Labor - Azucena

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OVERVIEW: tr'UNDAMENTALS

ln reviewing Labor Law, wherri do iou begin? Begin with the statements of objectives, policies and fundame"dt rigtt in the Constitution, the civil Code, the Corporation Code and

th[ l-abor Code-

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1. Constitutional Fouridstions

a. Declaration of Principles

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Poli"i", (Article II)

The Constitution command$ the State to promote a just and dynamic thru employmont, a rising standard of living and an improved quality of life. The State shall promote sbcial justice in all phases ofnational development.

Capitai and labdr are recoguizpd with balance. Labor is affirmed as a primary social economic force, htit capital is recogrrized as performing an indispensable role.

Because private enterprise is encouraged, the right to own pqiv4Le property is recognlzeil and protected. No person (natrnal or juridical) can be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Inheritance of property is allowed. Nonetheless, use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good. (Art. XII, Sec.

b) Corporate right or porver tri manage is recognized. The constitrtion gvps the people the right 'to own, establish and operate ecare enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote distrih,iE ilfic and to intervene when the common good so demauds'l (Art XII, 'Se- 6I These provisions are clear indications of the Philippine's "miiof ry* system, i.e., capitalistic but goveinment-regulated' The goal and ideology t:-

are social justice; the means and lrocess are basically private property and the market system. The Bill of Rights (/\rt. IID The people's right to freedbm of, association, including formation of r',ions, carinot be abridgcd, ndt may a law bc passod impairing thc

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contracts. (ienerail!,; therefore, employment contracts and collective bargaining stipulations iie lawful.

obligation

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Goals ofthe Econonqz.

Highest priority in law-rnaling is to be given to the reduction of social, economic and political inequalities through diffiision of wealth and political power. This pror"ision reiterates Article XII which dcclares the goals of the national economv, namely:

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Equitablc distribution of (2)Sustained ircrease in the the nation

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income, and wealth. of goods and servioes produced by

To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of property. :

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Rights

oflaborand ofCapital

CcinsisEnt with balanced treaunent, dre rights of labor and of capital, are stated also with balance. The Constitution names seven guaxanteed rights of labor, namely: PR (Participatoryrifdt in policy making) SO (Self-Organization)

CB (Collective Bargaining) C A (Concerted Acti vity) ST (Security ofTanure) LW (Living Wage)

HC (Humane Conditions) Labor

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the right to just sliilre in the fruits of production.

Capital (private eoterprise) has the. right to. reasonable return on invOstnents and to expansion and

fpwth (ROI-EG).

2. Civil Code Why does the employer flr" th" power to run or marmge the business? Because he owns it. A business is property, and the Civil Code law on rights of propet'ty owrrership applies: jus utendi" jus fruendi, jus abutendi, jus disponendi, jus vindicandi.

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But these are rights over property, not rights over people. People are needed because property is not productive (in economic sense) without humari effort. Labor is necessary, Lut because people are not propcrty the connection with the employer is not "ownership" but 'telationship". Property like land, stocks and machines can be owned but people carmot be owned though legally they ryay be managed or controlled. So Article 1700 cautions: "The relations between capital and 'labor are not mercly contractual. They are so impressdf with public interest that labor contracts must yield to the cornmrrn good. Such contracts are subject to special laws.

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Those Special laws are the labor laws. Labor laws therefore arose because the laws on'property ownership do not define employer-omployee relationship. Unlike property, perlple are living entities endowed with dignity, reason and rights. Labor laws informally began when group production of industrial goods be$an in the 1600s, when people started using ' poople to creato wealth. I-ahor law governs &e legal aspect of MoGregor's human side of the enterprise.

Employment relationship (or "E-E Rel", employer-employee relationship) is both legal and huhran in character. Not every employment

relations issue is resolved by legaliBtic provisions. Not conforming with the positive law theorists, the Civil Ctide's first Article on Human Relations (Art. 19) commands: *Ev€ry persort t rst, in the exErcise of his rights and in the perforrrance of his duties, act *ith justice, give everyone his due, and observe honest5r and good faith." Tllrrs, the employer has the power to select people, transfer people, promote or demote and even dismiss people, but all these must be done in good faith.

3. Corporation Code But what legitimizes the empioyer's control power over people? One, the employment itself, u'hich is a contract, bocause a contract (written or unwritten) is generally a binding law between the parties. Two, the Constitution (Article XII, Sec. 6) that recogrrizes the right of corporatirons "to operate economic tnterprioes." Third, the Corporation Code that grants corporations "the powdfs, attributes and properties vxpressly atrthorized by law or ms!&ntslO-As-9x!s!9n99" (BP Blg. 58, Sec. 2).

Thus, thc employer enterirrise oan enter into contracts, initiate projects, or make policies and enforce them. The same Code requires Articles of Incorporation which, after government approval, authorizes the organization to pgrsrre it3. approved business obiectives and to "exercise such other powers as may be essential or necessa{v to caxry out its purpose or purposes as stakd in the articles of incorporation" (Sec. 36). The Corporate Code firther allows and approves corporate by-laws that name the corporate ttfiEcers and their duties (Sec. 25). The duties include creation of management positions to implement the core management functions of PO[.C. (planning, organizing, leading and controlling). Indeed, ma:nagemerlt arose as a distinct kind of work whem group economic activities start€d getting formally organized in late 1800s. This economic trend also gave birth to labor laws and personnel management.

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Code, Couit decisions recognrize Finally, aside from the the powel of management l'to l6gulatq all aspects of employment" (San Miguel BreweryS'ctres ys'. Oplel G-R. No. 5i515, Feb' 18, 19E9)

4. LaborCode 2, 218, 252, 256, 293. These are not statements of labor law oljcctives but of p