1.)Presidential Decree No.

442, AS AMENDED May 1, 1974

A DECREE INSTITUTING A LABOR CODE THEREBY REVISING AND CONSOLIDATING

LABOR AND SOCIAL LAWS TO AFFORD PROTECTION TO LABOR, PROMOTE
EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND INSURE INDUSTRIAL PEACE
BASED ON SOCIAL JUSTICE

PRELIMINARY TITLE

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Name of Decree. This Decree shall be known as the "Labor Code of the Philippines".

Article 2. Date of effectivity. This Code shall take effect six (6) months after its promulgation.

2.) Since the labor laws of the country were codified in the Seventies during my incumbency as
Labor Secretary, the Labor Code has undergone a series of revisions both by acts of the
legislature and by executive fiat. Taken with the numerous labor and social legislations bearing
upon the field of labor and employment as well as the myriad rules implementing the Labor
Code and related laws, the subject could be utterly confusing and rather complicated. Through
the years, it has been noted that only very few annotations and commentaries have been written
on the Labor Code. This is unfortunate considering its significance and impact on the lives of
millions comprising the backbone of our nation. This book by Atty. Joselito Guianan Chan is
certainly a welcome addition to the sparse bibliography on the Labor Code.

© Philippine Copyright 1997 and 2009 By JOSELITO GUIANAN CHAN Second Edition, 2009
Revised and Enlarged All Rights Reserved No portion of this book may be copied or reproduced
in books, pamphlets, outlines or notes, whether printed, machine-copied, mimeographed,
typewritten, or in any other form, for distribution or sale, without the written permission of the
author. Any copy of this book without the corresponding number and genuine signature of the
author or his representative on this page, either proceeds from an illegitimate source or is in
possession of one who has no authority to dispose thereof. _

______________________ Authorized Signature Serial No. ____________ ISBN 978-971-

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 Major Philippine Labor Law Resources

 Labor Circular On-Line

 Labor Code of the Philippines

 Amendments to the Labor Code (Republic Act No.

6715)

 Amendments to the Labor Code (Presidential Decree

No. 626) [Employees' Compensation and State
Insurance Fund]
 An Act to Amend Articles 212, 217, 218, 255, 264, 265
and 273 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, and for
Other Purposes (Batas Pambansa Bilang 227)
 An Act Amending Articles 214, 217, 231, 232, 234,
249, 250, 251, 257, 262, 263, 264, 265, 278, 283, and
284 of Presidential Decree Numbered Four Hundred
and Forty-Two, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of
the Philippines, As Amended, to Further Promote Free
Trade Unionism and Collective Bargaining and For
Other Purposes (Batas Pambansa Bilang 130)
 An Act to Strengthen the Constitutional Right of
Workers to Self-Organization and Free Collective
Bargaining and to Penalize Unfair Labor Practices,
Further Amending for the Purpose Articles 244, 247,
248, 249, 250, and 289 (Book V) of Presidential
Decree Numbered Four Hundred Forty-Two, As
Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the
Philippines (Batas Pambansa Bilang 70)
 An Act to Amend Articles Nine and Ten, Chapter Two,
Preliminary Title, of Presidential Decree Numbered
Four Hundred Forty-Two, As Amended, Otherwise
Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, in Order
to Remove Discrepancies With Presidential Decree
Numbered Twenty-Seven Which Said Chapter Purports
to Reproduce (Batas Pambansa Bilang 32)

 Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code of the

Philippines
 Guidelines Governing Labor Relations
 Guidelines for the Conduct of INP/AFP Personnel
 During Strikes, Lockouts and Labor Disputes in General
 Amended Rules on Employees' Compensation

 Department Order No. 9, (Series of 1997) [Amending

the Rules Implementing Book V of the Labor Code, As
Amended]

 Rules on the Disposition of Labor Standards Cases in

the Regional Offices

 An Act Further Strengthening the Visitorial and

Enforcement Powers of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment, Amending for the Purpose Article 128 (b)
of Presidential Decree Numbered Four Hundred Forty-
Two, As Amended, Otherwise Known as the Labor Code
of the Philippines [Republic Act No. 7730]

 Social Security Act of 1997

 An Act Instituting Limited Portability Scheme in the

Social Security Systems by Totalizing the Workers'
Creditable Services or Contributions in Each of the
Systems [Republic Act No. 7699]

 Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997

 Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 1980 (Pag-

IBIG Law)

 National Health Insurance Act of 1995

 An Act Amending Republic Act No. 7875, Otherwise
Known as "An Act Instituting a National Health
Insurance Program for All Filipinos and Establishing
the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation for the
Purpose". [Republic Act No. 9241]

 Revised Philippine Medical Care Act

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988


 An Act to Promote the Development of the Farmers in
the Virginia Tobacco-Producing Provinces (Republic
Act No. 7171)
  An Act Amending Certain Provisions of Republic Act
No. 6657, Entitled "An Act Instituting a
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program to Promote
Social Justice and Industrialization, Providing the
Mechanism for Its Implementation, and for Other
Purposes" [Republic Act No. 7881]

 The Magna Carta of Public Health Workers

 Public Employment Service Office Act of 1999

 Paternity Leave Act of 1996

 Retirement Pay Law (Republic Act No. 7641)

 Retirement Age of Underground Mine Workers (Article

287, As Amended)
 Magna Carta for Disabled Persons [Republic Act No.
7277]

Special Protection of Children Against Abuse,


Exploitation and Discrimination Act [Republic Act No.
7610]
 An Act Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below
15 Years of Age in Public and Private Undertakings
Amending for This Purpose Section 12, Article VIII of
R. A. 7610 [Republic Act No. 7658]
 An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst
Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection
for the Working Child, Amending for this Purpose
Republic Act No. 7610, as Amended, Otherwise Known
as the "Special Protection of Children Against Child
Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act [Republic
Act No. 9231]
 Rules and Regulations Implementing Republic Act No.
9231, Amending R. A. 7610, as Amended [Department
Order No. 65-04 - July 26, 2004]

 Rules and Regulations on the Trafficking of Children

 Maternity Benefits [Republic Act No. 7322]

 Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995

  Administrative Disciplinary Rules on Sexual
Harassment Cases (CSC Resolution No. 01-0940, May
21, 2001)

 Women in Development and Nation Building

Act [Republic Act No. 7192]

 An Act Providing Assistance to Women Engaging in

Micro and Cottage Business Enterprises, and for Other
Purposes [Republic Act No. 7882]

An Act to Declare March Eight of Every Year as a

Working Special Holiday to be Known as National
Women's Day [Republic Act No. 6949]
 An Act Declaring the First Day of Shawwal, the Tenth
Month of the Islamic Calendar, a National Holiday for
the Observance of Eidul Fitr and the Tenth Day of
Zhuld Hijja, the Twelfth Month of the Islamic Calendar,
a Regional Holiday in the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for the Observance of Eidul
Adha, Amending for the Purpose Section 26, Chapter 7
of Executive Order No. 292, Otherwise Known as the
Administrative Code of 1987, And for Other
Purposes [Republic Act No. 9177]

 An Act Strengthening the Prohibition on Discrimination

Against Women with Respect to Terms and Conditions
of Employment, Amending for the Purpose Article One
Hundred Thirty-Five of the Labor Code, As
Amended [Republic Act No. 6725]

 Guidelines in the Filing and Resolution of Appeal from

the Decisions of the Bureau of Labor Relations on
Certification Election Cases in the Public Sector
(PSLMC Resolution No. 03, S. 2001)

 TESDA Act of 1994

 TESDA Implementing Rules and Regulations

 Dual Training System Act of 1994

  Countrywide Industrialization Act of 1992 [Republic
Act No. 7368]

 Magna Carta for Countryside and Barangay Business

Enterprises (Kalakalan 20) [Republic Act No. 6810]

 Barangay Health Workers' Benefits and Incentives Act

of 1995 [Republic Act No. 7883]

 An Act to Help Poor But Deserving Students Pursue

Their Education By Encouraging Their Employment
During Summer and/or Christmas Vacations, Through
Incentives Granted to Employers, Allowing Them to
Pay Only Sixty Per Centum of Their Salaries or Wages
and the Forty Per Centum Through Education Vouchers
to be Paid By the Government, Prohibiting and
Penalizing the Filing of Fraudulent or Fictitious Claims,
and for Other Purposes [Republic Act No. 7323]

 An Act Strengthening the Social Amelioration Program

in the Sugar Industry, Providing the Mechanics for Its
Implementation, and for Other Purposes [Republic Act
No. 6982]

 Wage Rationalization Act [Republic Act No. 6727]

Rules of Procedure on Minimum Wage Fixing
WAGE ORDERS

 An Act Providing for an Increase in the Wage of Public

or Government Sector Employees on a Daily Wage
Basis and in the Statutory Minimum Wage and Salary
Rates of Employees and Workers in the Private Sector
and for Other Purposes [Republic Act No. 6640]
 Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in
Private Education Act [Republic Act No. 6728]

 Law Increasing Penalty for Violation of Wage Laws

[R.A. 8188]

 Productivity Incentives Act of 1990 [Republic Act No.

6971]
 Law Further Amending Articles 38 and 39 of the Labor
Code by Making Illegal Recruitment a Crime of
Economic Sabotage and Punishable with Life
Imprisonment [Presidential Decree No. 2018]

 Civil Service Decree of the Philippines (Presidential

Decree No. 807)
 AN ACT REPEALING SECTION FORTY OF PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NUMBERED EIGHT HUNDRED SEVEN,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CIVIL SERVICE
DECREE. (Republic Act No. 6654)
 AN ACT TO PROTECT THE SECURITY OF TENURE OF
CIVIL SERVICE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNMENT
REORGANIZATION. (Republic Act No. 6656)
 AN ACT PROVIDING BENEFITS FOR EARLY
RETIREMENT AND VOLUNTARY SEPARATION FROM THE
GOVERNMENT SERVICE, AS WELL AS INVOLUNTARY
SEPARATION OF CIVIL SERVICE OFFICERS AND
EMPLOYEES PURSUANT TO VARIOUS EXECUTIVE
ORDERS AUTHORIZING GOVERNMENT
REORGANIZATION AFTER THE RATIFICATION OF THE
1987 CONSTITUTION APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. (Republic Act
No. 6683)
 AN ACT AUTHORIZING ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BONUS TO
NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND
EMPLOYEES STARTING CY 1988. (Republic Act No.
6686)
 COMPENSATION AND POSITION CLASSIFICATION ACT
OF 1989 (AN ACT PRESCRIBING A REVISED
COMPENSATION AND POSITION CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM IN THE GOVERNMENT AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES) (Republic Act No. 6758)
 AN ACT TO GRANT CIVIL SERVICE ELIGIBILITY UNDER
CERTAIN CONDITIONS TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
APPOINTED UNDER PROVISIONAL OR TEMPORARY
STATUS WHO HAVE RENDERED A TOTAL OF SEVEN (7)
YEARS OF EFFICIENT SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES. (Republic Act No. 6850)

 Cooperative Code of the Philippines [Republic Act No.

6938]
 AN ACT CREATING THE COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT
 AUTHORITY TO PROMOTE THE VIABILITY AND
GROWTH OF COOPERATIVES AS INSTRUMENTS OF
EQUITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, DEFINING ITS POWERS, FUNCTIONS
AND RESPONSIBILITIES, RATIONALIZING
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND AGENCIES WITH
COOPERATIVE FUNCTIONS, SUPPORTING
COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT, TRANSFERRING THE
REGISTRATION AND REGULATION FUNCTIONS OF
EXISTING GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ON COOPERATIVES
AS SUCH AND CONSOLIDATING THE SAME WITH THE
AUTHORITY, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES. (Republic Act No. 6939)

4.) The sources of labour law are both international and national (the latter including regulations
established through the social partners themselves).
International sources: These include, firstly, the bilateral treaties concluded between Belgium
and other countries which stipulate, for example, the regulations applicable to employees who
are nationals of the other country.
Next there are the very important Conventions adopted within the International Labour
Organization (ILO), which, among other things, establish a degree of harmonization of labour
law by laying down standards that must be observed in every country. The structure of the ILO
consists of an International Labour Conference, which convenes once a year in Geneva, a
Governing Body and an International Labour Office (permanent secretariat). To date, the ILO
has adopted no fewer than 168 Conventions and 176 Recommendations. These Conventions
are submitted by member countries to their legislatures for ratification. As at January 1, 1991
there had been 5,526 such ratifications. There is a special procedure for monitoring the proper
implementation of Conventions.
In 1976 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has 24
Member States, issued a Code of Conduct (called "Guidelines") for Multinational Enterprises.
Although these Guidelines are purely voluntary and not enforceable in law, they are of
considerable significance in practice, as is evident from the Badger case (the joint liability of a
parent company for the debts of its subsidiary, which was introduced by the Belgian
Government) and from other issues examined within the OECD's Committee on International
Investment and Multinational Enterprises. Questions concerning the interpretation of these
Guidelines can be addressed in the first instance to the contact point for Belgium, which is
organized within the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The European institutions have been alive to social matters from the very start. One example is
the European Social Charter, signed in Turin on October 18, 1961 under the auspices of the
Council of Europe. This has only recently been ratified by Belgium (Law of July 11, 1990).
Apparently there were difficulties in connection with the implementation of Art. 6 (4) relating to
the right to strike, which would also apply to public servants. Of greater importance, however, is
the impact of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic
Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
In the Treaty of Rome establishing the EEC (1957), Part Three, Title III deals with social policy
and includes the statement of the following principle: "Member States agree upon the need to
promote improved working conditions and an improved standard of living for workers, in order to
make possible their harmonization while the improvement is being maintained. They believe that
such a development will ensue not only from the functioning of the common market, which will
favour the harmonization of social systems, but also from the procedures provided for in this
Treaty and from the approximation of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative
action" (Article 117).
Article 118 of the Treaty states: "Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Treaty and in
conformity with its general objectives, the Commission shall have the task of promoting close
co-operation between Member States in the social field ..."
The Single European Act of 1986 introduced the additional Articles 118A and 118B. Article
118A concerns the encouragement of improvements, especially in the work environment, as
regards the health and safety of workers. Member States set as their objective the
harmonization of conditions in this area, while maintaining the improvements made. Although
under Article 100A of the Treaty provisions relating to the rights and interests of employed
persons are adopted by the Council of Ministers acting unanimously, in execution of Article
118A directives may be issued by the Council acting by a qualified majority. These directives
are to lay down minimum requirements for gradual implementation, having regard to the
conditions and technical rules obtaining in each of the Member States. They are, however, to
avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back
the creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Under Article 118B, the Commission is to endeavour to develop the dialogue between
employers and unions at European level which could, if the two sides consider it desirable, lead
to "relations based on agreement".
Lastly, it should be noted that the Single European Act sets the "social cohesion" of the
Community as an objective (Article 130A).
It may be recalled that the EC Council of Ministers and Commission can adopt measures
through different legal instruments: regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and
opinions. Regulations have general application, and are binding in their entirety and directly
applicable in all Member States; directives are binding upon Member States as to the result to
be achieved, but leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods used to that
end; decisions are binding in their entirety upon those parties to whom they are addressed;
whereas recommendations and opinions have no binding force.
Important regulations and directives include the Regulation on freedom of movement for
workers, and the Directives relating to redundancy situations, equal treatment for men and
women in employment, employees' vested rights in mergers and takeovers, and the protection
of employees in the event of their employer's insolvency.
National sources: The conventional sources of law (enacted legislation and case law) are, of
course, also important.
As regards the Constitution, however, it must be stressed that in Belgium, unlike many
neighbouring countries, it contains no provisions relating to what are termed "social
constitutional rights", such as the right to work, to adequate means of existence, to freedom of
association, to strike, etc. Article 59, § 3,3 does provide that the Flemish and French Community
Councils can regulate, by decree, the use of languages within the enterprise. It should also be
noted that Regional Councils have powers in matters such as employment policy.
Despite what has been said above, court decisions are also an important source of labour law.
This can be attributed in part to the joint composition of the labour courts, which have to deliver
judgments in a wide range of circumstances impossible for the legislator to foresee. In general,
the labour courts are empowered to rule on individual grievances; in most instances they have
no part to play in the settlement of collective labour disputes, such as disputes of interest . It
should also be stressed that arbitration is of almost no significance in Belgian labour law:
employees and employers are as a rule unable to undertake in advance to refer disputes to
arbitrators.
Regulations established through the social partners: Labour law also manifests its special
nature in the shape of work rules, collective agreements and, to a much lesser extent,
custom .
Work rules, in accordance with the provisions of the Work Rules Act of April 8, 1965, comprise a
set of rules on pay and employment conditions that are applicable within the enterprise. Article
4(1) of the Act lays down that employers must draw up work rules. This means that employers
are responsible for ensuring that work rules exist. It should be noted that special work rules may
be drawn up for the various categories of employees and for the various departments of the
enterprise (Article 5). The separate categories of employees meant here are, for example, blue-
collar workers and white-collar workers. The procedure for drawing up and amending work rules
differs according to whether or not there is a works council in the enterprise. Their content is
partly compulsory and partly optional.
Collective agreements, concluded between the employer(s) or employers' association(s) and
the trade union(s) at the level of an individual enterprise, an entire industry or the country as a
whole, not only establish rights and obligations for the contracting parties concerned but also
serve as a "norm" which regulates the individual employment relationship and collective labour
relations in the enterprise, industry or country as a whole.
Custom is of little importance in Belgium as a source of labour law. It is ranked last in the
hierarchy of sources of law as specified in Article 51 of the Collective Agreements and Joint
Committees Act of December 5, 1968.
Hierarchy of the sources of law: The hierarchy of the sources of law as specified by the 1968
Act is as follows:
"1.mandatory legal provisions;
2.collective agreements which have been decreed generally applicable, in the following order of
precedence:
a. agreements concluded within the National Labour Council,
b. agreements concluded within a Joint Committee,
c.agreements concluded within a Joint Subcommittee;
3. collective agreements which have not been decreed generally applicable, where the
employer is a signatory thereto or is a member of an association that is a signatory thereto, in
the following order of precedence:
a. agreements concluded within the National Labour Council,
b. agreements concluded within a Joint Committee,
c. agreements concluded within a Joint Subcommittee,
d. agreements concluded outside any joint body;
4. written individual contracts of employment;
5. collective agreements concluded within a joint body but not decreed generally applicable,
where the employer, although not a signatory thereto nor a member of an association that is a
signatory thereto, operates in an industry covered by the joint body within which the agreement
was concluded;
6. work rules;
7. supplementary legal provisions;
8. oral individual contracts of employment;
9. custom" (Article 51).
The Supreme Court of Justice holds that in accordance with Article 51 it is possible for a written
individual contract of employment to be replaced or changed by a later oral contract. In matters
regulated by an individual contract of employment, custom which departs from the terms of the
contract has no legal significance.