefits shall, with
respect to any period of disability, be payable in
accordance with this Title to an employee who is entitled
to receive wages, salaries or allowances for holidays,
vacation or sick leaves and any other award of benefit
under a collective bargaining or other agreement.
ART. 200. Safety devices. - In case the employee’s injury
or death was due to the failure of the employer to
comply with any law or to install and maintain safety
devices or to take other precautions for the prevention of
injury, said employer shall pay the State Insurance Fund
a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) of the lump sum
equivalent of the income benefit payable by the System
to the employee. All employers, specially those who
should have been paying a rate of contribution higher
than required of them under this Title, are enjoined to
undertake and strengthen measures for the occupational
health and safety of their employees.
ART. 201. Prescriptive period. - No claim for
compensation shall be given due course unless said
claim is filed with the System within three (3) years from
the time the cause of action accrued. (As amended by
Section 5, Presidential Decree No. 1921).
ART. 202. Erroneous payment. - (a) If the System in good
faith pays income benefit to a dependent who is inferior
in right to another dependent or with whom another
dependent is entitled to share, such payments shall
discharge the System from liability, unless and until
such other dependent notifies the System of his claim
prior to the payments.
(b) In case of doubt as to the respective rights of rival
claimants, the System is hereby empowered to
determine as to whom payments should be made in
accordance with such regulations as the Commission
may approve. If the money is payable to a minor or
incompetent, payment shall be made by the System to
such person or persons as it may consider to be best
qualified to take care and dispose of the minor’s or
incompetent’s property for his benefit.
ART. 203. Prohibition. - No agent, attorney or other
person pursuing or in charge of the preparation or filing
of any claim for benefit under this Title shall demand or
charge for his services any fee, and any stipulation to the
contrary shall be null and void. The retention or
deduction of any amount from any benefit granted
under this Title for the payment of fees for such services
is prohibited. Violation of any provision of this ART.
shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred
pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, or
imprisonment for not less than six months nor more
than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court.
ART. 204. Exemption from levy, tax, etc. - All laws to the
contrary notwithstanding, the State Insurance Fund and
all its assets shall be exempt from any tax, fee, charge,
levy, or customs or import duty and no law hereafter
enacted shall apply to the State Insurance Fund unless it
is provided therein that the same is applicable by
expressly stating its name.
Chapter IX
RECORDS, REPORTS AND PENAL PROVISIONS
ART. 205. Record of death or disability. - (a) All employers
shall keep a logbook to record chronologically the
sickness, injury or death of their employees, setting forth
therein their names, dates and places of the contingency,
nature of the contingency and absences. Entries in the
logbook shall be made within five days from notice or
knowledge of the occurrence of the contingency. Within
five days after entry in the logbook, the employer shall
report to the System only those contingencies he deems
to be work-connected.
(b) All entries in the employer’s logbook shall be made
by the employer or any of his authorized official after
verification of the contingencies or the employees’
absences for a period of a day or more. Upon request by
the System, the employer shall furnish the necessary
certificate regarding information about any contingency
appearing in the logbook, citing the entry number, page
number and date. Such logbook shall be made available
for inspection to the duly authorized representative of
the System.
(c) Should any employer fail to record in the logbook an
actual sickness, injury or death of any of his employees
within the period prescribed herein, give false
information or withhold material information already in
his possession, he shall be held liable for fifty percent of
the lump sum equivalent of the income benefit to which
the employee may be found to be entitled, the payment
of which shall accrue to the State Insurance Fund.
(d) In case of payment of benefits for any claim which is
later determined to be fraudulent and the employer is
found to be a party to the fraud, such employer shall
reimburse the System the full amount of the
compensation paid.
ART. 206. Notice of sickness, injury or death. - Notice of
sickness, injury or death shall be given to the employer
by the employee or by his dependents or anybody on his
behalf within five days from the occurrence of the
contingency. No notice to the employer shall be required
if the contingency is known to the employer or his
agents or representatives.
ART. 207. Penal provisions. - (a) The penal provisions of
Republic Act Numbered Eleven Hundred Sixty-One, as
amended, and Commonwealth Act Numbered One
Hundred Eighty-Six, as amended, with regard to the
funds as are thereunder being paid to, collected or
disbursed by the System, shall be applicable to the
collection, administration and disbursement of the
Funds under this Title. The penal provisions on
coverage shall also be applicable.
(b) Any person who, for the purpose of securing
entitlement to any benefit or payment under this Title,
or the issuance of any certificate or document for any
purpose connected with this Title, whether for him or
for some other person, commits fraud, collusion,
falsification, misrepresentation of facts or any other kind
of anomaly, shall be punished with a fine of not less than
five hundred pesos nor more than five thousand pesos
and an imprisonment for not less than six months nor
more than one year, at the discretion of the court.
(c) If the act penalized by this article is committed by
any person who has been or is employed by the
Commission or System, or a recidivist, the imprisonment
shall not be less than one year; if committed by a lawyer,
physician or other professional, he shall, in addition to
the penalty prescribed herein, be disqualified from the
practice of his profession; and if committed by any
official, employee or personnel of the Commission,
System or any government agency, he shall, in addition
to the penalty prescribed herein, be dismissed with
prejudice to re-employment in the government service.
ART. 208. Applicability. - This Title shall apply only to
injury, sickness, disability or death occurring on or after
January 1, 1975.
ART. 208-A. Repeal. - All existing laws, Presidential
Decrees and Letters of Instructions which are
inconsistent with or contrary to this Decree, are hereby
repealed: Provided, That in the case of the GSIS,
conditions for entitlement to benefits shall be governed
by the Labor Code, as amended: Provided, however,
That the formulas for computation of benefits, as well as
the contribution base, shall be those provided under
Commonwealth Act Numbered One Hundred Eighty-
Six, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1146, plus
twenty percent thereof. (As added by Section 9,
Presidential Decree No. 1368 [May 1, 1978] and
subsequently amended by Section 7, Presidential Decree
No. 1641).
 Title III
MEDICARE
ART. 209. Medical care. - The Philippine Medical Care
Plan shall be implemented as provided under Republic
Act Numbered Sixty-One Hundred Eleven, as
amended.
Title IV
ADULT EDUCATION
ART. 210. Adult education. - Every employer shall render
assistance in the establishment and operation of adult
education programs for their workers and employees as
prescribed by regulations jointly approved by the
Department of Labor and Employment and the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports.
BOOK FIVE
LABOR RELATIONS
Title I
POLICY AND DEFINITIONS
Chapter I
POLICY
ART. 211. Declaration of Policy. - A. It is the policy of the
State:
(a) To promote and emphasize the primacy of free
collective bargaining and negotiations, including
voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as
modes of settling labor or industrial disputes;
(b) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for
the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of
social justice and development;
(c) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a
strong and united labor movement;
(d) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning
their rights and obligations as union members and as
employees;
(e) To provide an adequate administrative machinery for
the expeditious settlement of labor or industrial disputes;
(f) To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial
peace; and
(g) To ensure the participation of workers in decision
and policy-making processes affecting their rights,
duties and welfare.
B. To encourage a truly democratic method of regulating
the relations between the employers and employees by
means of agreements freely entered into through
collective bargaining, no court or administrative agency
or official shall have the power to set or fix wages, rates
of pay, hours of work or other terms and conditions of
employment, except as otherwise provided under this
Code. (As amended by Section 3, Republic Act No. 6715,
March 21, 1989).
Chapter II
DEFINITIONS
ART. . 212. Definitions. - (a) "Commission" means the
National Labor Relations Commission or any of its
divisions, as the case may be, as provided under this
Code.
(b) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Labor Relations
and/or the Labor Relations Divisions in the regional
offices established under Presidential Decree No. 1, in
the Department of Labor.
(c) "Board" means the National Conciliation and
Mediation Board established under Executive Order No.
126.
(d) "Council" means the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration
Advisory Council established under Executive Order No.
126, as amended.
(e) "Employer" includes any person acting in the interest
of an employer, directly or indirectly. The term shall not
include any labor organization or any of its officers or
agents except when acting as employer.
(f) "Employee" includes any person in the employ of an
employer. The term shall not be limited to the
employees of a particular employer, unless the Code so
explicitly states. It shall include any individual whose
work has ceased as a result of or in connection with any
current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor
practice if he has not obtained any other substantially
equivalent and regular employment.
(g) "Labor organization" means any union or association
of employees which exists in whole or in part for the
purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with
employers concerning terms and conditions of
employment.
(h) "Legitimate labor organization" means any labor
organization duly registered with the Department of
Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or
local thereof.
(i) "Company union" means any labor organization
whose formation, function or administration has been
assisted by any act defined as unfair labor practice by
this Code.
(j) "Bargaining representative" means a legitimate labor
organization whether or not employed by the employer.
(k) "Unfair labor practice" means any unfair labor practice
as expressly defined by the Code.
(l) "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 employer
and employee.
(m) "Managerial employee" is one who is vested with the
powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute
management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend,
lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees.
Supervisory employees are those who, in the interest of
the employer, effectively recommend such managerial
actions if the exercise of such authority is not merely
routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of
independent judgment. All employees not falling within
any of the above definitions are considered rank-and-file
employees for purposes of this Book.
(n) "Voluntary Arbitrator" means any person accredited
by the Board as such or any person named or designated
in the Collective Bargaining Agreement by the parties to
act as their Voluntary Arbitrator, or one chosen with or
without the assistance of the National Conciliation and
Mediation Board, pursuant to a selection procedure
agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or
any official that may be authorized by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment to act as Voluntary Arbitrator
upon the written request and agreement of the parties to
a labor dispute.
(o) "Strike" means any temporary stoppage of work by
the concerted action of employees as a result of an
industrial or labor dispute.
(p) "Lockout" means any temporary refusal of an
employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial or
labor dispute.
(q) "Internal union dispute" includes all disputes or
grievances arising from any violation of or disagreement
over any provision of the constitution and by laws of a
union, including any violation of the rights and
conditions of union membership provided for in this
Code.
(r) "Strike-breaker" means any person who obstructs,
impedes, or interferes with by force, violence, coercion,
threats, or intimidation any peaceful picketing affecting
wages, hours or conditions of work or in the exercise of
the right of self-organization or collective bargaining.
(s) "Strike area" means the establishment, warehouses,
depots, plants or offices, including the sites or premises
used as runaway shops, of the employer struck against,
as well as the immediate vicinity actually used by
picketing strikers in moving to and fro before all points
of entrance to and exit from said establishment. (As
amended by Section 4, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
Title II
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION
Chapter I
CREATION AND COMPOSITION
ART. 213. National Labor Relations Commission. - There
shall be a National Labor Relations Commission which
shall be attached to the Department of Labor and
Employment solely for program and policy coordination
only, composed of a Chairman and twenty-three (23)
Members.
Eight (8) members each shall be chosen only from
among the nominees of the workers and employers
organizations, respectively. The Chairman and the seven
(7) remaining members shall come from the public
sector, with the latter to be chosen preferably from
among the incumbent Labor Arbiters.
Upon assumption into office, the members nominated
by the workers and employers organizations shall divest
themselves of any affiliation with or interest in the
federation or association to which they belong.
The Commission may sit en banc or in eight (8) divisions,
each composed of three (3) members. The Commission
shall sit en banc only for purposes of promulgating rules
and regulations governing the hearing and disposition
of cases before any of its divisions and regional branches
and formulating policies affecting its administration and
operations. The Commission shall exercise its
adjudicatory and all other powers, functions, and duties
through its divisions. Of the eight (8) divisions, the first,
second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth divisions shall
handle cases coming from the National Capital Region
and other parts of Luzon; and the seventh and eighth
divisions, cases from the Visayas and Mindanao,
respectively: Provided, That the Commission sitting en
banc may, on temporary or emergency basis, allow cases
within the jurisdiction of any division to be heard and
decided by any other division whose docket allows the
additional workload and such transfer will not expose
litigants to unnecessary additional expenses. The
divisions of the Commission shall have exclusive
appellate jurisdiction over cases within their respective
territorial jurisdiction.
The concurrence of two (2) Commissioners of a division
shall be necessary for the pronouncement of a judgment
or resolution. Whenever the required membership in a
division is not complete and the concurrence of two (2)
Commissioners to arrive at a judgment or resolution
cannot be obtained, the Chairman shall designate such
number of additional Commissioners from the other
divisions as may be necessary.
The conclusions of a division on any case submitted to it
for decision shall be reached in consultation before the
case is assigned to a member for the writing of the
opinion. It shall be mandatory for the division to meet
for purposes of the consultation ordained therein. A
certification to this effect signed by the Presiding
Commissioner of the division shall be issued, and a copy
thereof attached to the record of the case and served
upon the parties.
The Chairman shall be the Presiding Commissioner of
the first division, and the seven (7) other members from
the public sector shall be the Presiding Commissioners
of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and
eight divisions, respectively. In case of the effective
absence or incapacity of the Chairman, the Presiding
Commissioner of the second division shall be the Acting
Chairman.
The Chairman, aided by the Executive Clerk of the
Commission, shall have administrative supervision over
the Commission and its regional branches and all its
personnel, including the Labor Arbiters.
The Commission, when sitting en banc, shall be assisted
by the same Executive Clerk, and, when acting thru its
Divisions, by said Executive Clerk for its first division
and seven (7) other Deputy Executive Clerks for the
second, third, fourth fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth
divisions, respectively, in the performance of such
similar or equivalent functions and duties as are
discharged by the Clerk of Court and Deputy Clerks of
Court of the Court of Appeals.
The Commission and its eight (8) divisions shall be
assisted by the Commission Attorneys in its appellate
and adjudicatory functions whose term shall be
coterminous with the Commissioners with whom they
are assigned. The Commission Attorneys shall be
members of the Philippine Bar with at least one (1) year
experience or exposure in the field of labor-management
relations. They shall receive annual salaries and shall be
entitled to the same allowances and benefits as those
falling under Salary Grade twenty-six (SG 26). There
shall be as many Commission Attorneys as may be
necessary for the effective and efficient operations of the
Commission but in no case more than three (3) assigned
to the Office of the Chairman and each Commissioner.
No Labor Arbiter shall be assigned to perform the
functions of the Commission Attorney nor detailed to
the office of any Commissioner. (As amended by Section
1, Republic Act No. 9347 [July 27, 2006] and as
previously amended by Republic Act No. 7700 and
Section 5, Republic Act No. 6715).
ART. 214. Headquarters, Branches and Provincial
Extension Units. - The Commission and its first, second,
third, fourth, fifth and sixth divisions shall have their
main offices in Metropolitan Manila, and the seventh and
eighth divisions in the cities of Cebu and Cagayan de Oro,
respectively. The Commission shall establish as many
regional branches as there are regional offices of the
Department of Labor and Employment, sub-regional
branches or provincial extension units. There shall be as
many Labor Arbiters as may be necessary for the effective
and efficient operation of the Commission. (As amended
by Section 2, Republic Act No. 9347 [July 27, 2006] and
previously amended by Section 6, Republic Act No. 6715
[March 21, 1989]).
ART. 215. Appointment and Qualifications. – The
Chairman and other Commissioners shall be members of
the Philippine Bar and must have been engaged in the
practice of law in the Philippines for at least fifteen (15)
years, with at least five (5) years experience or exposure
in the field of labor-management relations, and shall
preferably be residents of the region where they shall
hold office. The Labor Arbiters shall likewise be members
of the Philippine Bar and must have been engaged in the
practice of law in the Philippines for at least ten (10) years,
with at least five (5) years experience or exposure in the
field of labor-management relations.
The Chairman and the other Commissioners and the
Labor Arbiters shall hold office during good behavior
until they reach the age of sixty-five (65) years, unless
sooner removed for cause as provided by law or become
incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office;
Provided, however, That the President of the Republic of
the Philippines may extend the services of the
Commissioners and Labor Arbiters up to the maximum
age of seventy (70) years upon the recommendation of
the Commission en banc.
The Chairman, the Division Presiding Commissioners
and other Commissioners shall all be appointed by the
President. Appointment to any vacancy in a specific
division shall come only from the nominees of the sector
which nominated the predecessor. The Labor Arbiters
shall also be appointed by the President, upon
recommendation of the Commission en banc to a
specific arbitration branch, preferably in the region
where they are residents, and shall be subject to the Civil
Service Law, rules and regulations: Provided, that the
Labor Arbiters who are presently holding office in the
region where they are residents shall be deemed
appointed thereat.
The Chairman and the Commission, shall appoint the
staff and employees of the Commission, and its regional
branches as the needs of the service may require, subject
to the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, and
upgrade their current salaries, benefits and other
emoluments in accordance with law. (As amended by
Section 3, Republic Act No. 9347 [July 27, 2006] and as
previously amended by Section 7, Republic Act No. 6715
[March 21, 1989]).
ART. 216. Salaries, benefits and other emoluments. – The
Chairman and members of the Commission shall have the
same rank, receive an annual salary equivalent to, and be
entitled to the same allowances, retirement and benefits
as, those of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of
the Court of Appeals, respectively. Labor Arbiters shall
have the same rank, receive an annual salary equivalent
to and be entitled to the same allowances, retirement and
other benefits and privileges as those of the judges of the
regional trial courts. In no case, however, shall the
provision of this ART. result in the diminution of the
existing salaries, allowances and benefits of the
aforementioned officials. (As amended by Section 4,
Republic Act No. 9347 [July 27, 2006] and as previously
amended by Section 8, Republic Act No. 6715 [March 21,
1989]).
Chapter II
POWERS AND DUTIES
ART. 217. Jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiters and the
Commission. - (a) Except as otherwise provided under
this Code, the Labor Arbiters shall have original and
exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide, within thirty
(30) calendar days after the submission of the case by the
parties for decision without extension, even in the
absence of stenographic notes, the following cases
involving all workers, whether agricultural or non-
agricultural:
1. Unfair labor practice cases;
2. Termination disputes;
3. If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement, those
cases that workers may file involving wages, rates of pay,
hours of work and other terms and conditions of
employment;
4. Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms
of damages arising from the employer-employee
relations;
5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of this
Code, including questions involving the legality of
strikes and lockouts; and
6. Except claims for Employees Compensation, Social
Security, Medicare and maternity benefits, all other
claims arising from employer-employee relations,
including those of persons in domestic or household
service, involving an amount exceeding five thousand
pesos (P5,000.00) regardless of whether accompanied
with a claim for reinstatement.
(b) The Commission shall have exclusive appellate
jurisdiction over all cases decided by Labor Arbiters.
(c) Cases arising from the interpretation or
implementation of collective bargaining agreements and
those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of
company personnel policies shall be disposed of by the
Labor Arbiter by referring the same to the grievance
machinery and voluntary arbitration as may be
provided in said agreements. (As amended by Section 9,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
 ART. . 218. Powers of the Commission. - The Commission
shall have the power and authority:
(a) To promulgate rules and regulations governing the
hearing and disposition of cases before it and its regional
branches, as well as those pertaining to its internal
functions and such rules and regulations as may be
necessary to carry out the purposes of this Code; (As
amended by Section 10, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
(b) To administer oaths, summon the parties to a
controversy, issue subpoenas requiring the attendance
and testimony of witnesses or the production of such
books, papers, contracts, records, statement of accounts,
agreements, and others as may be material to a just
determination of the matter under investigation, and to
testify in any investigation or hearing conducted in
pursuance of this Code;
(c) To conduct investigation for the determination of a
question, matter or controversy within its jurisdiction,
proceed to hear and determine the disputes in the
absence of any party thereto who has been summoned
or served with notice to appear, conduct its proceedings
or any part thereof in public or in private, adjourn its
hearings to any time and place, refer technical matters or
accounts to an expert and to accept his report as
evidence after hearing of the parties upon due notice,
direct parties to be joined in or excluded from the
proceedings, correct, amend, or waive any error, defect
or irregularity whether in substance or in form, give all
such directions as it may deem necessary or expedient in
the determination of the dispute before it, and dismiss
any matter or refrain from further hearing or from
determining the dispute or part thereof, where it is
trivial or where further proceedings by the Commission
are not necessary or desirable; and
(d) To hold any person in contempt directly or indirectly
and impose appropriate penalties therefor in accordance
with law.
A person guilty of misbehavior in the presence of or so
near the Chairman or any member of the Commission or
any Labor Arbiter as to obstruct or interrupt the
proceedings before the same, including disrespect
toward said officials, offensive personalities toward
others, or refusal to be sworn, or to answer as a witness
or to subscribe an affidavit or deposition when lawfully
required to do so, may be summarily adjudged in direct
contempt by said officials and punished by fine not
exceeding five hundred pesos (P500) or imprisonment
not exceeding five (5) days, or both, if it be the
Commission, or a member thereof, or by a fine not
exceeding one hundred pesos (P100) or imprisonment
not exceeding one (1) day, or both, if it be a Labor
Arbiter.
The person adjudged in direct contempt by a Labor
Arbiter may appeal to the Commission and the
execution of the judgment shall be suspended pending
the resolution of the appeal upon the filing by such
person of a bond on condition that he will abide by and
perform the judgment of the Commission should the
appeal be decided against him. Judgment of the
Commission on direct contempt is immediately
executory and unappealable. Indirect contempt shall be
dealt with by the Commission or Labor Arbiter in the
manner prescribed under Rule 71 of the Revised Rules of
Court; and (As amended by Section 10, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989).
(e) To enjoin or restrain any actual or threatened
commission of any or all prohibited or unlawful acts or
to require the performance of a particular act in any
labor dispute which, if not restrained or performed
forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to
any party or render ineffectual any decision in favor of
such party: Provided, That no temporary or permanent
injunction in any case involving or growing out of a
labor dispute as defined in this Code shall be issued
except after hearing the testimony of witnesses, with
opportunity for cross-examination, in support of the
allegations of a complaint made under oath, and
testimony in opposition thereto, if offered, and only after
a finding of fact by the Commission, to the effect:
(1) That prohibited or unlawful acts have been
threatened and will be committed and will be continued
unless restrained, but no injunction or temporary
restraining order shall be issued on account of any threat,
prohibited or unlawful act, except against the person or
persons, association or organization making the threat or
committing the prohibited or unlawful act or actually
authorizing or ratifying the same after actual knowledge
thereof;
(2) That substantial and irreparable injury to
complainant’s property will follow;
(3) That as to each item of relief to be granted, greater
injury will be inflicted upon complainant by the denial
of relief than will be inflicted upon defendants by the
granting of relief;
(4) That complainant has no adequate remedy at law;
and
(5) That the public officers charged with the duty to
protect complainant’s property are unable or unwilling
to furnish adequate protection.
Such hearing shall be held after due and personal notice
thereof has been served, in such manner as the
Commission shall direct, to all known persons against
whom relief is sought, and also to the Chief Executive
and other public officials of the province or city within
which the unlawful acts have been threatened or
committed, charged with the duty to protect
complainant’s property: Provided, however, that if a
complainant shall also allege that, unless a temporary
restraining order shall be issued without notice, a
substantial and irreparable injury to complainant’s
property will be unavoidable, such a temporary
restraining order may be issued upon testimony under
oath, sufficient, if sustained, to justify the Commission in
issuing a temporary injunction upon hearing after notice.
Such a temporary restraining order shall be effective for
no longer than twenty (20) days and shall become void
at the expiration of said twenty (20) days. No such
temporary restraining order or temporary injunction
shall be issued except on condition that complainant
shall first file an undertaking with adequate security in
an amount to be fixed by the Commission sufficient to
recompense those enjoined for any loss, expense or
damage caused by the improvident or erroneous
issuance of such order or injunction, including all
reasonable costs, together with a reasonable attorney’s
fee, and expense of defense against the order or against
the granting of any injunctive relief sought in the same
proceeding and subsequently denied by the Commission.
The undertaking herein mentioned shall be understood
to constitute an agreement entered into by the
complainant and the surety upon which an order may
be rendered in the same suit or proceeding against said
complainant and surety, upon a hearing to assess
damages, of which hearing, complainant and surety
shall have reasonable notice, the said complainant and
surety submitting themselves to the jurisdiction of the
Commission for that purpose. But nothing herein
contained shall deprive any party having a claim or
cause of action under or upon such undertaking from
electing to pursue his ordinary remedy by suit at law or
in equity: Provided, further, That the reception of
evidence for the application of a writ of injunction may
be delegated by the Commission to any of its Labor
Arbiters who shall conduct such hearings in such places
as he may determine to be accessible to the parties and
their witnesses and shall submit thereafter his
recommendation to the Commission. (As amended by
Section 10, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 219. Ocular inspection. - The Chairman, any
Commissioner, Labor Arbiter or their duly authorized
representatives, may, at any time during working hours,
conduct an ocular inspection on any establishment,
building, ship or vessel, place or premises, including any
work, material, implement, machinery, appliance or any
object therein, and ask any employee, laborer, or any
person, as the case may be, for any information or data
concerning any matter or question relative to the object
of the investigation.
[ ART. 220. Compulsory arbitration. - The Commission or
any Labor Arbiter shall have the power to ask the
assistance of other government officials and qualified
private citizens to act as compulsory arbitrators on cases
referred to them and to fix and assess the fees of such
compulsory arbitrators, taking into account the nature of
the case, the time consumed in hearing the case, the
professional standing of the arbitrators, the financial
capacity of the parties, and the fees provided in the
Rules of Court.] (Repealed by Section 16, Batas
Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981).
ART. 221. Technical rules not binding and prior resort to
amicable settlement. - In any proceeding before the
Commission or any of the Labor Arbiters, the rules of
evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not
be controlling and it is the spirit and intention of this
Code that the Commission and its members and the
Labor Arbiters shall use every and all reasonable means
to ascertain the facts in each case speedily and
objectively and without regard to technicalities of law or
procedure, all in the interest of due process. In any
proceeding before the Commission or any Labor Arbiter,
the parties may be represented by legal counsel but it
shall be the duty of the Chairman, any Presiding
Commissioner or Commissioner or any Labor Arbiter to
exercise complete control of the proceedings at all stages.
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
the Labor Arbiter shall exert all efforts towards the
amicable settlement of a labor dispute within his
jurisdiction on or before the first hearing. The same rule
shall apply to the Commission in the exercise of its
original jurisdiction. (As amended by Section 11,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 222. Appearances and Fees. - (a) Non-lawyers may
appear before the Commission or any Labor Arbiter
only:
1. If they represent themselves; or 2. If they represent
their organization or members thereof.
(b) No attorney’s fees, negotiation fees or similar charges
of any kind arising from any collective bargaining
agreement shall be imposed on any individual member
of the contracting union: Provided, However, that
attorney’s fees may be charged against union funds in
an amount to be agreed upon by the parties. Any
contract, agreement or arrangement of any sort to the
contrary shall be null and void. (As amended by
Presidential Decree No. 1691, May 1, 1980).
Chapter III
APPEAL
ART. 223. Appeal. - Decisions, awards, or orders of the
Labor Arbiter are final and executory unless appealed to
the Commission by any or both parties within ten (10)
calendar days from receipt of such decisions, awards, or
orders. Such appeal may be entertained only on any of
the following grounds:
(a) If there is prima facie evidence of abuse of discretion
on the part of the Labor Arbiter;
(b) If the decision, order or award was secured through
fraud or coercion, including graft and corruption;
(c) If made purely on questions of law; and
(d) If serious errors in the findings of facts are raised
which would cause grave or irreparable damage or
injury to the appellant.
In case of a judgment involving a monetary award, an
appeal by the employer may be perfected only upon the
posting of a cash or surety bond issued by a reputable
bonding company duly accredited by the Commission in
the amount equivalent to the monetary award in the
judgment appealed from.
In any event, the decision of the Labor Arbiter
reinstating a dismissed or separated employee, insofar
as the reinstatement aspect is concerned, shall
immediately be executory, even pending appeal. The
employee shall either be admitted back to work under
the same terms and conditions prevailing prior to his
dismissal or separation or, at the option of the employer,
merely reinstated in the payroll. The posting of a bond
by the employer shall not stay the execution for
reinstatement provided herein.
To discourage frivolous or dilatory appeals, the
Commission or the Labor Arbiter shall impose
reasonable penalty, including fines or censures, upon the
erring parties.
In all cases, the appellant shall furnish a copy of the
memorandum of appeal to the other party who shall file
an answer not later than ten (10) calendar days from
receipt thereof.
The Commission shall decide all cases within twenty (20)
calendar days from receipt of the answer of the appellee.
The decision of the Commission shall be final and
executory after ten (10) calendar days from receipt
thereof by the parties.
Any law enforcement agency may be deputized by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Commission
in the enforcement of decisions, awards or orders. (As
amended by Section 12, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
ART. 224. Execution of decisions, orders or awards. - (a) The
Secretary of Labor and Employment or any Regional
Director, the Commission or any Labor Arbiter, or Med-
Arbiter or Voluntary Arbitrator may, motu proprio or on
motion of any interested party, issue a writ of execution
on a judgment within five (5) years from the date it
becomes final and executory, requiring a sheriff or a
duly deputized officer to execute or enforce final
decisions, orders or awards of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment or regional director, the Commission, the
Labor Arbiter or med-arbiter, or voluntary arbitrators. In
any case, it shall be the duty of the responsible officer to
separately furnish immediately the counsels of record
and the parties with copies of said decisions, orders or
awards. Failure to comply with the duty prescribed
herein shall subject such responsible officer to
appropriate administrative sanctions.
(b) The Secretary of Labor and Employment, and the
Chairman of the Commission may designate special
sheriffs and take any measure under existing laws to
ensure compliance with their decisions, orders or
awards and those of the Labor Arbiters and voluntary
arbitrators, including the imposition of administrative
fines which shall not be less than P500.00 nor more than
P10,000.00. (As amended by Section 13, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 225. Contempt powers of the Secretary of Labor. - In
the exercise of his powers under this Code, the Secretary
of Labor may hold any person in direct or indirect
contempt and impose the appropriate penalties therefor.
Title III
BUREAU OF LABOR RELATIONS
ART. 226. Bureau of Labor Relations. - The Bureau of
Labor Relations and the Labor Relations Divisions in the
regional offices of the Department of Labor, shall have
original and exclusive authority to act, at their own
initiative or upon request of either or both parties, on all
inter-union and intra-union conflicts, and all disputes,
grievances or problems arising from or affecting labor-
management relations in all workplaces, whether
agricultural or non-agricultural, except those arising
from the implementation or interpretation of collective
bargaining agreements which shall be the subject of
grievance procedure and/or voluntary arbitration.
The Bureau shall have fifteen (15) working days to act on
labor cases before it, subject to extension by agreement
of the parties. (As amended by Section 14, Republic Act
No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 227. Compromise agreements. - Any compromise
settlement, including those involving labor standard
laws, voluntarily agreed upon by the parties with the
assistance of the Bureau or the regional office of the
Department of Labor, shall be final and binding upon
the parties. The National Labor Relations Commission or
any court, shall not assume jurisdiction over issues
involved therein except in case of non-compliance
thereof or if there is prima facie evidence that the
settlement was obtained through fraud,
misrepresentation, or coercion.
[ART. 228. Indorsement of cases to Labor Arbiters. - (a)
Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this ART. , the
Labor Arbiter shall entertain only cases endorsed to him
for compulsory arbitration by the Bureau or by the
Regional Director with a written notice of such
indorsement or non-indorsement. The indorsement or
non-indorsement of the Regional Director may be
appealed to the Bureau within ten (10) working days
from receipt of the notice.
(b) The parties may, at any time, by mutual agreement,
withdraw a case from the Conciliation Section and
jointly submit it to a Labor Arbiter, except deadlocks in
collective bargaining.] (Repealed by Section 16, Batas
Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981).
ART. 229. Issuance of subpoenas. - The Bureau shall have
the power to require the appearance of any person or the
production of any paper, document or matter relevant to
a labor dispute under its jurisdiction, either at the
request of any interested party or at its own initiative.
ART. 230. Appointment of bureau personnel. - The
Secretary of Labor and Employment may appoint, in
addition to the present personnel of the Bureau and the
Industrial Relations Divisions, such number of
examiners and other assistants as may be necessary to
carry out the purpose of the Code. [As amended by
Section 15, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989].
ART. 231. Registry of unions and file of collective bargaining
agreements. - The Bureau shall keep a registry of
legitimate labor organizations. The Bureau shall also
maintain a file of all collective bargaining agreements
and other related agreements and records of settlement
of labor disputes and copies of orders and decisions of
voluntary arbitrators. The file shall be open and
accessible to interested parties under conditions
prescribed by the Secretary of Labor and Employment,
provided that no specific information submitted in
confidence shall be disclosed unless authorized by the
Secretary, or when it is at issue in any judicial litigation,
or when public interest or national security so requires.
Within thirty (30) days from the execution of a Collective
Bargaining Agreement, the parties shall submit copies of
the same directly to the Bureau or the Regional Offices
of the Department of Labor and Employment for
registration, accompanied with verified proofs of its
posting in two conspicuous places in the place of work
and ratification by the majority of all the workers in the
bargaining unit. The Bureau or Regional Offices shall act
upon the application for registration of such Collective
Bargaining Agreement within five (5) calendar days
from receipt thereof. The Regional Offices shall furnish
the Bureau with a copy of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement within five (5) days from its submission.
The Bureau or Regional Office shall assess the employer
for every Collective Bargaining Agreement a registration
fee of not less than one thousand pesos (P1,000.00) or in
any other amount as may be deemed appropriate and
necessary by the Secretary of Labor and Employment for
the effective and efficient administration of the
Voluntary Arbitration Program. Any amount collected
under this provision shall accrue to the Special
Voluntary Arbitration Fund.
The Bureau shall also maintain a file and shall undertake
or assist in the publication of all final decisions, orders
and awards of the Secretary of Labor and Employment,
Regional Directors and the Commission. (As amended
by Section 15, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 232. Prohibition on certification election. - The
Bureau shall not entertain any petition for certification
election or any other action which may disturb the
administration of duly registered existing collective
bargaining agreements affecting the parties except under
ART. s 253, 253-A and 256 of this Code. (As amended by
Section 15, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 233. Privileged communication. - Information and
statements made at conciliation proceedings shall be
treated as privileged communication and shall not be
used as evidence in the Commission. Conciliators and
similar officials shall not testify in any court or body
regarding any matters taken up at conciliation
proceedings conducted by them.
Title IV
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
Chapter I
 REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATION
ART. 234. Requirements of registration. - A federation,
national union or industry or trade union center or an
independent union shall acquire legal personality and
shall be entitled to the rights and privileges granted by
law to legitimate labor organizations upon issuance of
the certificate of registration based on the following
requirements:
(a) Fifty pesos (P50.00) registration fee;
(b) The names of its officers, their addresses, the
principal address of the labor organization, the minutes
of the organizational meetings and the list of the
workers who participated in such meetings;
(c) In case the applicant is an independent union, the
names of all its members comprising at least twenty
percent (20%) of all the employees in the bargaining unit
where it seeks to operate;
(d) If the applicant union has been in existence for one
or more years, copies of its annual financial reports; and
(e) Four copies of the constitution and by-laws of the
applicant union, minutes of its adoption or ratification,
and the list of the members who participated in it. (As
amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21,
1981 and Section 1, Republic Act No. 9481 which lapsed
into law on May 25, 2007 and became effective on June
14, 2007).
ART. 234-A. Chartering and creation of a local chapter. -
A duly registered federation or national union may
directly create a local chapter by issuing a charter
certificate indicating the establishment of the local
chapter. The chapter shall acquire legal personality only
for purposes of filing a petition for certification election
from the date it was issued a charter certificate.
The chapter shall be entitled to all other rights and
privileges of a legitimate labor organization only upon
the submission of the following documents in addition
to its charter certificate:
(a) The names of the chapter’s officers, their addresses,
and the principal office of the chapter; and
(b) The chapter’s constitution and by-laws: Provided,
That where the chapter’s constitution and by-laws are
the same as that of the federation or the national union,
this fact shall be indicated accordingly.
The additional supporting requirements shall be
certified under oath by the secretary or treasurer of the
chapter and attested by its president. (As inserted by
Section 2, Republic Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law
on May 25, 2007 and became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 235. Action on application. - The Bureau shall act
on all applications for registration within thirty (30) days
from filing.
All requisite documents and papers shall be certified
under oath by the secretary or the treasurer of the
organization, as the case may be, and attested to by its
president.
ART. 236. Denial of registration; appeal. - The decision
of the Labor Relations Division in the regional office
denying registration may be appealed by the applicant
union to the Bureau within ten (10) days from receipt of
notice thereof.
ART. 237. Additional requirements for federations or
national unions. - Subject to ART. 238, if the applicant
for registration is a federation or a national union, it
shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding
articles, submit the following:
(a) Proof of the affiliation of at least ten (10) locals or
chapters, each of which must be a duly recognized
collective bargaining agent in the establishment or
industry in which it operates, supporting the registration
of such applicant federation or national union; and
(b) The names and addresses of the companies where
the locals or chapters operate and the list of all the
members in each company involved.
ART. 238. Cancellation of registration. - The certificate
of registration of any legitimate labor organization,
whether national or local, may be cancelled by the
Bureau, after due hearing, only on the grounds specified
in ART. 239 hereof. (As amended by Section 3, Republic
Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law on May 25, 2007 and
became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 238-A. Effect of a petition for cancellation of
registration. - A petition for cancellation of union
registration shall not suspend the proceedings for
certification election nor shall it prevent the filing of a
petition for certification election.
In case of cancellation, nothing herein shall restrict the
right of the union to seek just and equitable remedies in
the appropriate courts. (As inserted by Section 4,
Republic Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law on May 25,
2007 and became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 239. Grounds for cancellation of union
registration.- The following may constitute grounds for
cancellation of union registration:
(a) Misrepresentation, false statement or fraud in
connection with the adoption or ratification of the
constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto, the
minutes of ratification, and the list of members who took
part in the ratification;
(b) Misrepresentation, false statements or fraud in
connection with the election of officers, minutes of the
election of officers, and the list of voters;
(c) Voluntary dissolution by the members. (As
amended by Section 5, Republic Act No. 9481 which
lapsed into law on May 25, 2007 and became effective on
June 14, 2007).
ART. 239-A. Voluntary cancellation of registration. -
The registration of a legitimate labor organization may
be cancelled by the organization itself: Provided, That at
least two-thirds of its general membership votes, in a
meeting duly called for that purpose to dissolve the
organization: Provided, further, That an application to
cancel registration is thereafter submitted by the board
of the organization, attested to by the president thereof.
(Inserted as a new provision by Section 6, Republic Act
No. 9481 which lapsed into law on May 25, 2007 and
became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 240. Equity of the incumbent. – All existing
federations and national unions which meet the
qualifications of a legitimate labor organization and
none of the grounds for cancellation shall continue to
maintain their existing affiliates regardless of the nature
of the industry and the location of the affiliates.
Chapter II
RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
ART. 241. Rights and conditions of membership in a
labor organization. – The following are the rights and
conditions of membership in a labor organization:
(a) No arbitrary or excessive initiation fees shall be
required of the members of a legitimate labor
organization nor shall arbitrary, excessive or oppressive
fine and forfeiture be imposed;
(b) The members shall be entitled to full and detailed
reports from their officers and representatives of all
financial transactions as provided for in the constitution
and by-laws of the organization;
(c) The members shall directly elect their officers,
including those of the national union or federation to
which they or their union is affiliated, by secret ballot at
intervals of five (5) years. No qualification requirements
for candidacy to any position shall be imposed other
than membership in good standing in subject labor
organization. The secretary or any other responsible
union officer shall furnish the Secretary of Labor and
Employment with a list of the newly-elected officers,
together with the appointive officers or agents who are
entrusted with the handling of funds, within thirty (30)
calendar days after the election of officers or from the
occurrence of any change in the list of officers of the
labor organization; (As amended by Section 16, Republic
Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
(d) The members shall determine by secret ballot, after
due deliberation, any question of major policy affecting
the entire membership of the organization, unless the
nature of the organization or force majeure renders such
secret ballot impractical, in which case, the board of
directors of the organization may make the decision in
behalf of the general membership;
(e) No labor organization shall knowingly admit as
members or continue in membership any individual
who belongs to a subversive organization or who is
engaged directly or indirectly in any subversive activity;
(f) No person who has been convicted of a crime
involving moral turpitude shall be eligible for election as
a union officer or for appointment to any position in the
union;
(g) No officer, agent or member of a labor organization
shall collect any fees, dues, or other contributions in its
behalf or make any disbursement of its money or funds
unless he is duly authorized pursuant to its constitution
and by-laws;
(h) Every payment of fees, dues or other contributions
by a member shall be evidenced by a receipt signed by
the officer or agent making the collection and entered
into the record of the organization to be kept and
maintained for the purpose;
(i) The funds of the organization shall not be applied for
any purpose or object other than those expressly
provided by its constitution and by-laws or those
expressly authorized by written resolution adopted by
the majority of the members at a general meeting duly
called for the purpose;
(j) Every income or revenue of the organization shall be
evidenced by a record showing its source, and every
expenditure of its funds shall be evidenced by a receipt
from the person to whom the payment is made, which
shall state the date, place and purpose of such payment.
Such record or receipt shall form part of the financial
records of the organization.
Any action involving the funds of the organization shall
prescribe after three (3) years from the date of
submission of the annual financial report to the
Department of Labor and Employment or from the date
the same should have been submitted as required by law,
whichever comes earlier: Provided, That this provision
shall apply only to a legitimate labor organization which
has submitted the financial report requirements under
this Code: Provided, further, that failure of any labor
organization to comply with the periodic financial
reports required by law and such rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder six (6) months after the
effectivity of this Act shall automatically result in the
cancellation of union registration of such labor
organization; (As amended by Section 16, Republic Act
No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
(k) The officers of any labor organization shall not be
paid any compensation other than the salaries and
expenses due to their positions as specifically provided
for in its constitution and by-laws, or in a written
resolution duly authorized by a majority of all the
members at a general membership meeting duly called
for the purpose. The minutes of the meeting and the list
of participants and ballots cast shall be subject to
inspection by the Secretary of Labor or his duly
authorized representatives. Any irregularities in the
approval of the resolutions shall be a ground for
impeachment or expulsion from the organization;
(l) The treasurer of any labor organization and every
officer thereof who is responsible for the account of such
organization or for the collection, management,
disbursement, custody or control of the funds, moneys
and other properties of the organization, shall render to
the organization and to its members a true and correct
account of all moneys received and paid by him since he
assumed office or since the last day on which he
rendered such account, and of all bonds, securities and
other properties of the organization entrusted to his
custody or under his control. The rendering of such
account shall be made:
(1) At least once a year within thirty (30) days after the
close of its fiscal year;
(2) At such other times as may be required by a
resolution of the majority of the members of the
organization; and
(3) Upon vacating his office.
The account shall be duly audited and verified by
affidavit and a copy thereof shall be furnished the
Secretary of Labor.
(m) The books of accounts and other records of the
financial activities of any labor organization shall be
open to inspection by any officer or member thereof
during office hours;
(n) No special assessment or other extraordinary fees
may be levied upon the members of a labor organization
unless authorized by a written resolution of a majority
of all the members in a general membership meeting
duly called for the purpose. The secretary of the
organization shall record the minutes of the meeting
including the list of all members present, the votes cast,
the purpose of the special assessment or fees and the
recipient of such assessment or fees. The record shall be
attested to by the president.
(o) Other than for mandatory activities under the Code,
no special assessments, attorney’s fees, negotiation fees
or any other extraordinary fees may be checked off from
any amount due to an employee without an individual
written authorization duly signed by the employee. The
authorization should specifically state the amount,
purpose and beneficiary of the deduction; and
(p) It shall be the duty of any labor organization and its
officers to inform its members on the provisions of its
constitution and by-laws, collective bargaining
agreement, the prevailing labor relations system and all
their rights and obligations under existing labor laws.
For this purpose, registered labor organizations may
assess reasonable dues to finance labor relations
seminars and other labor education activities.
Any violation of the above rights and conditions of
membership shall be a ground for cancellation of union
registration or expulsion of officers from office,
whichever is appropriate. At least thirty percent (30%) of
the members of a union or any member or members
specially concerned may report such violation to the
Bureau. The Bureau shall have the power to hear and
decide any reported violation to mete the appropriate
penalty.
Criminal and civil liabilities arising from violations of
above rights and conditions of membership shall
continue to be under the jurisdiction of ordinary courts.

Chapter III
RIGHTS OF LEGITIMATE
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
ART. 242. Rights of legitimate labor organizations. – A
legitimate labor organization shall have the right:
(a) To act as the representative of its members for the
purpose of collective bargaining;
(b) To be certified as the exclusive representative of all
the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit for
purposes of collective bargaining;
(c) To be furnished by the employer, upon written
request, with its annual audited financial statements,
including the balance sheet and the profit and loss
statement, within thirty (30) calendar days from the date
of receipt of the request, after the union has been duly
recognized by the employer or certified as the sole and
exclusive bargaining representative of the employees in
the bargaining unit, or within sixty (60) calendar days
before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining
agreement, or during the collective bargaining
negotiation;
(d) To own property, real or personal, for the use and
benefit of the labor organization and its members;
(e) To sue and be sued in its registered name; and
(f) To undertake all other activities designed to benefit
the organization and its members, including cooperative,
housing, welfare and other projects not contrary to law.
Notwithstanding any provision of a general or special
law to the contrary, the income and the properties of
legitimate labor organizations, including grants,
endowments, gifts, donations and contributions they
may receive from fraternal and similar organizations,
local or foreign, which are actually, directly and
exclusively used for their lawful purposes, shall be free
from taxes, duties and other assessments. The
exemptions provided herein may be withdrawn only by
a special law expressly repealing this provision. (As
amended by Section 17, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
ART. 242-A. Reportorial requirements. - The following
are documents required to be submitted to the Bureau
by the legitimate labor organization concerned:
(a) Its constitution and by-laws, or amendments thereto,
the minutes of ratification, and the list of members who
took part in the ratification of the constitution and by-
laws within thirty (30) days from adoption or ratification
of the constitution and by-lam or amendments thereto;
(b) Its list of officers, minutes of the election of officers,
and list of voters within thirty (30) days from election;
(c) Its annual financial report within thirty (30) days
after the close of every fiscal year; and
(d) Its list of members at least once a year or whenever
required by the Bureau.
Failure to comply with the above requirements shall not
be a ground for cancellation of union registration but
shall subject the erring officers or members to
suspension, expulsion from membership, or any
appropriate penalty. (As inserted by Section 7, Republic
Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law on May 25, 2007 and
became effective on June 14, 2007).
Title V
COVERAGE
ART. 243. Coverage and employees’ right to self-
organization. – All persons employed in commercial,
industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious,
charitable, medical, or educational institutions, whether
operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-
organization and to form, join, or assist labor
organizations of their own choosing for purposes of
collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and
itinerant workers, self-employed people, rural workers
and those without any definite employers may form
labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection.
(As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980).
ART. 244. Right of employees in the public service. –
Employees of government corporations established
under the Corporation Code shall have the right to
organize and to bargain collectively with their respective
employers. All other employees in the civil service shall
have the right to form associations for purposes not
contrary to law. (As amended by Executive Order No.
111, December 24, 1986).
ART. 245. Ineligibility of managerial employees to join
any labor organization; Right of Supervisory Employees.
- Managerial employees are not eligible to join, assist or
form any labor organization. Supervisory employees
shall not be eligible for membership in the collective
bargaining unit of the rank-and-file employees but may
join, assist or form separate collective bargaining units
and/or legitimate labor organizations of their own. The
rank-and-file union and the supervisors’ union
operating within the same establishment may join the
same federation or national union. (As amended by
Section 18, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989 and
Section 8, Republic Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law
on May 25, 2007 and became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 245-A. Effect of inclusion as members of
employees outside the bargaining unit. - The inclusion
as union members of employees outside the bargaining
unit shall not be a ground for the cancellation of the
registration of the union. Said employees are
automatically deemed removed from the list of
membership of said union. (Introduced as new
provision by Section 9, Republic Act No. 9481 which
lapsed into law on May 25, 2007 and became effective on
June 14, 2007).
ART. 246. Non-abridgment of right to self-organization.
– It shall be unlawful for any person to restrain, coerce,
discriminate against or unduly interfere with employees
and workers in their exercise of the right to self-
organization. Such right shall include 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 same purpose or for their mutual aid
and protection, subject to the provisions of ART. 264 of
this Code. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70,
May 1, 1980).
Title VI
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
Chapter I
CONCEPT
ART. 247. Concept of unfair labor practice and
procedure for prosecution thereof. – Unfair labor
practices violate the constitutional right of workers and
employees to self-organization, are inimical to the
legitimate interests of both labor and management,
including their right to bargain collectively and
otherwise deal with each other in an atmosphere of
freedom and mutual respect, disrupt industrial peace
and hinder the promotion of healthy and stable labor-
management relations.
Consequently, unfair labor practices are not only
violations of the civil rights of both labor and
management but are also criminal offenses against the
State which shall be subject to prosecution and
punishment as herein provided.
Subject to the exercise by the President or by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment of the powers
vested in them by ART. s 263 and 264 of this Code, the
civil aspects of all cases involving unfair labor practices,
which may include claims for actual, moral, exemplary
and other forms of damages, attorney’s fees and other
affirmative relief, shall be under the jurisdiction of the
Labor Arbiters. The Labor Arbiters shall give utmost
priority to the hearing and resolution of all cases
involving unfair labor practices. They shall resolve such
cases within thirty (30) calendar days from the time they
are submitted for decision.
Recovery of civil liability in the administrative
proceedings shall bar recovery under the Civil Code.
No criminal prosecution under this Title may be
instituted without a final judgment finding that an
unfair labor practice was committed, having been first
obtained in the preceding paragraph. During the
pendency of such administrative proceeding, the
running of the period of prescription of the criminal
offense herein penalized shall be considered interrupted:
Provided, however, that the final judgment in the
administrative proceedings shall not be binding in the
criminal case nor be considered as evidence of guilt but
merely as proof of compliance of the requirements
therein set forth. (As amended by Batas Pambansa
Bilang 70, May 1, 1980 and later further amended by
Section 19, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
Chapter II
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES OF EMPLOYERS
ART. 248. Unfair labor practices of employers. – It shall
be unlawful for an employer to commit any of the
following unfair labor practice:
(a) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the
exercise of their right to self-organization;
(b) To require as a condition of employment that a
person or an employee shall not join a labor
organization or shall with-draw from one to which he
belongs;
(c) To contract out services or functions being performed
by union members when such will interfere with,
restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their
rights to self-organization;
(d) To initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere
with the formation or administration of any labor
organization, including the giving of financial or other
support to it or its organizers or supporters;
(e) To discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work
and other terms and conditions of employment in order
to encourage or discourage membership in any labor
organization. Nothing in this Code or in any other law
shall stop the parties from requiring membership in a
recognized collective bargaining agent as a condition for
employment, except those employees who are already
members of another union at the time of the signing of
the collective bargaining agreement. Employees of an
appropriate bargaining unit who are not members of the
recognized collective bargaining agent may be assessed
a reasonable fee equivalent to the dues and other fees
paid by members of the recognized collective bargaining
agent, if such non-union members accept the benefits
under the collective bargaining agreement: Provided,
that the individual authorization required under ART.
242, paragraph (o) of this Code shall not apply to the
non-members of the recognized collective bargaining
agent;
(f) To dismiss, discharge or otherwise prejudice or
discriminate against an employee for having given or
being about to give testimony under this Code;
(g) To violate the duty to bargain collectively as
prescribed by this Code;
(h) To pay negotiation or attorney’s fees to the union or
its officers or agents as part of the settlement of any issue
in collective bargaining or any other dispute; or
(i) To violate a collective bargaining agreement.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph
notwithstanding, only the officers and agents of
corporations, associations or partnerships who have
actually participated in, authorized or ratified unfair
labor practices shall be held criminally liable. (As
amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21,
1981).
Chapter III
UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES OF LABOR
ORGANIZATIONS
ART. 249. Unfair labor practices of labor organizations. -
It shall be unfair labor practice for a labor organization,
its officers, agents or representatives:
(a) To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of
their right to self-organization. However, a labor
organization shall have the right to prescribe its own
rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of
membership;
(b) To cause or attempt to cause an employer to
discriminate against an employee, including
discrimination against an employee with respect to
whom membership in such organization has been
denied or to terminate an employee on any ground other
than the usual terms and conditions under which
membership or continuation of membership is made
available to other members;
(c) To violate the duty, or refuse to bargain collectively
with the employer, provided it is the representative of
the employees;
(d) To cause or attempt to cause an employer to pay or
deliver or agree to pay or deliver any money or other
things of value, in the nature of an exaction, for services
which are not performed or not to be performed,
including the demand for fee for union negotiations;
(e) To ask for or accept negotiation or attorney’s fees
from employers as part of the settlement of any issue in
collective bargaining or any other dispute; or
(f) To violate a collective bargaining agreement.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph
notwithstanding, only the officers, members of
governing boards, representatives or agents or members
of labor associations or organizations who have actually
participated in, authorized or ratified unfair labor
practices shall be held criminally liable. (As amended by
Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981).
Title VII
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND
ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS
ART. 250. Procedure in collective bargaining. – The
following procedures shall be observed in collective
bargaining:
(a) When a party desires to negotiate an agreement, it
shall serve a written notice upon the other party with a
statement of its proposals. The other party shall make a
reply thereto not later than ten (10) calendar days from
receipt of such notice;
(b) Should differences arise on the basis of such notice
and reply, either party may request for a conference
which shall begin not later than ten (10) calendar days
from the date of request.
(c) If the dispute is not settled, the Board shall intervene
upon request of either or both parties or at its own
initiative and immediately call the parties to conciliation
meetings. The Board shall have the power to issue
subpoenas requiring the attendance of the parties to
such meetings. It shall be the duty of the parties to
participate fully and promptly in the conciliation
meetings the Board may call;
(d) During the conciliation proceedings in the Board, the
parties are prohibited from doing any act which may
disrupt or impede the early settlement of the disputes;
and
(e) The Board shall exert all efforts to settle disputes
amicably and encourage the parties to submit their case
to a voluntary arbitrator. (As amended by Section 20,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 251. Duty to bargain collectively in the absence of
collective bargaining agreements. – In the absence of an
agreement or other voluntary arrangement providing
for a more expeditious manner of collective bargaining,
it shall be the duty of employer and the representatives
of the employees to bargain collectively in accordance
with the provisions of this Code.
ART. 252. Meaning of duty to bargain collectively. – The
duty to bargain collectively means the performance of a
mutual obligation to meet and convene promptly and
expeditiously in good faith for the purpose of
negotiating an agreement with respect to wages, hours
of work and all other terms and conditions of
employment including proposals for adjusting any
grievances or questions arising under such agreement
and executing a contract incorporating such agreements
if requested by either party but such duty does not
compel any party to agree to a proposal or to make any
concession.
ART. 253. Duty to bargain collectively when there exists
a collective bargaining agreement. – When there is a
collective bargaining agreement, the duty to bargain
collectively shall also mean that neither party shall
terminate nor modify such agreement during its lifetime.
However, either party can serve a written notice to
terminate or modify the agreement at least sixty (60)
days prior to its expiration date. It shall be the duty of
both parties to keep the status quo and to continue in
full force and effect the terms and conditions of the
existing agreement during the 60-day period and/or
until a new agreement is reached by the parties.
ART. 253-A. Terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
– Any Collective Bargaining Agreement that the parties
may enter into shall, insofar as the representation aspect
is concerned, be for a term of five (5) years. No petition
questioning the majority status of the incumbent
bargaining agent shall be entertained and no
certification election shall be conducted by the
Department of Labor and Employment outside of the
sixty-day period immediately before the date of expiry
of such five-year term of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement. All other provisions of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement shall be renegotiated not later
than three (3) years after its execution. Any agreement
on such other provisions of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement entered into within six (6) months from the
date of expiry of the term of such other provisions as
fixed in such Collective Bargaining Agreement, shall
retroact to the day immediately following such date. If
any such agreement is entered into beyond six months,
the parties shall agree on the duration of retroactivity
thereof. In case of a deadlock in the renegotiation of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement, the parties may
exercise their rights under this Code. (As amended by
Section 21, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 254. Injunction prohibited. – No temporary or
permanent injunction or restraining order in any case
involving or growing out of labor disputes shall be
issued by any court or other entity, except as otherwise
provided in ART. s 218 and 264 of this Code. (As
amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 227, June 1, 1982).
ART. 255. Exclusive bargaining representation and
workers’ participation in policy and decision-making. –
The labor organization designated or selected by the
majority of the employees in an appropriate collective
bargaining unit shall be the exclusive representative of
the employees in such unit for the purpose of collective
bargaining. However, an individual employee or group
of employees shall have the right at any time to present
grievances to their employer.
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
workers shall have the right, subject to such rules and
regulations as the Secretary of Labor and Employment
may promulgate, to participate in policy and decision-
making processes of the establishment where they are
employed insofar as said processes will directly affect
their rights, benefits and welfare. For this purpose,
workers and employers may form labor-management
councils: Provided, That the representatives of the
workers in such labor-management councils shall be
elected by at least the majority of all employees in said
establishment. (As amended by Section 22, Republic Act
No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 256. Representation Issue in Organized
Establishments. - In organized establishments, when a
verified petition questioning the majority status of the
incumbent bargaining agent is filed by any legitimate
labor organization including a national union or
federation which has already issued a charter certificate
to its local chapter participating in the certification
election or a local chapter which has been issued a
charter certificate by the national union or federation
before the Department of Labor and Employment within
the sixty (60)-day period before the expiration of the
collective bargaining agreement, the Med-Arbiter shall
automatically order an election by secret ballot when the
verified petition is supported by the written consent of
at least twenty-five percent (25%) of all the employees in
the bargaining unit to ascertain the will of the employees
in the appropriate bargaining unit. To have a valid
election, at least a majority of all eligible voters in the
unit must have cast their votes. The labor union
receiving the majority of the valid votes cast shall be
certified as the exclusive bargaining agent of all the
workers in the unit. When an election which provides
for three or more choices results in no choice receiving a
majority of the valid votes cast, a run-off election shall
be conducted between the labor unions receiving the
two highest number of votes: Provided, That the total
number of votes for all contending unions is at least fifty
percent (50%) of the number of votes cast. In cases where
the petition was filed by a national union or federation,
it shall not be required to disclose the names of the local
chapter’s officers and members.
At the expiration of the freedom period, the employer
shall continue to recognize the majority status of the
incumbent bargaining agent where no petition for
certification election is filed. (As amended by Section 23,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989 and Section 10,
Republic Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law on May 25,
2007 and became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 257. Petitions in Unorganized Establishments. - In
any establishment where there is no certified bargaining
agent, a certification election shall automatically be
conducted by the Med-Arbiter upon the filing of a
petition by any legitimate labor organization, including
a national union or federation which has already issued
a charter certificate to its 1ocal/chapter participating in
the certification election or a local/chapter which has
been issued a charter certificate by the national union or
federation. In cases where the petition was filed by a
national union or federation, it shall not be required to
disclose the names of the local chapter’s officers and
members. (As amended by Section 24, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989 and Section 11, Republic Act No.
9481 which lapsed into law on May 25, 2007 and became
effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 258. When an employer may file petition. – When
requested to bargain collectively, an employer may
petition the Bureau for an election. If there is no existing
certified collective bargaining agreement in the unit, the
Bureau shall, after hearing, order a certification election.
All certification cases shall be decided within twenty (20)
working days.
The Bureau shall conduct a certification election within
twenty (20) days in accordance with the rules and
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.
ART. 258-A. Employer as Bystander. - In all cases,
whether the petition for certification election is filed by
an employer or a legitimate labor organization, the
employer shall not be considered a party thereto with a
concomitant right to oppose a petition for certification
election. The employer’s participation in such
proceedings shall be limited to:
(1) being notified or informed of petitions of such nature;
and
(2) submitting the list of employees during the pre-
election conference should the Med-Arbiter act
favorably on the petition. (As amended by Section 12,
Republic Act No. 9481 which lapsed into law on May 25,
2007 and became effective on June 14, 2007).
ART. 259. Appeal from certification election orders. –
Any party to an election may appeal the order or results
of the election as determined by the Med-Arbiter
directly to the Secretary of Labor and Employment on
the ground that the rules and regulations or parts
thereof established by the Secretary of Labor and
Employment for the conduct of the election have been
violated. Such appeal shall be decided within fifteen (15)
calendar days. (As amended by Section 25, Republic Act
No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
Title VII-A
GRIEVANCE MACHINERY
AND VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION
ART. 260. Grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration. -
The parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement shall
include therein provisions that will ensure the mutual
observance of its terms and conditions. They shall
establish a machinery for the adjustment and resolution
of grievances arising from the interpretation or
implementation of their Collective Bargaining
Agreement and those arising from the interpretation or
enforcement of company personnel policies.
All grievances submitted to the grievance machinery
which are not settled within seven (7) calendar days
from the date of its submission shall automatically be
referred to voluntary arbitration prescribed in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement.
For this purpose, parties to a Collective Bargaining
Agreement shall name and designate in advance a
Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators,
or include in the agreement a procedure for the selection
of such Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary
Arbitrators, preferably from the listing of qualified
Voluntary Arbitrators duly accredited by the Board. In
case the parties fail to select a Voluntary Arbitrator or
panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, the Board shall designate
the Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary
Arbitrators, as may be necessary, pursuant to the
selection procedure agreed upon in the Collective
Bargaining Agreement, which shall act with the same
force and effect as if the Arbitrator or panel of
Arbitrators has been selected by the parties as described
above.
ART. 261. Jurisdiction of Voluntary Arbitrators or panel of
Voluntary Arbitrators. - The Voluntary Arbitrator or
panel of Voluntary Arbitrators shall have original and
exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide all unresolved
grievances arising from the interpretation or
implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement
and those arising from the interpretation or enforcement
of company personnel policies referred to in the
immediately preceding ART. . Accordingly, violations
of a Collective Bargaining Agreement, except those
which are gross in character, shall no longer be treated
as unfair labor practice and shall be resolved as
grievances under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
For purposes of this ART. , gross violations of Collective
Bargaining Agreement shall mean flagrant and/or
malicious refusal to comply with the economic
provisions of such agreement.
The Commission, its Regional Offices and the Regional
Directors of the Department of Labor and Employment
shall not entertain disputes, grievances or matters under
the exclusive and original jurisdiction of the Voluntary
Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators and shall
immediately dispose and refer the same to the Grievance
Machinery or Voluntary Arbitration provided in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement.
ART. 262. Jurisdiction over other labor disputes. - The
Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators,
upon agreement of the parties, shall also hear and
decide all other labor disputes including unfair labor
practices and bargaining deadlocks.
ART. 262-A. Procedures. - The Voluntary Arbitrator or
panel of Voluntary Arbitrators shall have the power to
hold hearings, receive evidences and take whatever
action is necessary to resolve the issue or issues subject
of the dispute, including efforts to effect a voluntary
settlement between parties.
All parties to the dispute shall be entitled to attend the
arbitration proceedings. The attendance of any third
party or the exclusion of any witness from the
proceedings shall be determined by the Voluntary
Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators. Hearing
may be adjourned for cause or upon agreement by the
parties.
Unless the parties agree otherwise, it shall be mandatory
for the Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary
Arbitrators to render an award or decision within
twenty (20) calendar days from the date of submission of
the dispute to voluntary arbitration.
The award or decision of the Voluntary Arbitrator or
panel of Voluntary Arbitrators shall contain the facts
and the law on which it is based. It shall be final and
executory after ten (10) calendar days from receipt of the
copy of the award or decision by the parties.
Upon motion of any interested party, the Voluntary
Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators or the Labor
Arbiter in the region where the movant resides, in case
of the absence or incapacity of the Voluntary Arbitrator
or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, for any reason, may
issue a writ of execution requiring either the sheriff of
the Commission or regular courts or any public official
whom the parties may designate in the submission
agreement to execute the final decision, order or award.
ART. 262-B. Cost of voluntary arbitration and Voluntary
Arbitrator’s fee. - The parties to a Collective Bargaining
Agreement shall provide therein a proportionate sharing
scheme on the cost of voluntary arbitration including the
Voluntary Arbitrator’s fee. The fixing of fee of Voluntary
Arbitrators, whether shouldered wholly by the parties or
subsidized by the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund,
shall take into account the following factors:
(a) Nature of the case;
(b) Time consumed in hearing the case;
(c) Professional standing of the Voluntary Arbitrator;
(d) Capacity to pay of the parties; and
(e) Fees provided for in the Revised Rules of Court.
Title VIII
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
AND FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT
IN TRADE UNION ACTIVITIES
Chapter I
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
ART. 263. Strikes, picketing and lockouts. - (a) It is the
policy of the State to encourage free trade unionism and
free collective bargaining.
(b) Workers shall have the right to engage in concerted
activities for purposes of collective bargaining or for
their mutual benefit and protection. The right of
legitimate labor organizations to strike and picket and of
employers to lockout, consistent with the national
interest, shall continue to be recognized and respected.
However, no labor union may strike and no employer
may declare a lockout on grounds involving inter-union
and intra-union disputes.
(c) In case of bargaining deadlocks, the duly certified or
recognized bargaining agent may file a notice of strike or
the employer may file a notice of lockout with the
Ministry at least 30 day before the intended date thereof.
In cases of unfair labor practice, the period of notice
shall be 15 days and in the absence of a duly certified or
recognized bargaining agent, the notice of strike may be
filed by any legitimate labor organization in behalf of its
members. However, in case of dismissal from
employment of union officers duly elected in accordance
with the union constitution and by-laws, which may
constitute union busting, where the existence of the
union is threatened, the 15-day cooling-off period shall
not apply and the union may take action immediately.
(As amended by Executive Order No. 111, December 24,
1986).
(d) The notice must be in accordance with such
implementing rules and regulations as the Minister of
Labor and Employment may promulgate.
(e) During the cooling-off period, it shall be the duty of
the Ministry to exert all efforts at mediation and
conciliation to effect a voluntary settlement. Should the
dispute remain unsettled until the lapse of the requisite
number of days from the mandatory filing of the notice,
the labor union may strike or the employer may declare
a lockout.
(f) A decision to declare a strike must be approved by a
majority of the total union membership in the
bargaining unit concerned, obtained by secret ballot in
meetings or referenda called for that purpose. A decision
to declare a lockout must be approved by a majority of
the board of directors of the corporation or association
or of the partners in a partnership, obtained by secret
ballot in a meeting called for that purpose. The decision
shall be valid for the duration of the dispute based on
substantially the same grounds considered when the
strike or lockout vote was taken. The Ministry may, at its
own initiative or upon the request of any affected party,
supervise the conduct of the secret balloting. In every
case, the union or the employer shall furnish the
Ministry the results of the voting at least seven days
before the intended strike or lockout, subject to the
cooling-off period herein provided. (As amended by
Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981 and further
amended by Executive Order No. 111, December 24,
1986).
(g) When, in his opinion, there exists a labor dispute
causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout in an
industry indispensable to the national interest, the
Secretary of Labor and Employment may assume
jurisdiction over the dispute and decide it or certify the
same to the Commission for compulsory arbitration.
Such assumption or certification shall have the effect of
automatically enjoining the intended or impending
strike or lockout as specified in the assumption or
certification order. If one has already taken place at the
time of assumption or certification, all striking or locked
out employees shall immediately return-to-work and the
employer shall immediately resume operations and
readmit all workers under the same terms and
conditions prevailing before the strike or lockout. The
Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Commission
may seek the assistance of law enforcement agencies to
ensure compliance with this provision as well as with
such orders as he may issue to enforce the same.
In line with the national concern for and the highest
respect accorded to the right of patients to life and
health, strikes and lockouts in hospitals, clinics and
similar medical institutions shall, to every extent
possible, be avoided, and all serious efforts, not only by
labor and management but government as well, be
exhausted to substantially minimize, if not prevent, their
adverse effects on such life and health, through the
exercise, however legitimate, by labor of its right to
strike and by management to lockout. In labor disputes
adversely affecting the continued operation of such
hospitals, clinics or medical institutions, it shall be the
duty of the striking union or locking-out employer to
provide and maintain an effective skeletal workforce of
medical and other health personnel, whose movement
and services shall be unhampered and unrestricted, as
are necessary to insure the proper and adequate
protection of the life and health of its patients, most
especially emergency cases, for the duration of the strike
or lockout. In such cases, therefore, the Secretary of
Labor and Employment may immediately assume,
within twenty four (24) hours from knowledge of the
occurrence of such a strike or lockout, jurisdiction over
the same or certify it to the Commission for compulsory
arbitration. For this purpose, the contending parties are
strictly enjoined to comply with such orders,
prohibitions and/or injunctions as are issued by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Commission,
under pain of immediate disciplinary action, including
dismissal or loss of employment status or payment by
the locking-out employer of backwages, damages and
other affirmative relief, even criminal prosecution
against either or both of them.
The foregoing notwithstanding, the President of the
Philippines shall not be precluded from determining the
industries that, in his opinion, are indispensable to the
national interest, and from intervening at any time and
assuming jurisdiction over any such labor dispute in
order to settle or terminate the same.
(h) Before or at any stage of the compulsory arbitration
process, the parties may opt to submit their dispute to
voluntary arbitration.
(i) The Secretary of Labor and Employment, the
Commission or the voluntary arbitrator shall decide or
resolve the dispute, as the case may be. The decision of
the President, the Secretary of Labor and Employment,
the Commission or the voluntary arbitrator shall be final
and executory ten (10) calendar days after receipt thereof
by the parties. (As amended by Section 27, Republic Act
No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 264. Prohibited activities. - (a) No labor organization
or employer shall declare a strike or lockout without
first having bargained collectively in accordance with
Title VII of this Book or without first having filed the
notice required in the preceding ART. or without the
necessary strike or lockout vote first having been
obtained and reported to the Ministry.
No strike or lockout shall be declared after assumption
of jurisdiction by the President or the Minister or after
certification or submission of the dispute to compulsory
or voluntary arbitration or during the pendency of cases
involving the same grounds for the strike or lockout.
Any worker whose employment has been terminated as
a consequence of any unlawful lockout shall be entitled
to reinstatement with full backwages. Any union officer
who knowingly participates in an illegal strike and any
worker or union officer who knowingly participates in
the commission of illegal acts during a strike may be
declared to have lost his employment status: Provided,
That mere participation of a worker in a lawful strike
shall not constitute sufficient ground for termination of
his employment, even if a replacement had been hired
by the employer during such lawful strike.
(b) No person shall obstruct, impede, or interfere with,
by force, violence, coercion, threats or intimidation, any
peaceful picketing by employees during any labor
controversy or in the exercise of the right to self-
organization or collective bargaining, or shall aid or abet
such obstruction or interference.
(c) No employer shall use or employ any strike-breaker,
nor shall any person be employed as a strike-breaker.
(d) No public official or employee, including officers and
personnel of the New Armed Forces of the Philippines
or the Integrated National Police, or armed person, shall
bring in, introduce or escort in any manner, any
individual who seeks to replace strikers in entering or
leaving the premises of a strike area, or work in place of
the strikers. The police force shall keep out of the picket
lines unless actual violence or other criminal acts occur
therein: Provided, That nothing herein shall be
interpreted to prevent any public officer from taking any
measure necessary to maintain peace and order, protect
life and property, and/or enforce the law and legal
order. (As amended by Executive Order No. 111,
December 24, 1986).
(e) No person engaged in picketing shall commit any act
of violence, coercion or intimidation or obstruct the free
ingress to or egress from the employer’s premises for
lawful purposes, or obstruct public thoroughfares. (As
amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 227, June 1, 1982).
ART. . 265. Improved offer balloting. - In an effort to settle
a strike, the Department of Labor and Employment shall
conduct a referendum by secret ballot on the improved
offer of the employer on or before the 30th day of the
strike. When at least a majority of the union members
vote to accept the improved offer the striking workers
shall immediately return to work and the employer shall
thereupon readmit them upon the signing of the
agreement.
In case of a lockout, the Department of Labor and
Employment shall also conduct a referendum by secret
balloting on the reduced offer of the union on or before
the 30th day of the lockout. When at least a majority of
the board of directors or trustees or the partners holding
the controlling interest in the case of a partnership vote
to accept the reduced offer, the workers shall
immediately return to work and the employer shall
thereupon readmit them upon the signing of the
agreement. (Incorporated by Section 28, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 266. Requirement for arrest and detention. - Except on
grounds of national security and public peace or in case
of commission of a crime, no union members or union
organizers may be arrested or detained for union
activities without previous consultations with the
Secretary of Labor.
Chapter II
 ASSISTANCE TO
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
ART. 267. Assistance by the Department of Labor. - The
Department of Labor, at the initiative of the Secretary of
Labor, shall extend special assistance to the organization,
for purposes of collective bargaining, of the most
underprivileged workers who, for reasons of occupation,
organizational structure or insufficient incomes, are not
normally covered by major labor organizations or
federations.
ART. 268. Assistance by the Institute of Labor and Manpower
Studies. - The Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies
shall render technical and other forms of assistance to
labor organizations and employer organizations in the
field of labor education, especially pertaining to
collective bargaining, arbitration, labor standards and
the Labor Code of the Philippines in general.
Chapter III
FOREIGN ACTIVITIES
ART. 269. Prohibition against aliens; exceptions. - All aliens,
natural or juridical, as well as foreign organizations are
strictly prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly
in all forms of trade union activities without prejudice to
normal contacts between Philippine labor unions and
recognized international labor centers: Provided,
however, That aliens working in the country with valid
permits issued by the Department of Labor and
Employment, may exercise the right to self-organization
and join or assist labor organizations of their own
choosing for purposes of collective bargaining: Provided,
further, That said aliens are nationals of a country which
grants the same or similar rights to Filipino workers. (As
amended by Section 29, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
ART. 270. Regulation of foreign assistance. - (a) No foreign
individual, organization or entity may give any
donations, grants or other forms of assistance, in cash or
in kind, directly or indirectly, to any labor organization,
group of workers or any auxiliary thereof, such as
cooperatives, credit unions and institutions engaged in
research, education or communication, in relation to
trade union activities, without prior permission by the
Secretary of Labor.
"Trade union activities" shall mean:
(1) organization, formation and administration of labor
organization;
(2) negotiation and administration of collective
bargaining agreements;
(3) all forms of concerted union action;
(4) organizing, managing, or assisting union conventions,
meetings, rallies, referenda, teach-ins, seminars,
conferences and institutes;
(5) any form of participation or involvement in
representation proceedings, representation elections,
consent elections, union elections; and
(6) other activities or actions analogous to the foregoing.
(b) This prohibition shall equally apply to foreign
donations, grants or other forms of assistance, in cash or
in kind, given directly or indirectly to any employer or
employer’s organization to support any activity or
activities affecting trade unions.
(c) The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate rules and
regulations to regulate and control the giving and
receiving of such donations, grants, or other forms of
assistance, including the mandatory reporting of the
amounts of the donations or grants, the specific
recipients thereof, the projects or activities proposed to
be supported, and their duration.
ART. 271. Applicability to farm tenants and rural workers. -
The provisions of this Title pertaining to foreign
organizations and activities shall be deemed applicable
likewise to all organizations of farm tenants, rural
workers, and the like: Provided, That in appropriate
cases, the Secretary of Agrarian Reform shall exercise the
powers and responsibilities vested by this Title in the
Secretary of Labor.
Chapter IV
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION
ART. 272. Penalties. - (a) Any person violating any of the
provisions of Article. 264 of this Code shall be punished
by a fine of not less than one thousand pesos (P1,000.00)
nor more than ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) and/or
imprisonment for not less than three months nor more
than three (3) years, or both such fine and imprisonment,
at the discretion of the court. Prosecution under this
provision shall preclude prosecution for the same act
under the Revised Penal Code, and vice versa.
(b) Upon the recommendation of the Minister of Labor
and Employment and the Minister of National Defense,
foreigners who violate the provisions of this Title shall
be subject to immediate and summary deportation by
the Commission on Immigration and Deportation and
shall be permanently barred from re-entering the
country without the special permission of the President
of the Philippines. (As amended by Section 16, Batas
Pambansa Bilang 130 and Section 7, Batas Pambansa
Bilang 227).
 Title IX
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
ART. 273. Study of labor-management relations. - The
Secretary of Labor shall have the power and it shall be
his duty to inquire into:
(a) the existing relations between employers and
employees in the Philippines;
(b) the growth of associations of employees and the
effect of such associations upon employer-employee
relations;
(c) the extent and results of the methods of collective
bargaining in the determination of terms and conditions
of employment;
(d) the methods which have been tried by employers
and associations of employees for maintaining mutually
satisfactory relations;
(e) desirable industrial practices which have been
developed through collective bargaining and other
voluntary arrangements;
(f) the possible ways of increasing the usefulness and
efficiency of collective bargaining for settling differences;
(g) the possibilities for the adoption of practical and
effective methods of labor-management cooperation;
(h) any other aspects of employer-employee relations
concerning the promotion of harmony and
understanding between the parties; and
(i) the relevance of labor laws and labor relations to
national development.
The Secretary of Labor shall also inquire into the causes
of industrial unrest and take all the necessary steps
within his power as may be prescribed by law to
alleviate the same, and shall from time to time
recommend the enactment of such remedial legislation
as in his judgment may be desirable for the maintenance
and promotion of industrial peace.
ART. 274. Visitorial power. - The Secretary of Labor and
Employment or his duly authorized representative is
hereby empowered to inquire into the financial activities
of legitimate labor organizations upon the filing of a
complaint under oath and duly supported by the written
consent of at least twenty percent (20%) of the total
membership of the labor organization concerned and to
examine their books of accounts and other records to
determine compliance or non-compliance with the law
and to prosecute any violations of the law and the union
constitution and by-laws: Provided, That such inquiry or
examination shall not be conducted during the sixty
(60)-day freedom period nor within the thirty (30) days
immediately preceding the date of election of union
officials. (As amended by Section 31, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 275. Tripartism and tripartite conferences. - (a)
Tripartism in labor relations is hereby declared a State
policy. Towards this end, workers and employers shall,
as far as practicable, be represented in decision and
policy-making bodies of the government.
(b) The Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly
authorized representatives may, from time to time, call a
national, regional, or industrial tripartite conference of
representatives of government, workers and employers
for the consideration and adoption of voluntary codes of
principles designed to promote industrial peace based
on social justice or to align labor movement relations
with established priorities in economic and social
development. In calling such conference, the Secretary of
Labor and Employment may consult with accredited
representatives of workers and employers. (As amended
by Section 32, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 276. Government employees. - The terms and
conditions of employment of all government employees,
including employees of government-owned and
controlled corporations, shall be governed by the Civil
Service Law, rules and regulations. Their salaries shall
be standardized by the National Assembly as provided
for in the New Constitution. However, there shall be no
reduction of existing wages, benefits and other terms
and conditions of employment being enjoyed by them at
the time of the adoption of this Code.
ART. 277. Miscellaneous provisions. - (a) All unions are
authorized to collect reasonable membership fees, union
dues, assessments and fines and other contributions for
labor education and research, mutual death and
hospitalization benefits, welfare fund, strike fund and
credit and cooperative undertakings. (As amended by
Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
(b) Subject to the constitutional right of workers to
security of tenure and their right to be protected against
dismissal except for a just and authorized cause and
without prejudice to the requirement of notice under
ART. 283 of this Code, the employer shall furnish the
worker whose employment is sought to be terminated a
written notice containing a statement of the causes for
termination and shall afford the latter ample
opportunity to be heard and to defend himself with the
assistance of his representative if he so desires in
accordance with company rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to guidelines set by the
Department of Labor and Employment. Any decision
taken by the employer shall be without prejudice to the
right of the worker to contest the validity or legality of
his dismissal by filing a complaint with the regional
branch of the National Labor Relations Commission. The
burden of proving that the termination was for a valid or
authorized cause shall rest on the employer. The
Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment
may suspend the effects of the termination pending
resolution of the dispute in the event of a prima facie
finding by the appropriate official of the Department of
Labor and Employment before whom such dispute is
pending that the termination may cause a serious labor
dispute or is in implementation of a mass lay-off. (As
amended by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
(c) Any employee, whether employed for a definite
period or not, shall, beginning on his first day of service,
be considered as an employee for purposes of
membership in any labor union. (As amended by
Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715).
(d) No docket fee shall be assessed in labor standards
disputes. In all other disputes, docket fees may be
assessed against the filing party, provided that in
bargaining deadlock, such fees shall be shared equally
by the negotiating parties.
(e) The Minister of Labor and Employment and the
Minister of the Budget shall cause to be created or
reclassified in accordance with law such positions as
may be necessary to carry out the objectives of this Code
and cause the upgrading of the salaries of the personnel
involved in the Labor Relations System of the Ministry.
Funds needed for this purpose shall be provided out of
the Special Activities Fund appropriated by Batas
Pambansa Blg. 80 and from annual appropriations
thereafter. (Incorporated by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130,
August 21, 1981).
(f) A special Voluntary Arbitration Fund is hereby
established in the Board to subsidize the cost of
voluntary arbitration in cases involving the
interpretation and implementation of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement, including the Arbitrator’s fees,
and for such other related purposes to promote and
develop voluntary arbitration. The Board shall
administer the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund in
accordance with the guidelines it may adopt upon the
recommendation of the Council, which guidelines shall
be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment. Continuing funds needed for this purpose
in the initial yearly amount of fifteen million pesos
(P15,000,000.00) shall be provided in the 1989 annual
general appropriations acts.
The amount of subsidy in appropriate cases shall be
determined by the Board in accordance with established
guidelines issued by it upon the recommendation of the
Council.
The Fund shall also be utilized for the operation of the
Council, the training and education of Voluntary
Arbitrators, and the Voluntary Arbitration Program. (As
amended by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
(g) The Ministry shall help promote and gradually
develop, with the agreement of labor organizations and
employers, labor-management cooperation programs at
appropriate levels of the enterprise based on the shared
responsibility and mutual respect in order to ensure
industrial peace and improvement in productivity,
working conditions and the quality of working life.
(Incorporated by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21,
1981).
(h) In establishments where no legitimate labor
organization exists, labor-management committees may
be formed voluntarily by workers and employers for the
purpose of promoting industrial peace. The Department
of Labor and Employment shall endeavor to enlighten
and educate the workers and employers on their rights
and responsibilities through labor education with
emphasis on the policy thrusts of this Code. (As
amended by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
(i) To ensure speedy labor justice, the periods provided
in this Code within which decisions or resolutions of
labor relations cases or matters should be rendered shall
be mandatory. For this purpose, a case or matter shall be
deemed submitted for decision or resolution upon the
filing of the last pleading or memorandum required by
the rules of the Commission or by the Commission itself,
or the Labor Arbiter, or the Director of the Bureau of
Labor Relations or Med-Arbiter, or the Regional Director.
Upon expiration of the corresponding period, a
certification stating why a decision or resolution has not
been rendered within the said period shall be issued
forthwith by the Chairman of the Commission, the
Executive Labor Arbiter, or the Director of the Bureau of
Labor Relations or Med-Arbiter, or the Regional Director,
as the case may be, and a copy thereof served upon the
parties.
Despite the expiration of the applicable mandatory
period, the aforesaid officials shall, without prejudice to
any liability which may have been incurred as a
consequence thereof, see to it that the case or matter
shall be decided or resolved without any further delay.
(Incorporated by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715,
March 21, 1989).
BOOK SIX
POST EMPLOYMENT

Title I
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
ART. 278. Coverage. - The provisions of this Title shall
apply to all establishments or undertakings, whether for
profit or not.
ART. 279. Security of tenure. - In cases of regular
employment, the employer shall not terminate the
services of an employee except for a just cause or when
authorized by this Title. An employee who is unjustly
dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement
without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and
to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his
other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed
from the time his compensation was withheld from him
up to the time of his actual reinstatement. (As amended
by Section 34, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
ART. 280. Regular and casual employment. - The provisions
of written agreement to the contrary notwithstanding
and regardless of the oral agreement of the parties, an
employment shall be deemed to be regular where the
employee has been engaged to perform activities which
are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business
or trade of the employer, except where the employment
has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking the
completion or termination of which has been
determined at the time of the engagement of the
employee or where the work or service to be performed
is seasonal in nature and the employment is for the
duration of the season.
An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not
covered by the preceding paragraph: Provided, That any
employee who has rendered at least one year of service,
whether such service is continuous or broken, shall be
considered a regular employee with respect to the
activity in which he is employed and his employment
shall continue while such activity exists.
ART. 281. Probationary employment. - Probationary
employment shall not exceed six (6) months from the
date the employee started working, unless it is covered
by an apprenticeship agreement stipulating a longer
period. The services of an employee who has been
engaged on a probationary basis may be terminated for
a just cause or when he fails to qualify as a regular
employee in accordance with reasonable standards
made known by the employer to the employee at the
time of his engagement. An employee who is allowed to
work after a probationary period shall be considered a
regular employee.
ART. 282. Termination by employer. - An employer may
terminate an employment for any of the following
causes:
(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the
employee of the lawful orders of his employer or
representative in connection with his work;
(b) Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his
duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust
reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized
representative;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the employee
against the person of his employer or any immediate
member of his family or his duly authorized
representatives; and
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
ART. 283. Closure of establishment and reduction of
personnel. - The employer may also terminate the
employment of any employee due to the installation of
labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to
prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of
the establishment or undertaking unless the closing is
for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this
Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the
Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1)
month before the intended date thereof. In case of
termination due to the installation of labor-saving
devices or redundancy, the worker affected thereby shall
be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least his
one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for
every year of service, whichever is higher. In case of
retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures
or cessation of operations of establishment or
undertaking not due to serious business losses or
financial reverses, the separation pay shall be equivalent
to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month
pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. A
fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered one
(1) whole year.
ART. 284. Disease as ground for termination. - An
employer may terminate the services of an employee
who has been found to be suffering from any disease
and whose continued employment is prohibited by law
or is prejudicial to his health as well as to the health of
his co-employees: Provided, That he is paid separation
pay equivalent to at least one (1) month salary or to one-
half (1/2) month salary for every year of service,
whichever is greater, a fraction of at least six (6) months
being considered as one (1) whole year.
ART. 285. Termination by employee. - (a) An employee
may terminate without just cause the employee-
employer relationship by serving a written notice on the
employer at least one (1) month in advance. The
employer upon whom no such notice was served may
hold the employee liable for damages.
(b) An employee may put an end to the relationship
without serving any notice on the employer for any of
the following just causes:
1. Serious insult by the employer or his representative on
the honor and person of the employee;
2. Inhuman and unbearable treatment accorded the
employee by the employer or his representative;
3. Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or
his representative against the person of the employee or
any of the immediate members of his family; and
4. Other causes analogous to any of the foregoing.
ART. 286. When employment not deemed terminated. - The
bona-fide suspension of the operation of a business or
undertaking for a period not exceeding six (6) months,
or the fulfillment by the employee of a military or civic
duty shall not terminate employment. In all such cases,
the employer shall reinstate the employee to his former
position without loss of seniority rights if he indicates
his desire to resume his work not later than one (1)
month from the resumption of operations of his
employer or from his relief from the military or civic
duty.
Title II
RETIREMENT FROM THE SERVICE
ART. 287. Retirement. - Any employee may be retired
upon reaching the retirement age established in the
collective bargaining agreement or other applicable
employment contract.
In case of retirement, the employee shall be entitled to
receive such retirement benefits as he may have earned
under existing laws and any collective bargaining
agreement and other agreements: Provided, however,
That an employee’s retirement benefits under any
collective bargaining and other agreements shall not be
less than those provided therein. In the absence of a
retirement plan or agreement providing for retirement
benefits of employees in the establishment, an employee
upon reaching the age of sixty (60) years or more, but
not beyond sixty-five (65) years which is hereby
declared the compulsory retirement age, who has served
at least five (5) years in the said establishment, may
retire and shall be entitled to retirement pay equivalent
to at least one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of
service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being
considered as one whole year.
Unless the parties provide for broader inclusions, the
term ‘one-half (1/2) month salary’ shall mean fifteen (15)
days plus one-twelfth (1/12) of the 13th month pay and
the cash equivalent of not more than five (5) days of
service incentive leaves.
Retail, service and agricultural establishments or
operations employing not more than ten (10) employees
or workers are exempted from the coverage of this
provision.
Violation of this provision is hereby declared unlawful
and subject to the penal provisions under Article 288 of
this Code.
BOOK SEVEN
TRANSITORY
AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Title I
 PENAL PROVISIONS AND LIABILITIES
ART. 288. Penalties. - Except as otherwise provided in
this Code, or unless the acts complained of hinge on a
question of interpretation or implementation of
ambiguous provisions of an existing collective
bargaining agreement, any violation of the provisions of
this Code declared to be unlawful or penal in nature
shall be punished with a fine of not less than One
Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) nor more than Ten
Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) or imprisonment of not less
than three months nor more than three years, or both
such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the
court.
In addition to such penalty, any alien found guilty shall
be summarily deported upon completion of service of
sentence.
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
any criminal offense punished in this Code, shall be
under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Municipal or
City Courts and the Courts of First Instance. (As
amended by Section 3, Batas Pambansa Bilang 70).
ART. 289. Who are liable when committed by other than
natural person. - If the offense is committed by a
corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association or any
other entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the
guilty officer or officers of such corporation, trust, firm,
partnership, association or entity.
Title II
PRESCRIPTION OF OFFENSES AND CLAIMS
ART. 290. Offenses. - Offenses penalized under this Code
and the rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto
shall prescribe in three (3) years.
All unfair labor practice arising from Book V shall be
filed with the appropriate agency within one (1) year
from accrual of such unfair labor practice; otherwise,
they shall be forever barred.
ART. 291. Money claims. - All money claims arising from
employer-employee relations accruing during the
effectivity of this Code shall be filed within three (3)
years from the time the cause of action accrued;
otherwise they shall be forever barred.
All money claims accruing prior to the effectivity of this
Code shall be filed with the appropriate entities
established under this Code within one (1) year from the
date of effectivity, and shall be processed or determined
in accordance with the implementing rules and
regulations of the Code; otherwise, they shall be forever
barred.
Workmen’s compensation claims accruing prior to the
effectivity of this Code and during the period from
November 1, 1974 up to December 31, 1974, shall be filed
with the appropriate regional offices of the Department
of Labor not later than March 31, 1975; otherwise, they
shall forever be barred. The claims shall be processed
and adjudicated in accordance with the law and rules at
the time their causes of action accrued.
ART. 292. Institution of money claims. - Money claims
specified in the immediately preceding Article shall be
filed before the appropriate entity independently of the
criminal action that may be instituted in the proper
courts.
Pending the final determination of the merits of money
claims filed with the appropriate entity, no civil action
arising from the same cause of action shall be filed with
any court. This provision shall not apply to employees
compensation case which shall be processed and
determined strictly in accordance with the pertinent
provisions of this Code.
Title III
TRANSITORY AND FINAL PROVISIONS
ART. 293. Application of law enacted prior to this Code. - All
actions or claims accruing prior to the effectivity of this
Code shall be determined in accordance with the laws in
force at the time of their accrual.
ART. 294. Secretary of Labor to initiate integration of
maternity leave benefits. - Within six (6) months after this
Code takes effect, the Secretary of Labor shall initiate
such measures as may be necessary for the integration of
maternity leave benefits into the Social Security System,
in the case of private employment, and the Government
Service Insurance System, in the case of public
employment.
ART. 295. Funding of the Overseas Employment
Development Board and the National Seamen’s Board
referred to in Articles 17 and 20, respectively, of this
Code shall initially be funded out of the unprogrammed
fund of the Department of Labor and the National
Manpower and Youth Council.
ART. 296. Termination of the workmen’s compensation
program. - The Bureau of Workmen’s Compensation,
Workmen’s Compensation Commission, and
Workmen’s Compensation Units in the regional offices
of the Department of Labor shall continue to exercise the
functions and the respective jurisdictions over
workmen’s compensation cases vested upon them by
Act No. 3428, as amended, otherwise known as the
Workmen’s Compensation Act until March 31, 1976.
Likewise, the term of office of incumbent members of
the Workmen’s Compensation Commission, including
its Chairman and any commissioner deemed retired as
of December 31, 1975, as well as the present employees
and officials of the Bureau of Workmen’s Compensation,
Workmen’s Compensation Commission and the
Workmen’s Compensation Units shall continue up to
that date. Thereafter, said offices shall be considered
abolished and all officials and personnel thereof shall be
transferred to and mandatorily absorbed by the
Department of Labor, subject to Presidential Decree No.
6, Letters of Instructions Nos. 14 and 14-A and the Civil
Service Law and rules.
Such amount as may be necessary to cover the
operational expenses of the Bureau of Workmen’s
Compensation and the Workmen’s Compensation Units,
including the salaries of incumbent personnel for the
period up to March 31, 1976 shall be appropriated from
the unprogrammed funds of the Department of Labor.
ART. 297. Continuation of insurance policies and indemnity
bonds. - All workmen’s compensation insurance policies
and indemnity bonds for self-insured employers existing
upon the effectivity of this Code shall remain in force
and effect until the expiration dates of such policies or
the lapse of the period of such bonds, as the case may be,
but in no case beyond December 31, 1974. Claims may
be filed against the insurance carriers and/or self-
insured employers for causes of action which accrued
during the existence of said policies or authority to self-
insure.
ART. 298. Abolition of the Court of Industrial Relations and
the National Labor Relations Commission. - The Court of
Industrial Relations and the National Labor Relations
Commission established under Presidential Decree No.
21 are hereby abolished. All unexpended funds,
properties, equipment and records of the Court of
Industrial Relations, and such of its personnel as may be
necessary, are hereby transferred to the Commission and
to its regional branches. All unexpended funds,
properties and equipment of the National Labor
Relations Commission established under Presidential
Decree No. 21 are transferred to the Bureau of Labor
Relations. Personnel not absorbed by or transferred to
the Commission shall enjoy benefits granted under
existing laws.
ART. 299. Disposition of pending cases. - All cases pending
before the Court of Industrial Relations and the National
Labor Relations Commission established under
Presidential Decree No. 21 on the date of effectivity of
this Code shall be transferred to and processed by the
corresponding labor relations divisions or the National
Labor Relations Commission created under this Code
having cognizance of the same in accordance with the
procedure laid down herein and its implementing rules
and regulations. Cases on labor relations on appeal with
the Secretary of Labor or the Office of the President of
the Philippines as of the date of effectivity of this Code
shall remain under their respective jurisdictions and
shall be decided in accordance with the rules and
regulations in force at the time of appeal.
All workmen’s compensation cases pending before the
Workmen’s Compensation Units in the regional offices
of the Department of Labor and those pending before
the Workmen’s Compensation Commission as of March
31, 1975, shall be processed and adjudicated in
accordance with the law, rules and procedure existing
prior to the effectivity of the Employees Compensation
and State Insurance Fund.
ART. 300. Personnel whose services are terminated. -
Personnel of agencies or any of their subordinate units
whose services are terminated as a result of the
implementation of this Code shall enjoy the rights and
protection provided in Sections 5 and 6 of Republic Act
numbered fifty-four hundred and thirty five and such
other pertinent laws, rules and regulations. In any case,
no lay-off shall be effected until funds to cover the
gratuity and/or retirement benefits of those laid off are
duly certified as available.
ART. 301. Separability provisions. - If any provision or
part of this Code, or the application thereof to any
person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of
this code, or the application of such provision or part to
other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected
thereby.
ART. 302. Repealing clause. - All labor laws not adopted
as part of this Code either directly or by reference are
hereby repealed. All provisions of existing laws, orders,
decrees, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are
likewise repealed.
Done in the City of Manila, this 1st day of May in the
year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy four.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President, Republic of the Philippines