Birth of the LC

Blas Ople - father of the LC

LC
designed to be a dynamic & growing body of laws w/c will reflect continually
the lessons of practical application & experience
7 Principles Underlying the code
1.
Labor relations must be made both responsive & responsible to national d
evt
2.
Labor laws/labor relations during a period of national emergency must su
bstitute rationality for confrontation; ?strikes or lockouts give way to a ratio
nal process w/c is arbitration
3.
Laggard justice in the labor field is injurious to the workers, the EERS
& the public; labor justice can be made expeditious w/o sacrificing due process
.
4.
Manpower devt & EENT must be regarded as a major dimension of labor poli
cy, for there can be no real equality of bargaining power under conditions of se
vere mass unemployment.
5.
There is a global labor market available to qualified Filipinos, esp tho
se who are unemployed or whose EENT is tantamount to unemployment bcoz of their
very little earnings.
6.
Labor laws must command adequate resources & acquire a capable machinery
for effective & sustained implementation; when labor laws cannot be enforced, b
oth EERS & the workers are penalized, & only a corrupt few (those who are in cha
rge of implementation) may get the reward they don t deserve.
7.
There shld be popular participation in national policy-making through wh
at is now called tripartism.
Some Labor Laws before the Passage of the Code
Act #1874: EER S Liability Act,
Act #2549: prohibited payment of wages in non-cash form
Act #2071: prohibiting slavery/involuntary servitude
R #1054: requiring emergency medical treatmt for EES
CA # 444: 8-hr labor law
CA #103 created the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR)
Pd #21 created the NLRC ( to investigate, decide & settle all disputes bet EERS
& EES
RA # 875: The Industrial Peace Act (the Magna Carta of Labor)
RA #946: Blue Sunday Law
forbids commercial, industrial or agri enterprises to o
pen on any Sunday, Xmas Day, New Year s Day, Holy Thurs & Good Friday.
RA #1787: The Termination Pay Law
enumerated the just causes for terminating an
EENT w/o a definite period and allowed EERS to separate an EE by serving a 15-da
y notice per yr of service or, by paying an equivalent separation pay.
Significance of Other Laws
1.
Foreign Decisions numerous LC provisions are substantially similar to th
e Industrial Peace Act
2.
The Civil Code describes the nature of labor mgt relations:
The relations bet capital & labor are not merely contractual. They are so impress
ed w/ public interest that labor contracts must yield to the common good. ?such
contracts are subj. to the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining,
strikes & lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hrs of labor & simil
ar subjs.
Art 1700
Neither capital nor labor shall act oppressively against the other, or impair the
interest or convenience of the public
Art 1701.
3.
RPC punishes the use of violence or threats by either EER or EE.
4.
Special Laws (SSS law, GSIS law, Agrarian Reform law, the 13th- month pa
y law, the Magna Carta for Public Health
Workers)
Art 3. [Declaration of Basic Polici] The State shall afford protection to labor,
promote full EENT, ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or c
reed, and regulate the relations bet workers & EERS. The State shall assure the
rights of workers to self-org, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and ju
st & humane conditions of work.

Balanced Approach
shared responsibility. Worker & EER sectors are interdependent
.
Art4. [Construction in Favor of Labor] All doubts in the implementation & interp
retation of the provisions of this Code, including its IRRs, shall be resolved i
n favor of labor.
Interpretation & Construction
policy is to extend the decree s applicability to a
greater number of EES to enable them to avail of the benefits under the law (Lib
eral approach is adopted)
Concern for the Lowly Worker SC reaffirms its concern for the lowly worker who,
often at his EER s mercy, must look up to the law for his protection. (Reason: the
EER stands on higher footing than the EE: (1,) There is greater supply than dem
and for labor; (2) the need for EENT by labor comes from vital & even
desperate necessity.)
Mgt Rights entitled to respect & enforcement in the interest of simple fair play
.
1.
R to