EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT PMFTC INC.
Flue Cured Virginia farmers inClaveria and Bukidnon

Agricultural Labor Practices Program

September, 2018

External Assessment

Table of Content
Executive summary. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3Market and company background .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 61. Implementation of the ALP Program .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 81.1. Commitment to the ALP Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2. Strategy and objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3. Internal capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Communication of the ALP Code requirements to farmers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5 Internal monitoring: data collection, accuracy, and addressing issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.6 Address systemic and/or widespread issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2. Farm-level assessment of working conditions regarding the ALP Code Standards.  .  .  .  .  .  . 20
2.1. ALP Code Principle 1: Child labor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2. ALP Code Principle 2: Income and work hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3. ALP Code Principle 3: Fair treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.4. ALP Code Principle 4: Forced labor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.5. ALP Code Principle 5: Safe work environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.7. ALP Code Principle 7: Compliance with the law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3. ALP Program: feedback from farmers, workers, and other stakeholders . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 31
Appendices .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33
Appendix I – PMFTC’s Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Appendix II – Scope and methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Appendix III – Legal information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Appendix IV – Communication materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Appendix V – Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Flue Cured Virginia farmers in Claveria and Bukidnon

External Assessment

In September 2018, Philip Morris International(PMI) requested Control Union to conduct anexternal assessment of the Flue-Cured Virginia(FCV) tobacco growing operations of its affiliate
PMFTC Inc. (PMFTC) in the Claveria and Bukidnon
regions on the island of Mindanao, in the southern
Philippines. The assessment evaluated the labor
practices at PMFTC contracted tobacco farms,
and whether these were meeting the standardsof the Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) Code 1.
Control Union (CU) also evaluated PMFTC’s
internal structure and capacity to implement the
ALP Program, the understanding of farm practices,and how issues were being identified, recorded andaddressed.
As part of this assessment CU interviewed seven
PMFTC management employees, eleven PMFTC
field employees (including six leaf technicians),
one PMI Regional employee, and two external
stakeholders (NGOs) involved in the after-school
program, support mechanism and farm workers’
training. Over a two-week period, CU visited 21
farms 2 throughout the Claveria and Bukidnon
regions, and interviewed 21 farmers, 10 family
members and 33 workers. All farm visits wereunannounced.
Information triangulation was adopted to evaluate
farm practices. The three sources included
interviews, documentation and observation,
together with a “Five Whys” problem analysis. The“Plan, Do, Check, Act” cycle was used to analyze
PMFTC’s management approach.
PMFTC started the ALP Program in 2013 with aninternal training provided by the ALP Coordinator atthat time. The contracted farms in the assessment
area were mainly small-scale, growing two hectares

1.

2.

of tobacco on average. Based on a CU assessment
and associated action plan and risk assessmentof a different region of the Philippines in 2014,
PMFTC was monitoring all seven ALP Principles,but focused its actions and programs on Child
Labor and Safe Work Environment. As a result of
these efforts, both PMFTC employees and farmers
had a good understanding of the minimum age
requirements. However, their knowledge of Safe
Work Environment, one of the prioritized topics,
was found to be limited. This was also the case withregard to worker’s rights and benefits.
Leaf technicians were trained regularly; grouptrainings were organized by the Social Responsibility
Coordinators four times per year. As part of thesetrainings, leaf technicians had to take written tests
on ALP that required a minimum score of 90%.
Nevertheless, CU identified significant gaps in theirunderstanding of the ALP Code, particularly withregard to Compliance with the Law (ALP Principle
7).
PMFTC communicated ALP-related topics tofarmers mainly via group meetings and regular farm
visits by the field team. In addition, the company had
developed and distributed several communicationmaterials on ALP, including flyers, posters andvideos.
At the time of the assessment PMFTC wascollecting three types of ALP-related data from thefarms: socio-economic information (Farm Profiles);situations not meeting the standard (Monitoring);
and Prompt Actions. Data for the Farm Profiles
was collected at the beginning of the contracting
period and was updated after every farm visit whenneeded. All data were collected using SmartFarm,the company’s digital system.

The main goal of the ALP Code is to eliminate child labor and other labor abuses progressively where they arefound, and to achieve safe and fair working conditions on all farms from which PMI sources tobacco. For more
information on the background of the ALP Program see https://www.pmi.com/sustainability/good-agriculturalpractices/upholding-labor-rights-on-the-farms.
The minimum sample size was 20 farms, which is calculated as the square root of the total number of farms within
the scope (approximately 200 at the time of the assessment), assuming a minimum sample size of 20 to constitutea meaningful sample.
4External Assessment

Farm practices were monitored three times per
season per farmer, using different sets of questions
that were crop stage specific. For two of the farms
visited (9%) the monitoring data was not available.
Furthermore, at four farms (19%) CU foundsituations not meeting the standard, which had notbeen captured by the leaf technicians.
At the time of the assessment PMFTC had reported
86 Prompt Actions for the current year (18 on
Child Labor and 68 on Safe Work Environment).
Improvement plans for individual farms weremade only in case of Prompt Action situations, notfor situations not meeting the standard. All leaf
technicians interviewed were aware of the Prompt
Action reporting procedure, except that there wassome confusion about the deadline of the follow-up
visit. Furthermore, only 17% of the Prompt Actions
reports of 2018 included a root cause analysis.
As a result, most action plans only addressed thecurrent issues, rather than taking corrective actions
to prevent issues from happening in the future.
Awareness of the ALP program was relatively high:
86% of farmers, 70% of family members and 47% ofworkers knew at least one of the principles of the
ALP Code. The level of awareness was highest forChild Labor and Safe Work Environment, PMFTC’s
focus areas. However, significant knowledge gaps
were identified regarding the other ALP CodePrinciples. In particular, farmers and workers weregenerally unaware of legal benefits and farmers’
obligation to inform workers about their legal rights.
Based on their risk assessment and the Prompt
Actions raised, PMFTC had launched several
initiatives to address widespread and systemic
issues. Two of these initiatives focused on addressing
child labor, by offering after-school classes andorganizing special trainings for children about childlabor and hazardous work. The other initiatives
were focused on increasing farm safety, by offering
trainings to workers and providing farmers with
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and storage
lockers for Crop Protection Agents (CPA).

The main findings from CU’s farm visits were related
to the ALP code Principles of Income and Work
Hours, Safe Work Environment, and Compliancewith the Law. No evidence of child labor was found.
With regard to workers’ payment, CU found thatmost workers were paid below the legal minimum
wage. Furthermore, CU observed a lack of awarenessamong farmers and workers about legal overtime
rates and workers’ legal benefits. Finally, withregard to Safe Work Environment, CU identified ahigh number of practices not meeting the standard.
PMFTC’s initiative to distribute PPE for harvesting
and CPA application had not yet resulted in thedesired change of behavior, and many farmers still
had limited awareness and understanding of theneed for safety measures.
Together with an NGO, PMFTC had set up a
support mechanism for farmers and workers basedon the traditional community peace councils(Barangays). However, most of the farmers andworkers interviewed were not aware of this support
mechanism. Moreover, as the council members were
often farmers themselves (or their friends, relatives
or neighbors), independency and anonymity could
not be ensured.
According to the feedback received by CU fromfarmers, workers and family members, fewer
children were involved in tobacco production since
the start of the ALP Program. Interviewees also
reported an improvement in farm work safety as
more people were using PPE during work. Field
staff received feedback from farmers during thefarm visits and group meetings, and also during the
STP Roadshow (which was held once per year).
The outcome of this assessment can be used asa tool to facilitate management with continuous
improvement.
CU
acknowledges
PMFTC’scommitment to addressing the issues identified
and defining areas of improvement through theimplementation of an action plan (see Appendix I).

5

MARKET AND COMPANY BACKGROUND

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Flue Cured Virginia farmers in Claveria and Bukidnon

External Assessment

In 2010, Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc.
(PMPMI) and Fortune Tobacco Corporation (FTC)signed an agreement to combine their respective
operations and selected assets and liabilities toform a new company named PMFTC Inc. In this new
business combination, the owner of FTC became
the chairman while Philip Morris International (PMI)
became responsible for the day-to-day operations.
After the merger PMFTC started managing FTC’s
growing operations in Ilocos Sur (island of Luzon)
and Occidental Mindoro (island of Mindoro). In
2012, PMFTC launched the Project Tabuk to expand
its growing operations to Misamis Oriental (islandof Mindanao) in the southern Philippines. Project
Tabuk entered the pre-commercialization phase in2014 with 781 tons of cured volume; 2015 marked
the first year of commercialization with 1,416 tonsof cured volume.
PMFTC’s strategy for the new production region in
Mindanao was to make use of the possibility to growtobacco year-round, and to cure the leaves centrallyusing their own facilities. In contrast to the northern
Philippines, where tobacco production is limited tothe traditional seasons, the southern region has
a climate that allows continuous production of
fresh tobacco leaves. However, as tobacco is not
traditionally grown in the region, PMFTC facedsome challenges in introducing the new crop andachieving the planned volumes of tobacco in thisregion.

7

Chapter 1

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALP PROGRAM

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Flue Cured Virginia farmers in Claveria and Bukidnon

External Assessment

1.1. Commitment to the ALP Program
On their global website, PMI and its affiliate PMFTC
committed publicly to improve labor practices
and progressively eliminate child labor in tobacco
production. In addition, PMFTC had local policy
documents in place showing commitment to ALP
through their Sustainable Tobacco Production (STP)
policy, which covered elimination of child labor andother ALP-related topics such as observance of thelegal minimum wage. Local policy documents for2018 had been reviewed and signed by the Director
Leaf and the Director Operations of PMFTC. The
company’s field and management personnel showedcommitment to the ALP Program and acknowledged
the relevance of the ALP Code requirements in termsof the importance of maintaining good working
conditions at the farms contracted by PMFTC.

1.2. Strategy and objectives
At the time of the assessment, PMFTC focused its
efforts on two ALP Code Principles: Child Labor and
Safe Work Environment. For the 2018 crop year,
the strategy and objectives for these principles, as
defined in the 2018 Strategy Master Plan, included
the following:
1. Address child labor incidences in tobacco andother relevant crops• Reduce the number of child labor cases• Analyze root causes• Reduce child labor-related PAs by 20%• Increase the number of farmers, schools andchildren covered by on-farm and off-farm
STP initiatives• Third party assessment of the program
2. Improve safe working conditions• Provide all farmers (100%) with personal
protection equipment (PPE) to reduce
exposure to Crop Protection Agents (CPA)and Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS)
In addition, PMFTC had an action plan for the south
region to realize the objectives set in the 2018

Strategy Master Plan, including the actions to be taken
and the targets and deadlines to be met in Claveria
and Bukidnon. However, behavioral change was not
specifically targeted or measured. Furthermore, aclear and specific long-term strategy was lacking.
Each year, PMFTC conducted an internal risk
assessment to rate the probability and severityof risks for each ALP Code measurable standard.
The risk assessment covered the Farmer Training
Program and farm monitoring process, as well as
the risks of not meeting the ALP Code. However,
CU found that PMFTC’s risk assessment did not
fully correspond with the situation observed at
the farms visited during the assessment, as several
serious issues were identified, particularly withregard to Income and Work Hours (ALP CodePrinciple 2; see Chapter 2.1). Additionally, it was
found that PMFTC’s risk assessment did not include
a root cause analysis.
PMFTC’s risk assessment identified the following
measurable standards as involving a high risk of
non-compliance:• No employment or recruitment of child labor;• No person below 18 is involved in any type of
hazardous work;• Overtime wages are paid at a premium as requiredby the country’s laws or by any applicablecollective agreement;• All workers are provided with the benefits,holidays, and leave to which they are entitled by
the country’s laws;• The farmer provides a safe and sanitary working
environment, and takes all reasonable measures
to prevent accidents, injury and exposure to
health risks;• No worker is permitted to use, handle, or apply
crop protection agents (CPA) or other hazardous
substances such as fertilizers, without having firstreceived adequate training and without using
the required personal protection equipment.
Persons under the age of 18, pregnant women,
and nursing mothers must not handle or apply
CPA.
9External Assessment

Based on these findings, PMFTC focused its strategy
and objectives on two ALP Principles, namely Child
Labor and Safe Work Environment. In line with thisfocus the company implemented several initiatives
to address these two prioritized issues (see Chapter
1.6).
PMFCT’s risk assessment had not classified anyof the measurable standards of Income and Work
Hours as ‘high-risk’. However, in a 2018 survey
among 19 farmers the company found that the
average wage and overtime payment of workers
were below the legal minimum rates (a finding which
was confirmed in CU’s assessment; see Chapter
2.2). Based on the survey results, PMFTC was
reinforcing its communication about the minimum
wage. In addition, various remedial actions were
formulated in terms of monitoring, communication,and collaboration with the Department of Laborand Employment (DOLE), local government units(LGUs) and the Tobacco Industry Tripartite Council
in order to address pay rate issues.

PMFTC’s response:“A more systematic risk assessment will be carriedout to identify and estimate the risks involved anddraw suitable action plans to mitigate associatedwith People Pillar in the production chain.”

1.3. Internal capacity
1.3.1. Dedicated organizational
structure
PMFTC had a dedicated organizational structure for
ALP program implementation, consisting of a Leaf
ALP Management Team and a Social Responsibility
Team (see charts below). The leaf technicians, who
served as the link between the management andthe farmers, were also part of the internal structure
for implementing the ALP Program. PMFTC worked
closely together with PMI Regional and received
guidance on the implementation of the ALP Program.

Leaf ALP Management TeamSocial Responsibility Team

Director Leaf Asia

Regional Manager Sustainable
Agriculture

Head of Leaf
Philippines

Regional Manager
Sustainable Agriculture

Manager Sustainable
Agriculture

Manager Social
Sustainability Asia

Supervisor Leaf
Production SouthSocial Responsibility
Coordinator

Social Responsibility
Coordinator

GAP Technician

Manager Social
Responsibility

Senior Leaf
Technicians

Leaf Technicians

10External Assessment

The Social Responsibility Manager served as
ALP Coordinator, and the Social Responsibility
Coordinators were in charge of training the leaf
technicians on ALP (see Chapter 1.3.2). To keep
track of ALP implementation at the farm level, allfarms were regularly visited by the leaf technicians.
In addition, a subset of these farms were also
visited by other ALP Team personnel to validate andcomplete the data collected by the leaf technicians.
According to PMFTC, the average number offarmers per leaf technician in the assessment area
was 21.

PMFTC’s response:“With emphasis on giving clarity about the specifics
of ALP principles and implementation, PMFTC
resolved that within the first quarter of 2019 100%of all LTs must undergo training:• Family and non-family children working age
including its specific guidelines• Frequency of payment, mode of payment, andlegal overtime payment• Direct payment of wages from farmers to workers
Further, within the first quarter of 2019 PMFTCManagement Team including Leaf, External Affairsand Legal must have a refresher training about therevised ALP to ensure internal alignment. Trainings
will be verified through internal audit by PMFTC
including pre- and post-training tests to evaluate
knowledge improvement.”

1.3.2. Roles and responsibilities
The upper management of the ALP Team were
responsible for communicating ALP updates andprojects to PMI, and approving and supporting local
projects for ALP implementation. All members of the
ALP Management Team and Social Responsibility
Team had ALP-related roles and responsibilities
defined in their job descriptions, including:• “Develop and lead the implementation of regionalsocial responsibility strategies and initiatives
linked to the ALP Code, aligned with leaf global
and regional targets”• “Ensuretheproperimplementationof
Sustainable Tobacco Production (STP) programs
and initiatives to ensure farmers are compliant
with all seven ALP principles”• “Provide training to farmers about the Package ofTechnology, waste management and Agricultural
Labor Practices (ALP)”The leaf technicians and senior leaf technicians
were responsible for collecting the farm data. Thisdata was validated by the Social Responsibility
Coordinators, who were also responsible forcoordinating the work with the NGOs, training andevaluating the leaf technicians, and developing
communication materials. Analysis of the validated
data was the responsibility of the ALP Coordinator(Social Responsibility Manager).
The leaf technicians (with support of the senior leaf
technicians and Social Responsibility Coordinators)
were in charge of farmer trainings and responsible
for visiting and monitoring the farms throughout
the season. In addition to supporting farmers in
all aspects related to growing tobacco, their task
was to monitor the practices on the farms, and toreport Prompt Actions and situations not meetingthe standard.
The two senior leaf technicians were responsible
for guiding the leaf technicians regarding tobacco
production and the ALP Code, and for validating thedata and reports submitted by the leaf technicians.

1.3.3. Training and knowledge of the
ALP Program
The field team (leaf technicians and Social
Responsibility Team) had received an internal
ALP training from the former ALP Coordinatorin 2013. Since then, no refresher trainings had
been organized for the staff (except for the leaf
technicians). In addition, no formal training was inplace for the upper management. In general, themanagement staff had sufficient understanding of
the main purpose and content of the ALP Program,but some knowledge gaps were observed withregard to in-kind payment and compliance with thelaw (ALP Principle 7).
11External Assessment

The leaf technicians received quarterly STP
trainings (which also covered ALP) from the Social
Responsibility Coordinators. Their knowledge wastested through written tests, for which they had toscore 90% or more in order to pass.

or harassment, and none of them mentionedthat farmers must be available to their workers
to discuss potential grievances, or that workers
should have access to an independent support
mechanism.

CU’s assessment of the leaf technicians’ knowledgeof the ALP Code Principles showed the following
results 3:

4. Forced labor: All leaf technicians were able toexplain this ALP Code Principle, mentioningthat workers should be free to leave theiremployment. Five leaf technicians (83%) alsomentioned that farmers were not allowed towithhold workers’ identity documents or delay
payments.

1. Child labor: All leaf technicians were aware of
the meaning of this ALP Code Principle. Fourtechnicians (67%) were aware of the different
types of work allowed for children over 13 andover 15 and the difference between family andnon-family children, but two leaf technicians(33%) were not able to mention these points. Allleaf technicians were aware that no hazardous
work should be performed by persons below 18
years old. All leaf technicians mentioned CPA
application as a hazardous activity, five (83%)
mentioned handling or applying fertilizer andworking with sharp tools, and four (67%) alsomentioned topping and carrying heavy loads.
Two leaf technicians (33%) did not mention
harvesting as a hazardous activity.
2. Income and work hours: All leaf technicians
mentioned the correct legal minimum wage,
but two (33%) said that in-kind payment wasallowed and that wages could be paid monthly,
which is not in accordance with Philippine law(see Chapter 2.2). None mentioned overtime
limits, and only two (33%) could mention thecorrect legal overtime pay rate. None of the leaf
technicians were able to state all the benefits
required by law (see Appendix III), and two (33%)
believed that benefits were not applicable tofarm workers.
3. Fair treatment: All leaf technicians understoodthat workers must be treated fairly. However,three (50%) did not mention that fair treatment
also meant that there should be no sexual abuse

3.

5. Safe work environment: With regard to thisPrinciple, the leaf technicians all mentioned thatthe farm should be safe and sanitary (100%); five(83%) also mentioned that workers should wear
PPE when performing farm activities, and four(67%) mentioned that accommodation, where
provided, should be clean and safe, meet the basic
needs of workers, and conform to the country’s
laws. Only one (16%) mentioned that persons
handling green tobacco should be trained; two(33%) mentioned that persons handling CPA
should be trained; two (33%) mentioned that
farmers should observe a re-entry period after
CPA application, and two (33%) mentionedthat farmers should provide clean drinking andwashing water to their workers.
6. Freedom of association: All leaf technicians had
an adequate understanding of this ALP CodePrinciple. However, as there were no active labor
unions in the region, the concept of unions andassociations was a bit vague for them.
7. Compliance with the law: None of the leaf
technicians explained this principle completely;
they mostly understood it as the need tocomply with local laws. Only two (33%) leaf
technicians mentioned that farmers should
inform workers of their legal rights and theconditions of employment when they start theirjob. Furthermore, two leaf technicians (33%)

For this assessment CU interviewed six leaf technicians.
12External Assessment

mentioned that farmers should provide theirworkers with a written employment contract(which is not required by Philippine law).

1.3.4 Internal communication
The Leaf ALP Management Team held quarterly
meetings, which included discussion of ALPrelated topics. In addition, the Steering Committee
held meetings three times per year. Informal
communication among colleagues took place on afrequent basis.
The field team (leaf technicians and senior fieldtechnicians) collected the farm data and reported
back to the ALP Coordinator, who was responsible
for analyzing and sharing the farm data with the ALPManagement Team. The ALP Coordinator produced
weekly reports on the Prompt Actions, monthly
reports on the monitoring, and annual reports on
the Farm Profiles.

• STP Roadshow: once per year leaf technicians
held group meetings with farmers, family
members and workers to address ALP principles.
• Purchase/sale contracts: PMFTC’s contracts with
farmers clearly stated the ALP principles and therequired commitment of farmers to comply withthese principles.
Furthermore, PMFTC had developed a range of
ALP-related communication materials in the local
language (Bisaya) (see Appendix IV):
• ALP leaflet: this leaflet provided written
and visual information about the seven ALP
Principles.
• ALP videos: these short videos – one for each
ALP Principle – explained the measurable
standards in the local language. Leaf technicians
could show these videos on their tablets during
farms visits.

1.4 Communication of the ALP Coderequirements to farmers• Child Labor leaflet: this leaflet presented written
and visual information on the rules aboutchildren working in tobacco production.

1.4.1 Communication strategy andtactics• Hazardous tasks leaflet: this leaflet provided
written and visual information on which activities
were considered hazardous for children.

PMFTC started communicating the ALP Code tofarmers in 2013. Communication efforts focusedon the principles of Child Labor and Safe Work
Environment, as these were considered the mostimportant areas for improvement according to therisk assessment performed by the company.
To communicate the ALP Program to farmers, family
members and workers, PMFTC was using several
methods:• Leaf technician visits: PMFTC’s leaf technicians
conducted regular visits to the farms. On
average, leaf technicians visited each farm twice
per week for monitoring and support, including
individual training of farmers and, occasionally,
training of family members and workers.
• Unannounced visits by senior Field Team staff: thesenior leaf technicians and Social Responsibility
Coordinators paid unannounced visits to arandomly selected subgroup of farmers.

• GTS leaflet: this leaflet provided written andvisual information to explain green tobacco
sickness (GTS), including symptoms, causes, andhow to prevent and treat the sickness.
• PPE leaflet: this leaflet provided written andvisual instructions on how to use PPE correctly.
• CPA leaflet: this leaflet provided written andvisual information on the harmful effects of
CPAs for humans.
• Farmer´s booklet: this STP booklet contained
information about the crop pillar (fieldmanagement, integrated pest management),
environmental pillar and people pillar (including
the ALP Principles), as well as farm financial
management and emergency hotlines. The
booklet also included a farm visit form (to record
the leaf technicians’ visits to the farms) and a
training attendance form. CU found that thefarm visit forms and training attendance forms
were generally not being used.
13External Assessment

The communication materials were all professionallymade and contained clear visual information. In
addition, CU found that the leaflets were present
at most of the farms visited. However, a few gaps in
the materials were noted:• The farmer’s booklet did not mention in the
text that boots should be worn during tobacco
harvesting (although it was shown in the picture);

The following table shows the level of awarenessamong the interviewed farmers, family members
and external workers with regard to the ALP CodePrinciples. In line with PMFTC’s communication
focus areas, the highest levels of awareness were
found for the topics of Child Labor and Safe Work
Environment. Awareness regarding the topics ofFreedom of Association and Compliance with the
Law was low to non-existent.

• The ALP video on Safe Work Environment did
not mention that empty CPA containers should

Level of awareness of ALP CodePrinciples*

be punctured;• The ALP video on Forced Labor did not mention
prison labor;

PMFTC’s response:“PMFTC

resolved

todistribute

updatedcommunication materials taking into account all
corrections as suggested by the Control Union in thefirst quarter of 2019. These are as follows:• Pamphlet for STP projects with focus on People
Pillar• Video material tackling Force Labor and Human
Trafficking• Video material emphasizing hazards of not
unpunctured empty CPA containers and the needfor proper disposal of waste• Video material with focus on overtime premiumand printed material or guide on Income andWork Hours• User friendly Farmers Booklet with complete
information about Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS)
prevention particularly the use of shoes whenharvesting

Farmers

FamilyExternal(T=21)

members

workers(T=10)(T=33)

Child labor

18 (86%)7 (70%)

14 (42%)

Income and

14 (67%)3 (30%)

2 (6%)

8 (38%)

3 (30%)

2 (6%)

Forced labor

9 (43%)

3 (30%)

2 (6%)

Safe work

15 (71%)5 (50%)

12 (36%)

2 (10%)

1 (10%)

1 (3%)

1 (5%)

00

work hours
Fair
treatment

environment
Freedom of
association
Compliancewith the law* Note that this data only shows whether the interviewees
remembered the principles, and not whether they fully
understood their meaning

These materials will be written in the local language
and will also be discussed with farmers during siteorientations to ensure full understanding.”

14External Assessment

Interviewees who were aware of (at least some aspects of) the ALP code were also asked how they hadlearned about the Code. The results are shown in the following tables:

Means of communication through which ALP-related information was received by
farmers*
Farmers(T=18 out of 21)
During regular visits by the leaf
technician

15 (83%)

Group meetings

17 (94%)

Flyer/Poster

14 (78%)Video

1 (6%)*Farmers could be informed in multiple ways.

Means of communication through which ALP-related information was received byfamily members and external workers*
Family members(T=7 out of 10)

External workers(T=15 out of 33)

Verbally from the farmer

4 (57%)

2 (13%)

Verbally from the leaf technician

4 (57%)

11 (73%)Radio

4 (57%)

0

Flyer/poster

4 (57%)

10 (67%)Other

2 (29%)**

6 (40%)****External workers and family members could be informed in multiple ways.
**Family member other – one attended the STP Roadshow and one the GMPI training (see Chapter 1.6).
*** External workers other – three were trained by a former PMFTC employee, one attended the GMPI training and
two were trained by the crew leader.

These results shown that PMFTC’s communication strategies were all contributing towards informing thefarmers about the ALP Code. Both verbal communication and printed materials (leaflets) were important
for raising awareness among family members and workers.

15

External Assessment

1.4.2 Farmers’ responsibilities
At the beginning of each crop year, farmers signed a
new growing contract with PMFTC. These contracts
included clear clauses on ALP. In addition, thecompany declared that in case a farmer repeatedly
breached the ALP Code and the situation could not
be solved, they ultimately would stop contracting
this farmer. Farmers would receive a 30-day written
notice in case PMFTC decided to terminate thecontract. However, so far, no contracts had been
terminated for ALP reasons.

1.5 Internal monitoring: data collection,accuracy, and addressing issues
At the time of the assessment, PMFTC wascollecting three types of ALP-related data from thefarms: socio-economic information (Farm Profiles);situations not meeting the standard; and Prompt
Actions. PMFTC had a digital data collection system(called ‘SmartFarm’), consisting of a desktop version
for the office and a mobile (tablet) version for theleaf technicians. The leaf technicians visited thefarmers twice per week on average.

1.5.1 Socio-economic data: FarmProfilesThe socio-economic information for Farm Profiles
was collected at the beginning of each contracting
period, and had to be updated after every visit by
the leaf technicians. The leaf technicians could
access the Farm Profiles through the SmartFarm
system on their tablets.
CU verified whether the information in the FarmProfiles matched with the farm situation observed
during the farm visits. For 19 (90%) of the farms
visited by CU an updated Farm Profile was available;
for the other two farms (10%), only the profile ofthe previous season was available.
When comparing the data reported in these profiles
to actual farm situations, CU found that three (15%)
profiles contained minor deviations, mostly withregard to general information, farmer informationand farm description. In addition, three (15%)
profiles were incomplete, missing information on
the number of people on the farm, living conditions,farm tasks, and/or employment conditions.

PMFTC’s response:“PMFTC will ensure that data collection is initiatedonce transplantation commences beginning thefirst quarter of 2019. Data collection will be crossverified against SmartFarm generated report by the
Data & Reporting Coordinator in close coordination
with Assessment Team to ensure all required data iscollected timely and accurately. This is going to be acontinuous process throughout the cropping season
every year”

1.5.2 Systematic monitoring: situations notmeeting the ALP Code standards
PMFTC’s digital data collection system (SmartFarm)
was also used for the systematic monitoring ofsituations not meeting the standard. The monitoring
module contained different series of questions
for three different crop stages, which had to becompleted within a set time frame. The software
did not allow for comments or explanations; thequestions could only be answered with the options
given by the system, or by filling in numbers(amounts) to answer questions on topics such as
wage payments and working hours. The system did
not allow to input improvement plans for addressing
issues present at the farms. In addition, PMFCT had
an internal assessment team that went periodicallyto the field and checked Safe Work Environment
topics.
CU identified one type of data that PMFTC was notcollecting but which would improve monitoring andhence reduce the risk of situations not meeting thestandard: usage of gloves for fertilizer application.
Monitoring data was available for 19 (90%) of thefarms visited by CU, but for 13 of these farms (68%)
the data was incomplete. Among the 19 farms where
monitoring data was available, the situation foundat 15 farms (79%) did not fully match the recordedmonitoring data; most of these discrepancies wererelated to safe work environment, such as PPE usage
for handling green tobacco, CPA storage conditions,and GTS awareness. At four of these farms CU
found situations not meeting the standard, which
had not been captured by the leaf technicians.

16External Assessment

PMFTC’s response:

PMFTC’s response:“Further strengthen communication and training to“Social Responsibility Manager shall have a “Severity

hone skills of LTs on all ALP measurable standards,

Matrix” approved by Q1 2019. This will be used toand identify situations in farms that are not meetingclassify Prompt Action issues with corresponding

the standards. Every quarter starting Q1 2019,

penalties. Further, a provision regarding recurrences

a practical approach shall be designed by Socialof Prompt Actions shall be included in the growing

Responsibility Coordinator in training LTs which

contract which could lead to a termination of thewould include group discussion and role plays.

growing contract in the current season or non-

Progress will be verified through individual farm

renewal of the contract for the next season.”

improvement plans particularly in farms where ALP
standards are not met.”

1.5.3 Prompt Actions
Prompt Actions were reported based on a predefined list of the company, using the SmartFarm
system. When a Prompt Action situation wasobserved, the procedure was to agree with thefarmer on a corrective action. If no action plan
could be agreed, the procedure was to arrange a
new visit together with a superior to ensure that anagreement was reached. Next, the field team would
conduct an unannounced follow-up visit within six
weeks to check if the Prompt Action situation was
solved. In case a farmer repeatedly breached the
ALP Code, PMFTC had a procedure for contract
termination (see Chapter 1.4.2).
At the time of CU’s assessment, 86 Prompt Actions
had been reported for the current season (2018).
Eighteen of these were on the topic of Child Labor,
and 68 on the topic of Safe Work Environment.
According to PMFTC, only two of the 86 Prompt
Actions were still on-going; the others were closed.
Among the farmers visited by CU, three farmers had
a reported Prompt Action in the system. All three ofthem were aware of the reported Prompt Action,and in none of these cases the reported incident
was recurring at the time of the CU visit.

All leaf technicians interviewed by CU knew thePrompt Action reporting procedure, except for thedeadline of the follow-up visit. The meaning ofPrompt Actions was not well understood by five leaf
technicians (83%), who explained it as any situation
not meeting the ALP standard. Only one technician(17%) correctly explained it as a violation of the ALP
Code requiring immediate action.

1.5.4 Data management and analysis
Leaf technicians were responsible for updating theFarm Profiles after every visit. In addition, they had
to collect farm monitoring data using questionnairesthat were crop stage specific (see Chapter 1.5.2).
All field data was collected using the tablet versionof the SmartFarm system. Once the technicians
had uploaded the data, the office staff could
process the data on their desktop system. One of
the Social Responsibility Coordinators checked thedata quality and compiled the data into monitoring
reports. These reports were handed to the ALP
Coordinator (Social Responsibility Manager) for
further analysis.

1.5.5 Improvement plans for individual
farms
PMFTC only made improvement plans for individual
farms in case of Prompt Action situations, but not forsituations not meeting the standard. Furthermore,most of these plans only addressed the issues ofthe moment rather than the underlying causes.
Root causes were rarely identified. Only 11% of
the Prompt Action reports on Child Labor analyzed
the root causes of the incident reported. Similarly,
17External Assessment

only 19% of the Prompt Action reports on Safe
Work Environment had identified root causes (andincorrectly so in 15% of these cases).

PMFTC’s response:“5-why method root cause analysis training will
also be organized during cropping season to further
enhance capability of LTs to conduct root cause
analysis to recommend more effective actions andimprovement plans. Written test will be conducted
to evaluate effectiveness of training. To properly
investigate and identify root causes of prompt
actions, LTs will be trained to use the 5-why method.
Social Responsibility Manager will validate the root
cause analysis submitted by LTs to ensure that each
prompt action issue is given proper remedial action.”

1.6 Address systemic and/or widespread
issuesBased on the risks and issues identified (seeChapter 1.2), leaf tobacco suppliers are expected toaddress systemic and/or widespread issues throughoperational (STP) initiatives, community programs(possibly supported by PMI’s Contributions) andengagement with key stakeholders.
At the time of CU´s assessment, PMFTC had
implemented the following operational initiatives:• Distribution of PPE for CPA application andharvesting: To improve work safety, PMFTC
distributed PPE for CPA application andharvesting. Farmers could indicate the numberof sets needed, and the company paid part of thecosts. The majority of farmers reported to findthe PPE very useful as this equipment meant
better protection for them and their workers.
• Off-farm activities: To reduce the risk of childlabor, PMFTC worked together with an NGO toprovide after-school programs for the childrenof tobacco farmers and workers. These programs
consisted of educational, arts and sports classes

which were offered after regular school hours
and during school vacations in the peak tobacco
harvest season. Among the farms visited by CU,
15 farms (71%) were located in an area where theafter-school program was available; at nine ofthese farms (60%) children had actually attended
the activities. All farmers with children who hadparticipated found the after-school program
useful and planned to have them participate
again, as it reduced the risk of child labor.
• STP Roadshow: To raise awareness about
Agricultural Labor Practices, PMFTC organizedannual STP Roadshows (one-day events withlectures and games) for farmers, workers andfamily members. Among the farmers visitedby CU, 20 (95%) lived in a barangay where theroadshow was held, and 17 of them (85%) had
attended the event. These farmers all found
the roadshow useful and planned to participate
again; they mentioned that it had increased theirawareness on child labor and PPE use. The threefarmers who had not attended the roadshow
despite it being held within their area (14%)
stated that they were not aware of the initiative;
two of them were interested to participate next
time. Finally, one (5%) farmer could not attend
the roadshow because it was not held in hisbarangay. Instead, his leaf technician had done a
one-on-one ALP training session with him.
• KiddieRoadshow:Thisinitiativewasimplemented to raise awareness among children
about their basic rights, hazardous work, andthe importance of PPE use (so they could telltheir parents). The Kiddie Roadshow had been
held near 13 of the farms visited by CU (62%);
among this group three farmers (23%) had
children who had participated. These farmers all
found the roadshow useful; they stated that it
had improved their children’s knowledge of thedangers related to tobacco work, and all planned
to have their children participate again. Amongthe other farmers, eight (38%) stated that they
were not aware that this initiative was offered intheir area; three of them (14%) were interested
to participate next time.

18External Assessment• GMPI Training: Tobacco was a relatively newcrop in the area (Claveria and Bukidnon).
Therefore, PMFTC worked together with an
NGO 4 to implement a training program forfarm workers, covering ALP and technical skills
related to tobacco growing, in practical fieldworkshops. According to the company, 220 farmworkers had been trained and assessed in thisproject. Among the farms visited by CU, sevenfarms (33%) had access to this initiative; farmworkers from two of those farms (29%) had
actually attended the training. These workers all
found the training useful and stated that it had
increased their awareness about work safety andworker’s rights.
• Distribution of CPA locker: This initiative was
implemented to improve CPA storage at thefarms. Among the farms visited by CU, 20 farmers(95%) received the locker from the company andone farmer (5%) stated that he did not received it
and was not aware of this initiative. Farmers thatreceived it found the initiate useful and statedthat it reduced children access to the chemicals.

4.

Global Mindenaw Polytechnic INC (GMPI)
19

Chapter 2

FARM-LEVEL ASSESSMENT OF
WORKING CONDITIONS REGARDING
THE ALP CODE STANDARDSEXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Flue Cured Virginia farmers in Claveria and Bukidnon

External Assessment

This chapter describes CU’s assessment of theworking conditions on PMFTC contracted tobacco
farms with regard to the ALP Code Principles andMeasurable Standards. ALP Code Principles areshort statements designed to guide farmers on
specific practices, resulting in safe and fair working
conditions. A Measurable Standard defines a goodpractice and over time can be objectively monitored
to determine whether, and to what extent, the labor
conditions and practices on a tobacco farm are inline with each ALP Code Principle.

create awareness on how each hazardous activity
poses risk to health and possible ways to mitigate therisk. Currently, PMFTC conducts Off-Farm Activities
wherein children are engaged in educational andrecreational activities after school hours and during
weekends. So by the time they reach home, all farm
activities will be complete thus bringing down therisk of child labor. This initiative will be continued
in all tobacco growing villages. In Q4 2018, skills
training for children ages 15-17 and 14 below has
also commenced. This is intended for children who

2.1. ALP Code Principle 1: Child labor

have stopped going to school and who are at risk ofbeing hired in tobacco farms. By Q3 2019, PMFTC
will pilot “Farming Community Sustainability” in

There shall be no child labor.
Main findings and challenges

2.1.1. Children working and activities
performed
At the farms visited by CU, no evidence was found ofchildren younger than 15 years being employed norof child family members younger than 13 helping
with tobacco. Furthermore, no children younger
than 18 were found to be involved in hazardous
activities. In general, farmers and workers were
aware of the age requirements.

PMFTC’s response:“Continue to create awareness among farming
community about the importance of non-engagementof child labor through STP initiatives. Raising prompt

three (3) villages – a program that will establish
farm workers group, leadership training for group
officers, and livelihood programs in partnership with
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).”

Analysis and priorities
In 2018 PMFTC had reported 18 Prompt Actions
related to child labor. Elimination of child labor
was one of the focus areas of PMFTC, and this
ALP Principle had been monitored and addressedsince the company started implementing the ALP
Program in 2013. In addition, the company had two
ongoing initiatives targeting the elimination of childlabor (see Chapter 1.6). CU found no evidence ofchild labor at the time of the assessment, indicatingthat PMFTC’s efforts were paying off. However, itremains important to keep farmers aware of age
requirements.

actions and Farm by farm monitoring will continue
to ensure non engagement of children in hazardous
work in tobacco production. Social Responsibility
Coordinator to conduct weekly STP Roadshows thatwill include training on light and hazardous farmwork, not limited to tobacco growing, of at least two(2) farm workers nominated by contracted farmer to21

External Assessment

2.2. ALP Code Principle 2: Income andwork hours
Income earned during a pay period or
growing season shall always be enoughto meet workers’ basic needs and shallbe of a sufficient level to enable thegeneration of discretionary income.
Workers shall not work excessive orillegal work hours.
Main findings and challenges

2.2.1. Payment of workers

In addition to their salary, workers at 19 farms(95%) received in-kind payment in the form of food(lunch and snacks), and at one other farm (5%) in theform of accommodation. It is common practice in
the Philippines to provide food for workers during
the working hours. However, in-kind payment isallowed only under special circumstances specified
in regulations issued by the DOLE Secretary.
For these exemptions the law does not provide
a specific percentage of the salary which can be
paid in kind, but it does state that the value ofthe facilities provided (such as meals, housing andtransportation) can only be deducted from thesalary if the employee has voluntarily accepted thisin writing. Among the farms visited by CU, none of
the farmers providing in-kind payment had such
written agreements in place.

Among the visited farms, 20 farms (95%) worked
with hired workers, employed either on a seasonalor permanent basis. On 18 of these farms (90%)
workers were not being paid at least the legal
minimum wage. 5
For the purpose of this assessment, workers’ incomes
were calculated as wage per hour. The table below
shows the number of farms where workers received
wages below (<38 PHP/hour) or above (≥38 PHP/hour) the legal minimum wage. 6 According to thisassessment, seasonal workers tended to receive
lower wages than permanent workers.

PMFTC’s response:“From Q1 2019, LTs will be instructed to report thepayment made below minimum wages and the same
will be captured in farm by farm monitoring sheet.
This would give Social Responsibility Coordinatorand Manager an idea which activity workers arebeing paid minimum wages and for which otheractivities they are not being paid, whether in cash
or in-kind. For in-kind payments, farmers will be
required to have a written agreement with workers.
The process will be verified by a third party.”

Breakdown of salaries

Salary range<38 PHP/hour≥38 PHP/hour

Minimum (PHP/hour)

Maximum (PHP/hour)

Permanent*

8 (89%)

1 (11%)

25

40

Seasonal*

14 (93%)

1 (7%)

25

38

5.
6.

According to Philippine law, the minimum wage for agricultural workers in Region X (Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon,
Iligan) is PHP 304-326 (plantation and non-plantation) for an eight-hour workday.
Because not all workers worked eight hours per day, for this assessment the wages were calculated as wage perhour, and compared to the minimum wage of PHP 38/hour.
22External Assessment

2.2.2 Payment schedule
In terms of payment frequency, no evidence
was found of farmers not paying their workers inaccordance with the law. 7 Typically, workers were
paid daily or weekly.

2.2.3 Work hours and overtime pay
No evidence was found of farmers disrespecting
the legal work hours. Typically, workdays lasted
eight hours or less.
However, at one farm (5%) the permanent worker
did not always receive at least one resting day
per week; according to the worker in question,
he sometimes had to work on Sundays in order tofinish the work during peak times.
PMFTC’s response:“Awareness to all farmers will be made through the
STP roadshow activities starting Q2 2019. StartingQ2 2019 100% of contracted farmers will havewritten agreement with workers with regard to “restday”.”PMFTC’s response:“Weekly beginning Q2 2019, distribute IEC materials
to farmers create awareness on legal benefits ofworkers during STP Roadshows and DOLE sessions.
IEC material will include a list of benefits that
farmers should legally provide to workers. Social
Responsibility Coordinator and the Manager will takeresponsibility of training and preparing IEC materials.
LTs who train farmers will be assessed by supervisors
and area agronomy managers. These interventions
are expected to result in enhanced awareness offarmers on income, work hours, and “Legal benefit”.”

Underlying factors that increase risk
The risk of payment below legal minimum wage washighest for temporary workers. Although farmers
were generally aware of the legal minimum wage,
they said they could not afford to pay it. Furthermore,awareness among farmers and workers regarding
overtime rates and legal benefits was low.

Analysis and priorities
Furthermore, it was found that overtime hours wereusually not paid according to the legal overtime
rate. Overtime work occurred at 17 of the farms
with hired labor (85%), and the legal overtime
rate was not being paid at 14 of these (82%). In
these cases, at two farms (14%) the overtime was
not being paid with and additional fee and at 12
farms (86%) the farmers paid an additional fee forovertime hours but it was below the fee definedby Philippine law. CU found that both farmers andworkers were generally unaware of the correct legal
overtime rates.

2.2.4 Legal benefits

The ALP Code Principle of Income and Work Hours
was not a focus area for PMFTC. Nonetheless, thecompany had conducted a survey on this topic
in 2018 (see Chapter 1.2), and had reinforced
its communication about the minimum wage.
Despite these efforts, payment below the legal
minimum wage was found to be a widespread issue,
especially among temporary workers. Both farmers
and workers were generally unaware of the relevant
legal aspects, which is in line with the knowledge
gaps observed among the leaf technicians (seeChapter 1.3.3), and indicates the need to pay more
attention to this topic.

None of the farmers provided workers with all thebenefits required by law (see Appendix III). Farmers
and workers lacked awareness about workers’ legal
benefits.
7.

Philippines law states that wages should be paid at least once every two weeks or twice a month at intervals notexceeding 16 days.
23External Assessment

2.3. ALP Code Principle 3: Fair treatment
Farmers shall ensure fair treatment ofworkers. There shall be no harassment,
discrimination, physical or mental
punishment, or any other forms of abuse.

Main findings and challenges

2.3.1. Treatment of workers
No evidence was found of verbal, sexual, or physicalabuse on the farms. 8 In addition, CU did not identify
any discriminatory practices. Since the region had ashortage of labor, workers would leave their farmerin case of unfair treatment.

2.3.2 Support mechanism
Support mechanisms facilitate workers’ access to
information, assist workers in difficult situations,and mediate disputes between farmers and workers.
PMI’s leaf tobacco suppliers are expected to ensurethat farmers and workers have access to such amechanism.
At the time of CU’s assessment PMFTC had a locallyadopted grievance mechanism for farm workers,
built with NGO support and based on the traditional
structure of community committees (Barangays).
The NGO was responsible for training the barangay
peace councils and workers on the function of the
support mechanism and ALP principles. According
to the NGO, 13 barangays and 577 workers had
been trained in 2017. The mechanism provided an
instrument for farmers and workers to address andsolve issues with the help of the peace council.
Fifteen of the farmers visited by CU (71%) lived ina barangay where the support mechanism was inplace (nine barangays in total). Of these farmers,
only one (7%) was aware of the support mechanism
and understood correctly what it was for. Five other8.

farmers (33%) had heard about the mechanism but
confused it with the emergency numbers in the
farmers’ booklet; the remaining nine (60%) statedthey were not aware of the mechanism’s existence.
Among the workers interviewed, none were awareof the support mechanism. This lack of awarenessmay be partly due to the fact that the trainings had
not been provided in all barangays. Furthermore,
CU had the impression that council members weregenerally not keen to take on the extra responsibilityof running the support mechanism.
More importantly, CU found that the support
mechanism could not be considered anonymousor independent, as required by the ALP code, eventhough CU recognizes the importance of building
on existing community structures and cultural
traditions to gain acceptance within local villages
and enable support in case of disputes.
In addition to a formal support mechanism, the ALP
Code requires that farmers should make themselves
available to their workers to discuss potential
grievances before they escalate. No cases wereidentified where farmers were unavailable to theirworkers.
PMFTC’s response:“Through an NGO, PMFTC will help strengthen
Barangay Peace Councils by providing communication
tools and extensive capability building training. This
intervention will equip village peace councils resolve
grievances raised and settled but also enhance their
documentation and reporting. STP Roadshow will
also be utilized as main platform of communications
to farmers and farm workers.”

Analysis and priorities
This principle was not a focus area of PMFTC, andCU’s findings show that the risk of unfair treatment
was low. However, a greater awareness on theexistence of the support mechanism is needed. In
addition, the independency and anonymity of the
support mechanism needs to be better ensured.

See Appendix III for legal details on fair treatment.
24External Assessment

2.4. ALP Code Principle 4: Forced labor
All farm labor must be voluntary. There
shall be no forced labor.
Main findings and challenges

2.4.1. Involuntary labor
No evidence was found of workers being unable
to leave their employment or working against theirwill, or of contracted prison labor. Also, no evidence
was found of workers being obliged to hand overtheir original identity documents or pay financial
deposits.

2.4.2 Direct payment
At two farms (10%) CU found evidence of
indirect payment. Here, a total of eight workers
were contracted and paid through crew leaders.
According to the interviewees, the crew leaders
did not receive any fees or extra payment for
performing this work, unless they had more tasks
than the other workers. Workers said they were
paid the amount agreed with their crew leader andfarmer. At one farm (5%) one of the workers did notknow the amount agreed.
PMFTC’s response:“PMFTC will train and educate all farmers to ensure

2.5. ALP Code Principle 5: Safe work
environment
Farmers shall provide a safe work
environment to prevent accidents andinjury and to minimize health risks.
Accommodation, where provided, shallbe clean, safe and meet the basic needsof the workers.
Main findings and challenges

2.5.1. Training and awareness of GTS
At 14 farms (70%) not all persons handling green
tobacco were trained, and at five farms (24%) not
all persons handling green tobacco were aware of
the existence and avoidance of GTS. At three farms(14%) the farmers did not fully understand what
GTS was and/or how to avoid it. Consequently,
the protective clothing used was often inadequate:
at 15 farms (71%) not all persons handling green
tobacco were wearing the full set of required
harvesting clothes. Gloves and shoes were missing
most often, as shown in the table below:

Protective harvesting clothing used

workers get direct payment. This will be done throughgroup trainings and provision of monitoring sheet tofarmers who still decide to pay workers through crewleaders. These farmers will be required to return theLong sleeves

15 (71%)monitoring sheets with signature of workers whoare paid through crew leaders. FTs will verify these

Gloves7 (33%)

monitoring sheets to ensure that all workers are paid
the full amount as agreed with farmers.”

Analysis and priorities
CU did not find evidence for widespread issues
related to this ALP Code Principle. However, somecases of indirect payment were found, while thisissue had not been identified in PMFTC’s risk
assessment.

Long pants

13 (62%)Shoes

4 (19%)

0

5

10

15

20

Number of farms (N=21)

25

External Assessment

The various reasons given for not using the complete
set of PPE are shown in the table below:
Reasons for not wearing PPE whenhandling green tobacco

According to the interviewees, at nine farms (43%)
not all persons applying fertilizer were wearing
gloves.

PMFTC’s response:“Project management guarantees that there is
Farmer does notprovideenough inventory way before the beginning of the

4 (27%)

season, LT makes sure the farmer has enough for all
his workers before the said activity. At the beginningof crop season, LTs to verify enough gloves are in

3 (20%)

Unawarethe inventory for immediate distribution. Increaseawareness and ensure usage of gloves by farmers
11 (73%)

Uncomfortable

during fertilizer application as well through grouptraining, communication materials and posters.
Social Responsibility Coordinator will take care

Gloves are getting wet
during harvestingof training material and printing of pamphlet and5 (33%)

posters, while LTs conduct trainings to farmers tocreate awareness on usage of gloves while applying

0

5

10

15

Number of farms (N=15)

fertilizers. Assessment Team to cross check to ensureplanned activities are being carried out accordingly.
Farm by farm monitoring by LTs and unannounced
visits by area agronomy managers will further
strengthen the process. This is an ongoing process

PMFTC’s response:“Through year-round STP Roadshow, in order toincrease awareness of farmers and farm workers
on GTS, engage health professionals in explaining

and will be conducted starting Q1 2019. This is
expected to increase awareness amongst famers andworkers and increase usage of gloves while applying
fertilizers.”

the risks associated with handling green tobacco.
Starting Q1 2019, Social responsibility coordinator
will ensure that all farmers are provided with
sufficient PPE. LTs will also need to strengthen themonitoring on the availability of PPE at the earlystage of the season and verify its usage towards theend of the crop. Social Responsibility and Assessment
Team will validate conformance in farms. Prompt
action issues related to GTS exposure will be subject
to “Prompt action consequence”. Lastly, startingQ3 2019 communications on GTS prevention andoverall farm safety will be extended to off-farmactivities in schools to educate children so they canbe safely stewards to their parents.”

2.5.2 Training and handling of CPA
At twelve farms (57%) not all persons handling and/or applying CPA were trained. Furthermore, at two
farms (10%) people responsible for CPA application
did not use the complete set of PPE: at one farm,persons only used gloves and goggles, and at theother farm, persons did not use any PPE – only long
sleeves and long pants. The reason for not wearing
PPE, according to workers and family members, waseither that PPE sets were not available at the farmor that workers forgot to use the complete set of
PPE. No evidence was found of pregnant and/or
nursing women involved in CPA application.

26

External Assessment

PMFTC’s response:“PMFTC will survey root causes of not utilizing PPE
during CPA handling. Improve awareness on ill effects
of non-usage of PPE while handling CPAs through
STP roadshows which will be conducted Q1-Q4. The

level of farmer understanding will be verified throughvalidation exercises to be conducted by Social
Responsibility and Assessment teams. This results inincreased awareness of all the villagers resulting insafe re-entry after CPA application.”team will look into engaging health professionals
to help explain to farmers and workers the risks
associated with handling CPA without proper PPE.
Starting Q1 2019, Social responsibility coordinator
will ensure that all farmers are provided with
sufficient PPE to ensure access to people who handle
CPA. LTs will also need to strengthen the monitoringon the availability of PPE at the early stage of theseason and verify its usage towards the end of thecrop. Social Responsibility and Assessment Team willvalidate conformance through unannounced visits.
Prompt action issues related to CPA exposure will
be subject to “Prompt action consequence”. PMFTC
will also study the feasibility of assigning a third

In terms of CPA storage, CU identified ten farms(48%) where CPAs were not stored in a safe andlocked storage:• At three farms (30%), the CPA locker was notlocked;• At one farm (10%), the CPA locker was notlocked; in addition, it was located in the kitchen;• At six farms (60%), CPA containers were notstored inside the locker, but lying around thehouse and/or farm.

party spraying team to service a group of farmers

PMFTC’s response:to ensure conformance to PPE usage. Lastly, the“From Q1-Q4 2019, LTs to conduct one-on-one

communications on exposure to CPA and overall

training of farmers and farm workers on proper

farm safety will be extended to off-farm activities inhandling and storage of CPAs. Availability of CPA

schools to educate children starting Q3 2019.”

storage will be monitored by LTs at the beginning ofcrop season. Apart from LTs, Social Responsibility

Regarding CPA re-entry periods, CU found two
farms (10%) where the farmer was not aware of
the specific re-entry period for CPA. In addition,
three farmers (14%) did not use a warning sign toensure that no one entered the field after recent
CPA application.
PMFTC’s response:“Beginning Q1 2019, PMFTC will create awarenessand educate farmers and family members on theimportance of re-entry flags. This will be done
through one-on-one training of LTs to farmers andand Assessment Team will also validate conformancein farms. From Q3-Q4, communication materials
on safety will be distributed to children during OffFarm Activities to remind their parents about proper
handling of CPA.”

Furthermore, CU found that empty CPA containers
were incorrectly disposed at 12 (71%) of the 17
farms where this was verified (see table below). Only
five farmers (29%) safely disposed the containers
by returning the washed and punctured containers
to their leaf technician.

workers with emphasis on the standard 24-hour
period for all CPA to simplify the message. The
same message will be reiterated in STP starting Q1of 2019. Effectiveness of the communication and27

External Assessment

2.5.4 Clean drinking and washing water

Incorrect disposal of empty
CPA containers

Containers not washedand/or punctured

8 (67%)

Containers lying
around the farm

2 (17%)

Containers in achicken cage

At three farms (14%), farmers did not provide clean
drinking or washing water to their workers. At oneof these farms (33%) the drinking water was stored
in an empty CPA bottle; at the other two farms(67%) no soap and washing water were available. In
addition, nine (45%) farmers did not have sanitaryfacilities close to their fields.

1 (8%)PMFTC’s response:

Containers kept
and reused*

1 (8%)
0

2

4“Conduct6810

Number of farms (N=12)*In this case the container was reused for household
purposes including for water storage.

information

dissemination

on

the

importance of clean water through STP Roadshow
during farm by farm visits. Prior to contracting a
farmer, verify the other party’s capability to provide
clean drinking water and washing water. Ensure
availability of safe drinking water to villagers prior
to contracting a farmer and also identify villages

PMFTC’s response:“PMFTC will conduct group trainings on safe
disposal of empty and punctured CPA containers
and information through training material andpasting of posters on strategic location in villages.
Social Responsibility Coordinator will develop andproduce training material in the form of pamphlet
and posters. LTs will conduct retrieval of empty andpunctured CPA containers on a regular basis andleverage group meetings such as STP roadshows andFarmers’ days for farmers to bring their empty CPA
containers. Supervisors and Area Managers crosscheck to ensure planned activities are being carriedout accordingly. Farm by farm monitoring by LTs andunannounced visits by Area Agronomy Managers will

which do not have access to drinking water. Oncethe villages identified, budget provision from the
Tobacco Excise Tax of the Municipal government will
be requested in consultation with External Affairs for
subsequent implementation. This leads to provisionof drinking water to all villages which will be reflectedin the LGU’s excise tax utilization report. Through an
NGO, PMFTC will study the feasibility of providing
sanitary facilities at farms which will include
surveying various models of sanitary facility suitableto growing area. Social Responsibility Manager will
work with External Affairs to secure allocation frommunicipal excise tax for the construction of sanitaryfacilities. Findings and recommendations must havethe concurrence of local stakeholders.”

further strengthen the process including retrieval of
empty and punctured CPA container on a regularbasis. Social Responsibility and Assessment Teamto validate 100% retrieval rate of empty containers
through “Empty CPA container retrieval report”.”

2.5.3 Workers’ accommodation
Among the farmers visited by CU, only two farmers
provided workers’ accommodation. In both cases noevidence was found of the workers’ accommodation
not being clean and safe, or not meeting the basic
needs of workers.

2.5.5 General safety measures
Most farmers did not have basic safety measuresin place: none had access to a first-aid kit or hadreceived first-aid training. Besides, none of the
farmers had resources to act in case of fire. Seven(33%) farmers were able to provide transport toa medical facility, and all farmers had the phone
numbers of local health providers in case of an
emergency.

28External Assessment

PMFTC’s response:

unions for the agricultural sector were not active inthe region (see Appendix III).

“Social Responsibility Manager to consult third party
and PMFTC Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)
Department to develop a module on farm safety
training during Q3 2019. This will include provisionof first aid kits and farmers awareness on availabilityof resources during emergency. Unannounced visits
will be conducted to check the knowledge of farmers
on first aid by including a question on first aid in
the unannounced questionnaire. This will enhance
all farmers to have access to resources in case of
emergency.”

Analysis and priorities
CU identified a high number of practices not meetingthe standard for this ALP Code Principle. Although
PMFTC had distributed PPE for harvesting and
CPA application, CU found that this PPE was often
not used and that many farmers still had limited
awareness and understanding of the need forsafety measures. Although Safe Work Environment
was one of the ALP Code Principles focused on by
PMFTC, the initiatives in place had not yet resulted
in the desired change of behavior. To improve farmwork safety, it is important to understand thereasons behind unsafe practices and set targets
referring to actual change of behavior.

2.6. ALP Code Principle 6: Freedom of
association
Farmers shall recognize and respect

Analysis and priorities
This ALP Code Principle was not a focus area for
PMFTC. This seems justified given the limited risk ofviolation of workers’ right to freedom of associationand the lack of active unions for tobacco workers in
the region.

2.7. ALP Code Principle 7: Compliancewith the law
Farmers shall comply with all laws of
their country relating to employment.
Main findings and challenges

2.7.1. Information on legal rights andworking conditions
At 15 of the 20 farms with hired labor (75%), farmers
did not fully inform their workers about their legal
rights. However, most workers were informed about
their employment conditions, such as work hours,
wages, and tasks to be performed. At one farm (5%)
one worker had not been informed about the wage.
In general, it was found that farmers lacked thelegal knowledge to inform their workers properly. In
addition, farmers did not know that it was their duty
to inform their workers about legal rights, especiallyfor temporary workers, and in some cases farmers
did not consider themselves as formal employers.

workers’ rights to freedom of association
bargain collectively.

PMFTC’s response:“Create awareness amongst farmers on legal rights

Main findings and challenges

2.6.1. Workers’ right to freedom of
association
No evidence was found of farmers disrespecting
the workers’ right to freedom of association. Laborof workers and educate them to impart awarenessto the workers by organizing a community-based
farm workers dialogue in partnership with DOLE and
ITC by Q1 2019. PMFTC to include farmer and farmworkers legal rights in the farm workers contract
beginning Q3. LTs conduct trainings to farmers tocreate required awareness on legal rights of workers

29External Assessment

according to the Labor Code of the Philippines while
supervisors and area managers cross check to ensureplanned activities are being carried out accordingly.
This will be carried out during Q3-Q4 every year.
This results in creating awareness on legal rights
of workers to farmers and workers as well. Degreeof awareness and effectiveness of training will
be verified through unannounced visits by areaagronomy managers and farm by farm monitoring by
LTs.”

Analysis and priorities
In line with the limited understanding amongleaf technicians of this topic (see Chapter 1.3.3),
farmers were generally unaware of the legal rights
of workers. They also did not understand that it
was their responsibility to inform workers about
their legal rights. Clearly, the knowledge of leaf
technicians and farmers on this ALP Code Principle
could be improved. In particular, more attention
should be paid to the farmer’s obligation to informworkers of their legal rights.

30

Chapter 3

ALP PROGRAM: FEEDBACK FROMFARMERS, WORKERS, AND OTHERSTAKEHOLDERS

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Flue Cured Virginia farmers in Claveria and Bukidnon

External Assessment

As part of the assessment, CU asked farmers, family
members and external workers what had changed
at the farms since the start of the ALP Program.
Thirteen farmers (62%) reported that involvementof children in tobacco production had been reduced
since the beginning of the ALP program, and four
farmers (19%) declared that the safety on the farms
had improved as PPE usage was higher. Threefarmers (14%) reported that workers’ treatment
had improved, and two farmers (10%) mentionedthat workers’ incomes were better since the ALP
program started.
Of the ten family members interviewed, seven(70%) had heard of the ALP Code. Among thisgroup, five (71%) mentioned that the ALP Program
had reduced the involvement of children in tobacco
growing, two (29%) mentioned an improvement in
PPE usage, and one (14%) mentioned that the ALP
Program had made no difference.
Of the 33 external workers interviewed, 15 (45%)
had heard of the ALP Code. Among this group,nine (60%) mentioned that the ALP Program had

reduced the involvement of children in tobacco
growing; four (27%) mentioned that PPE usage had
increased; one (7%) mentioned that overall farm
safety had increased; and one (7%) mentioned thatwages had increased.
Three farmers (18%) declared they had provided
feedback to PMFTC: two of them had given
feedback about the tobacco price, and one hadreported the difficulty of finding farm workers.
In the latter case the farmer felt that PMFTC had
not listened to or acted upon his feedback; after
reporting the difficulty of finding workers to the leaf
technician, the farmer in question had not received
any feedback from the supplier so far.
During their farm visits, the leaf technicians
communicated with farmers, as well as withworkers and family members. Furthermore, during
the STP Roadshow farmers could give feedback
to PMFTC. The leaf technicians discussed thereceived feedback during meetings with the Social
Responsibility Coordinators.

32

Chapter 4

APPENDICESEXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Flue Cured Virginia farmers in Claveria and Bukidnon

External Assessment

Appendix I – PMFTC’s Action Plan
PMFTC welcomes Control Union’s (CU) assessment of Agricultural Labor Practices (ALP) program
implementation among its contracted Flue-cured Virginia (FCV) farmers in the municipality of Claveria in
Misamis Oriental. Findings and understandings from the assessment will help PMFTC further improve andstrengthen the implementation of ALP program.
PMFTC appreciates CU’s recognition of the Company’s extensive efforts in planning and implementing
the ALP program, but acknowledges that there remain opportunities for improvement. The Company iscommitted to tackling these challenges by identifying the root causes at farm level and implementing
solutions that achieve measurable results over time. Recognizing that the development of solutions to manyof these root causes involves stakeholder collaboration, PMFTC looks forward to continued collaborationand engagement with local communities, NGOs, government bodies and other stakeholders as we strive toenhance safe working practices and progressively eliminate labor abuses from contracted tobacco farms
in the Philippines.
PMFTC’s objective is to achieve long-term sustainability of tobacco production while ensuring that allcontracted farmers demonstrate Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and continuous improvement towardmeeting ALP program expectations.
Considering the dynamic nature of tobacco farms, PMFTC continuously reviews toolbox materials toensure it meets the current needs of the farmers and their communities. Issues identified by CU must be
addressed within the context of the socio-economic and cultural conditions present in tobacco-growing
communities in the Philippines and Claveria specifically. The following action plan is specific to addressing
concerns raised by CU among contracted Flue-cured Virginia farmers in Claveria.

Appendix I - PMFTC’s Action Plan _ page 1 of 934

External Assessment

1. Implementation of the ALP Program

Internal Capacity
Training, knowledge on ALP
Audit observation: Control Union had very positive appreciation of the current processes in place andthe level of commitment of the team involved with the program. However, in terms of PMFTC internal
capacity, Control Union did find that Leaf Technicians (LTs) lacked a comprehensive understanding ofChild Labor, Income and Work Hours, and Force Labor principles. Control Union also noted the needto improve awareness of PMFTC Management about revised ALP and its principles.
Action plan: With emphasis on giving clarity about the specifics of ALP principles and implementation,
PMFTC resolved that within the first quarter of 2019 100% of all LTs must undergo training:• Family and non-family children working age including its specific guidelines• Frequency of payment, mode of payment, and legal overtime payment• Direct payment of wages from farmers to workers
Further, within the first quarter of 2019 PMFTC Management Team including Leaf, External Affairsand Legal must have a refresher training about the revised ALP to ensure internal alignment.
Trainings will be verified through internal audit by PMFTC including pre- and post-training tests toevaluate knowledge improvement.

Communication of the ALP Code requirements to farmers
Strategy, tactics & communication materials
Audit observation: To communicate the policies and practices, PMFTC used several communication
methods and professionally designed materials. However, Control Union noted that not all farmers
were aware of STP programs. Moreover, communication materials lacked information on legal
matters leading to farmers’ unawareness on certain labor issues, as they received limited legal
information from PMFTC.
Action plan: Control Union noted the one-on-one education PMFTC provides to its contracted
farmers during farm visits by LTs. On average, LTs visit each contracted farmer 15-17 times per
season, providing farmers with ongoing ALP education and monitoring them for compliance withthe program. To make these farm visits more meaningful, PMFTC resolved to distribute updated
communication materials taking into account all corrections as suggested by the Control Union in
the first quarter of 2019. These are as follows:• Pamphlet for STP projects with focus on People Pillar• Video material tackling Force Labor and Human Trafficking• Video material emphasizing hazards of not unpunctured empty CPA containers and the need forproper disposal of waste• Video material with focus on overtime premium and printed material or guide on Income andWork Hours• User friendly Farmers Booklet with complete information about Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS)
prevention particularly the use of shoes when harvesting
Appendix I - PMFTC’s Action Plan _ page 2 of 935

External Assessment

These materials will be written in the local language and will also be discussed with farmers duringsite orientations to ensure full understanding.

Internal monitoring: data collection, accuracy, and addressing issues
Socio-economic data: farm profiles
Audit observation: Accuracy and quality of socio-economic and farm profiles
Action plan: PMFTC will ensure that data collection is initiated once transplantation commences
beginning the first quarter of 2019. Data collection will be cross-verified against SmartFarm
generated report by the Data & Reporting Coordinator in close coordination with Assessment Teamto ensure all required data is collected timely and accurately. This is going to be a continuous process
throughout the cropping season every year.

Farm Monitoring
Audit observation: Due to incorrect formulation of question used in farm-to-farm monitoring, it was
unclear whether there are workers being unable to leave their employment or working against theirwill, or of contracted prison labor.
Action plan: Ensure that IS updates the farm monitoring question in particular to reflect, “does thefarmer use/employ compulsory or prison labor?”

Systematic monitoring: situations not meeting ALP Code standards
Audit observation: All LTs had been trained and found the trainings useful and informative. However,interviews by CU revealed that many of the LTs, though able to recite the ALP code by heart, werelacking practical examples of how to apply the code. Moreover, issues not meeting standards are
not reported. It is important that PMFTC addresses this gap, because practical understanding isessential for monitoring risks and identifying situations not meeting the standard in the field.
Action plan: Further strengthen communication and training to hone skills of LTs on all ALP measurable
standards, and identify situations in farms that are not meeting the standards. Every quarter startingQ1 2019, a practical approach shall be designed by Social Responsibility Coordinator in training LTs
which would include group discussion and role plays. Progress will be verified through individual
farm improvement plans particularly in farms where ALP standards are not met.

Root causes of Prompt Actions
Audit observation: No clear set of principles is followed in determining root causes of prompt actions.
Action plan: 5-why method root cause analysis training will also be organized during cropping season
to further enhance capability of LTs to conduct root cause analysis to recommend more effective
actions and improvement plans. Written test will be conducted to evaluate effectiveness of training.
To properly investigate and identify root causes of prompt actions, LTs will be trained to use the5-why method. Social Responsibility Manager will validate the root cause analysis submitted by LTs
to ensure that each prompt action issue is given proper remedial action.

Appendix I - PMFTC’s Action Plan _ page 3 of 936

External Assessment

Prompt Action consequence
Audit observation: At the beginning of each crop season, farmers sign a growing contract with
PMFTC which includes all seven ALP Code Principles, which contains specific clauses on child laborand safety aspects on the farm. LTs read the contracts to illiterate farmers and explains the contents
if needed. However, CU noted that the current growing contract lacks provision on contract
termination in case a farmer is found not strictly implementing ALP.
Action plan: Social Responsibility Manager shall have a “Severity Matrix” approved by Q1 2019.
This will be used to classify Prompt Action issues with corresponding penalties. Further, a provision
regarding recurrences of Prompt Actions shall be included in the growing contract which could leadto a termination of the growing contract in the current season or non-renewal of the contract for
the next season.

Risk Assessment
Audit observation: Risk assessment not aligned with CU findings
Action plan: A more systematic risk assessment will be carried out to identify and estimate the risks
involved and draw suitable action plans to mitigate associated with People Pillar in the production
chain

Address systemic and/or widespread issues
N/A

2. Farm level assessment of working conditions regarding the ALP Code Standards

Farm practices that affected several ALP Code Principles
No immediate issues found with regards to share cropping, crew leaders, exchange of labor.

Child Labor
Children working and activities performed
Audit observation: All LTs were aware of the meaning of ALP Code Principles and had an overall
understanding of child labor, hazardous work and could provide several examples. Farm workers
had an incomplete description of hazardous work, with most of them failing to mention tobacco
stitching/usage of sharp tools, or fertilizer application. No child labor was observed in tobacco farms
but CU noted from interviews there are incidences in corn plantations.
Action plan: Continue to create awareness among farming community about the importance of
non-engagement of child labor through STP initiatives. Raising prompt actions and Farm by farm
monitoring will continue to ensure non engagement of children in hazardous work in tobacco
production. Social Responsibility Coordinator to conduct weekly STP Roadshows that will include
training on light and hazardous farm work, not limited to tobacco growing, of at least two (2) farmworkers nominated by contracted farmer to create awareness on how each hazardous activity posesrisk to health and possible ways to mitigate the risk. Currently, PMFTC conducts Off-Farm Activities
Appendix I - PMFTC’s Action Plan _ page 4 of 937

External Assessment

wherein children are engaged in educational and recreational activities after school hours andduring weekends. So by the time they reach home, all farm activities will be complete thus bringing
down the risk of child labor. This initiative will be continued in all tobacco growing villages. In Q4
2018, skills training for children ages 15-17 and 14 below has also commenced. This is intended forchildren who have stopped going to school and who are at risk of being hired in tobacco farms. By
Q3 2019, PMFTC will pilot “Farming Community Sustainability” in three (3) villages – a program thatwill establish farm workers group, leadership training for group officers, and livelihood programs inpartnership with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Income and work hours
Payment of workers
Audit observation: Monitoring data was available for all the farms visited by CU. However, it was
found that monitoring was not accurate for all Principles, in particular farmers were found to pay
below minimum wage and in some instances legal overtime rate for work rendered is not followed.
Action plan: From Q1 2019, LTs will be instructed to report the payment made below minimum
wages and the same will be captured in farm by farm monitoring sheet. This would give Social
Responsibility Coordinator and Manager an idea which activity workers are being paid minimum
wages and for which other activities they are not being paid, whether in cash or in-kind. For in-kindpayments, farmers will be required to have a written agreement with workers. The process will beverified by a third party.

Legal benefits
Audit observation: CU found that farmers are unaware of legal requirements for benefits
Action plan: Weekly beginning Q2 2019, distribute IEC materials to farmers create awareness on
legal benefits of workers during STP Roadshows and DOLE sessions. IEC material will include a listof benefits that farmers should legally provide to workers. Social Responsibility Coordinator and theManager will take responsibility of training and preparing IEC materials. LTs who train farmers will
be assessed by supervisors and area agronomy managers. These interventions are expected to resultin enhanced awareness of farmers on income, work hours, and “Legal benefit”.

OthersAudit observation: One farm worker found to have no rest day
Action plan: Awareness to all farmers will be made through the STP roadshow activities starting Q2
2019. Starting Q2 2019 100% of contracted farmers will have written agreement with workers withregard to “rest day”.

Fair treatment
Support mechanism
Audit observation: Support mechanisms facilitate workers’ access to information, assist workers in
difficult situations, and mediate disputes between farmers and workers. However, CU noted thatthe platform is not available in all tobacco-growing villages in Claveria and grievance cases areraised and settled at the village-level without knowledge of PMFTC or NGO.
Appendix I - GPI’s Action Plan _ page 5 of 938

External Assessment

Action plan: Through an NGO, PMFTC will help strengthen Barangay Peace Councils by providing
communication tools and extensive capability building training. This intervention will equip village
peace councils resolve grievances raised and settled but also enhance their documentation andreporting. STP Roadshow will also be utilized as main platform of communications to farmers andfarm workers.

Forced labor
Indirect payment
Audit observation: Evidence of indirect payment was foundAction plan: PMFTC will train and educate all farmers to ensure workers get direct payment. This
will be done through group trainings and provision of monitoring sheet to farmers who still decideto pay workers through crew leaders. These farmers will be required to return the monitoring sheetswith signature of workers who are paid through crew leaders. FTs will verify these monitoring sheets
to ensure that all workers are paid the full amount as agreed with farmers.

Safe work environment
Training and awareness of GTS
Audit observation: Not all workers are aware of existence and avoidance of GTS
Action plan: Through year-round STP Roadshow, in order to increase awareness of farmers and farmworkers on GTS, engage health professionals in explaining the risks associated with handling green
tobacco. Starting Q1 2019, Social responsibility coordinator will ensure that all farmers are provided
with sufficient PPE. LTs will also need to strengthen the monitoring on the availability of PPE at theearly stage of the season and verify its usage towards the end of the crop. Social Responsibility andAssessment Team will validate conformance in farms. Prompt action issues related to GTS exposure
will be subject to “Prompt action consequence”. Lastly, starting Q3 2019 communications on GTS
prevention and overall farm safety will be extended to off-farm activities in schools to educate
children so they can be safely stewards to their parents.

Training and handling of CPA
Audit observation: CPA not stored in safe and locked storage
Action plan: From Q1-Q4 2019, LTs to conduct one-on-one training of farmers and farm workers
on proper handling and storage of CPAs. Availability of CPA storage will be monitored by LTs atthe beginning of crop season. Apart from LTs, Social Responsibility and Assessment Team will also
validate conformance in farms. From Q3-Q4, communication materials on safety will be distributed
to children during Off-Farm Activities to remind their parents about proper handling of CPA.
Audit observation: Empty CPA containers not discharged correctly
Action plan: PMFTC will conduct group trainings on safe disposal of empty and punctured CPA
containers and information through training material and pasting of posters on strategic locationin villages. Social Responsibility Coordinator will develop and produce training material in the formof pamphlet and posters. LTs will conduct retrieval of empty and punctured CPA containers on a

Appendix I - GPI’s Action Plan _ page 6 of 939

External Assessment

regular basis and leverage group meetings such as STP roadshows and Farmers’ days for farmers tobring their empty CPA containers. Supervisors and Area Managers cross check to ensure planned
activities are being carried out accordingly. Farm by farm monitoring by LTs and unannounced visits
by Area Agronomy Managers will further strengthen the process including retrieval of empty andpunctured CPA container on a regular basis. Social Responsibility and Assessment Team to validate
100% retrieval rate of empty containers through “Empty CPA container retrieval report”.
Audit observation: Not all those who handle CPA had been trained or are using required PPEs
Action plan: PMFTC will survey root causes of not utilizing PPE during CPA handling. Improveawareness on ill effects of non-usage of PPE while handling CPAs through STP roadshows which
will be conducted Q1-Q4. The team will look into engaging health professionals to help explain
to farmers and workers the risks associated with handling CPA without proper PPE. Starting Q1
2019, Social responsibility coordinator will ensure that all farmers are provided with sufficient PPE
to ensure access to people who handle CPA. LTs will also need to strengthen the monitoring on
the availability of PPE at the early stage of the season and verify its usage towards the end of thecrop. Social Responsibility and Assessment Team will validate conformance through unannounced
visits. Prompt action issues related to CPA exposure will be subject to “Prompt action consequence”.
PMFTC will also study the feasibility of assigning a third party spraying team to service a group of
farmers to ensure conformance to PPE usage. Lastly, the communications on exposure to CPA andoverall farm safety will be extended to off-farm activities in schools to educate children starting Q3
2019.

Clean drinking water and washing water
Audit observation: Farmer does not have clean drinking and washing water
Action plan: Conduct information dissemination on the importance of clean water through STP
Roadshow during farm by farm visits. Prior to contracting a farmer, verify the other party’s capability
to provide clean drinking water and washing water. Ensure availability of safe drinking water tovillagers prior to contracting a farmer and also identify villages which do not have access to drinking
water. Once the villages identified, budget provision from the Tobacco Excise Tax of the Municipal
government will be requested in consultation with External Affairs for subsequent implementation.
This leads to provision of drinking water to all villages which will be reflected in the LGU’s excise
tax utilization report.

Sanitary facilities
Audit observation: Proximity of farms to sanitary facilities
Action plan: Through an NGO, PMFTC will study the feasibility of providing sanitary facilities atfarms which will include surveying various models of sanitary facility suitable to growing area. Social
Responsibility Manager will work with External Affairs to secure allocation from municipal excise tax
for the construction of sanitary facilities. Findings and recommendations must have the concurrenceof local stakeholders.

Appendix I - GPI’s Action Plan _ page 7 of 940

External Assessment

General safety measures
Audit observation: First aid kit and training, farming tools and safekeeping
Action plan: Social Responsibility Manager to consult third party and PMFTC Environment, Healthand Safety (EHS) Department to develop a module on farm safety training during Q3 2019. This
will include provision of first aid kits and farmers awareness on availability of resources during
emergency. Unannounced visits will be conducted to check the knowledge of farmers on first aid
by including a question on first aid in the unannounced questionnaire. This will enhance all farmers
to have access to resources in case of emergency.

OthersAudit observation: Some farm persons applying fertilizer were not wearing gloves
Action plan: Project management guarantees that there is enough inventory way before the beginningof the season, LT makes sure the farmer has enough for all his workers before the said activity. At the
beginning of crop season, LTs to verify enough gloves are in the inventory for immediate distribution.
Increase awareness and ensure usage of gloves by farmers during fertilizer application as wellthrough group training, communication materials and posters. Social Responsibility Coordinator willtake care of training material and printing of pamphlet and posters, while LTs conduct trainings tofarmers to create awareness on usage of gloves while applying fertilizers. Assessment Team to crosscheck to ensure planned activities are being carried out accordingly. Farm by farm monitoring by
LTs and unannounced visits by area agronomy managers will further strengthen the process. This isan ongoing process and will be conducted starting Q1 2019. This is expected to increase awarenessamongst famers and workers and increase usage of gloves while applying fertilizers.
Audit observation: Farmers not aware about re-entry period for each CPA and some not using reentry flag
Action plan: Beginning Q1 2019, PMFTC will create awareness and educate farmers and family
members on the importance of re-entry flags. This will be done through one-on-one training of
LTs to farmers and workers with emphasis on the standard 24-hour period for all CPA to simplify
the message. The same message will be reiterated in STP starting Q1 of 2019. Effectiveness of thecommunication and level of farmer understanding will be verified through validation exercises to be
conducted by Social Responsibility and Assessment teams. This results in increased awareness of all
the villagers resulting in safe re-entry after CPA application.

Freedom of association
Compliance with the law
Information on legal rights
Audit observation: None of the farmers fully informed their workers about their legal rights.
Action plan: Create awareness amongst farmers on legal rights of workers and educate them to impartawareness to the workers by organizing a community-based farm workers dialogue in partnershipwith DOLE and ITC by Q1 2019. PMFTC to include farmer and farm workers legal rights in the farm

Appendix I - GPI’s Action Plan _ page 8 of 941

External Assessment

workers contract beginning Q3. LTs conduct trainings to farmers to create required awareness on
legal rights of workers according to the Labor Code of the Philippines while supervisors and area
managers cross check to ensure planned activities are being carried out accordingly. This will be
carried out during Q3-Q4 every year. This results in creating awareness on legal rights of workers
to farmers and workers as well. Degree of awareness and effectiveness of training will be verified
through unannounced visits by area agronomy managers and farm by farm monitoring by LTs.

Appendix I - GPI’s Action Plan _ page 9 of 942External Assessment

Appendix II – Scope and methodology
Assessment team
The team responsible for conducting this assessment
consisted of two auditors from the Philippines, one
coordinator from Brazil and one coordinator fromthe Netherlands. The auditors conducted farmassessments and interviewed the leaf technicians,
and were accompanied by one of the coordinators
during the entire assessment. The two coordinatorsinterviewed PMFTC management and the fieldteam. The auditors as well as the coordinators
had been trained by Verité and CU before theassessment. This qualification process consisted of
the following stages:• Selection of candidates by CU;• Webinars organized by CU to verify suitability ofcandidates;• Completion of online training provided by Verité;• Full week classroom training conducted by Verité
with CU; and• Two-day preparation training by CU directlyprior to starting the field visits.
Desk review
Prior to this assessment PMFTC was requested tosend documentation to CU to give the assessment
team a better idea about the market characteristics
and the management systems that were in place.
PMFTC provided the legal information that was
relevant to the ALP Code (see Appendix III for moredetailed legal information). This was important toensure a thorough preparation of the assessment.
Opening meeting
On 11 September 2018, CU started the assessmentwith an opening meeting at PMFTC’s head office inManila, Philippines. This meeting was attended by
PMFTC’s Leaf ALP Management Team including theManager Social Responsibility (ALP Coordinator),
Director Leaf, Manager Sustainable Agriculture,9.

Director External Affairs, Manager Contributions
and Sustainability, Counsel, Regional Manager
Sustainable Agriculture, and Director Leaf Asia.
Furthermore, the meeting was attended by arepresentative from PMI Regional. CU presented
the objectives and approach of the assessment,
while PMFTC provided a brief overview of themarket and company background.
Methodology for ALP implementation
review

system

The methodology used for the evaluation of
PMFTC’s implementation of the ALP Program
was based on the widely used PDCA 9 cycle. This
cycle is a management method for the continuous
improvement of processes and products. CU
spent one and a half days (11 and 12 September2018) at PMFTC’s head office to interview
management staff, analyze documentation andevaluate PMFTC’s systems to better understandhow the implementation of the ALP Program
was organized. In total, CU interviewed sevenmanagement personnel, eleven field personnel (sixleaf technicians and five senior field staff), two
NGO representatives, and one representative of
PMI Regional.
Scope and farm samplingThis assessment focused on the FCV farmers
located in the Bukidnon and Claveria regions (seegraph below). The two regions were consideredhomogenous and comparable based on farm size,
geographical spread, language spoken and cultural
aspects, and were therefore assessed together
within the same scope.

Plan, Do, Check, Act
Appendix II - Scope and Methodology _ page 1 of 443External Assessment

Scope of assessment: FCV farmers in South Philippines.
Source: PMFTC. Note: PMFTC uses “Claveria” for the Bukidnon and Claveria regions together.

In the two regions assessed, the majority of the
farmers grew an average area of two hectares oftobacco contracted by PMFTC (see graph below).
The majority of the farmers owned the land they
farmed.
In the assessment area, PMFTC had contracts withapproximately 200 FCV farmers. To constitute ameaningful sample CU needed to visit at least 20
farms, which is calculated as the square root of
the total number of farms within the scope, witha minimum sample size of 20. In total, CU visited
21 farmers, which were either sampled randomly or
selected based on the following criteria:

Farm size (ha contracted by PMFTC)

19%
38%

0-1
43%

1<2
>2

Previously contracted by PMFTC• Geographic spread; and• Farm size: different farm sizes selected to ensure
diversity, but focus on the larger farms to ensurelabor practices could be assessed.
Over a period of two weeks, CU visited an averageof six farms per day, with a reporting day after eachfield day. The graphs below provide demographic
information about the selected farms.

Appendix II - Scope and Methodology _ page 2 of 4

33%

67%

Yes
No

44

External Assessment

Stage of tobacco production

20

18

15
10
3

3

Transplanting

Growing50HarvestingType of farm

5%
33%

62%

Family farm with only family members
working
Farm with family members and local workers
Farm with only local workers (no family
members)

Due to the openness and collaboration of PMFTC,
CU managed to conduct all the visits unannounced.
This meant that the farmers had not been informed
about the visit and its objectives prior to CU’sarrival. CU informed PMFTC about the names ofthe selected leaf technicians and selected farmers
the same day the visit would take place. The reason
for this was that CU wanted to obtain a realistic
picture of the farm practices, which was most likely
to be seen when arriving unannounced.

Methodology for ALP farm practices
review
The methodology used during the farm visits was
based on triangulation of information. Auditors
Appendix II - Scope and Methodology _ page 3 of 4

were instructed to seek at least two, preferably
three, sources of information. They used theirfindings to draw conclusions about whether farm
practices were meeting the standard of the ALP
Code. These sources could be interviews with
farmers, family members, workers and or crewleaders. Sources could also include documentationand visual observation of the farm area, field,
storage facility, and curing barns. This methodology
was also used to investigate the underlying factorsthat increase the risk of not meeting the standard. In
addition to information triangulation CU also used
the “Five Whys” methodology, a commonly usedtechnique to obtain an understanding of problems,
to investigate the reasons behind certain issues.
Before every interview CU explained the objectiveof the assessment and assured interviewees that all
information would be kept completely anonymous.
Next to assessing labor practices, CU also verified
the impact of PMFTC’s management systems at
the farms, to assess how these were perceived by
the leaf technicians, farmers, family members, andother people working at the farms.

People interviewed
Wherever possible, interviews with family members
and workers were conducted individually andwithout the presence of the farmer, to avoid undue
bias. For the same reason, all interviews with
farmers were conducted without the presence ofthe leaf technicians. In total, CU interviewed 21
farmers, ten family members and 33 workers.

45

External Assessment

Demographic information on the family members and external workers interviewed

100%

100%

77%

50%

63%

50%
37%
23%

0

0
External workers

Male

Family workers

FemaleDuration of employment of hired workers (33workers interviewed in total).
Duration of employment

CU presented the initial findings and PMFTC
requested clarification of certain items. A
constructive discussion took place on several topics.
Overall, CU’s findings were considered a useful basefor taking action to improve the implementation of
the ALP Program.

38%
49%

7%

Contributions and Sustainability, Counsel, Regional
Manager Sustainable Agriculture, and Director Leaf
Asia. Furthermore, the conference call was joinedby a representative from PMI Regional and a Verité
consultant.

Reporting procedure
7%
Less than 1 month
1-33 months
3-6 months
Permanent

Closing meeting
On 29 October 2018 a closing meeting took place
via conference call. As with the opening meeting, theclosing meeting was attended by PMFTC’s Leaf ALP
Management Team including the Manager Social
Responsibility, Director Leaf, Manager Sustainable
Agriculture, Director External Affairs, Manager

During the assessment, auditors reported after eachfield day to the coordinator. This person monitored
the auditors’ findings, and provided feedback
whenever necessary. The coordinator compiled all
findings and combined these with the findings fromthe management assessment. Public release of CU’s
assessment report demonstrates PMI’s commitment
to transparency, which is an important componentof the ALP Program. CU authored the final report,
which was evaluated by Verité. PMI reviewed thereport to ensure consistency of the presentation ofCU’s findings worldwide. Finally, PMFTC reviewed
the report to verify that all the information wascorrect, and to finalize their action plan that was
based on this report. 10

10. Leaf tobacco suppliers can start drafting their action plans after the closing meeting, as initial findings usually do
not differ much from the final report.
Appendix II - Scope and Methodology _ page 4 of 446

External Assessment

Appendix III – Legal information
Principle 1 – Child Labor
Summary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDS

Minimum age foradmission to work is
not less than age forcompletion of mandatory
schoolingChildren below 15 yearsof age may be allowed
provided the child isgiven by the parent/
legal guardian with theprescribed primary and/or secondary education

Additional conditions: (i) childworks directly under the sole
responsibility of his/her parents
or legal guardian and where only
members of his/her family are
employed, (ii) the employment
neither endangers his/her life,
safety, health, and morals,
nor impairs his/her normal
development

In any case, minimum age
for admission to work is
not less than 15 years OR
the minimum age provided
by law, whichever offers
greater protection

Children below 15 yearsof age shall not be
employedChildren below 15 years of age
may be allowed to work within alimited working hours subject tothe above conditions

No person under 18
involved in hazardous
work

Exposing children to
hazardous work is
considered as one of theworst forms of child labor

A child may only help on
the family farm if it is lightwork AND if the child is
between 13-15 years OR
above the minimum age
for light work defined bylaw, which ever affords
greater protection

Subject to the above
conditions, a child below
15 years of age may beallowed to work for not
more than 20 hours aweek provided the work
shall not be more than 4hours at any given day

MATCHES

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTSWork shall not be allowed
between 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
for a child below 15 years of age

Applicable laws
• Presidential Decree No. 442 known as “The Labor Code of the Philippines”, as amended from time totime• Presidential Decree No. 603 known as “The Child and Youth Welfare Code”• Republic Act No. 7610 entitled “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation andDiscrimination Act” (“Child Protection Act”)• Republic Act No. 9231 entitled “An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor
and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child” (“Child Labor Act”)• http://bwc.dole.gov.ph/images/Handbook/2016_Handbook_as_of_5302016.pdf
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 1 of 4147

External Assessment• Department of Labor and Employment Department Order No. 149 dated 12 January 2016 entitled“Guidelines in Assessing and Determining Hazardous Work in the Employment of Persons Below 18
years of Age, (DOLE DO 149-16)• Department of Labor and Employment Department Order No. 149-A dated 16 January 2017 entitled“Amending Department Order No. 149 Series of 2016 on the Guidelines in Assessing and Determining
Hazardous Work in the Employment of Persons Below 18 years of Age, (DOLE DO 149-A-2017)Your Answer
Minimum age for employment (in tobacco)• The minimum age for working is 15 years old. 11 This is generally required under the Labor Code for allindustries not just tobacco farming.

Age (or ages) limits for compulsory schooling• For children ages 13 to below 15 years, a parent or guardian shall provide him/her with the prescribed
elementary and/or high school education. 12 Under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9231, no child shallbe deprived of formal or non-formal education. In all cases of employment allowed under the law, theemployer shall provide a working child with access to at least primary and secondary education.
• As defined under the law, children refers to person below eighteen (18) years of age or those over
but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty,
exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition.

Definitions of hazardous work (incl. agricultural activities that constitute hazardous work) as well as any
tasks that workers under 18 are specifically prohibited from participating in by law• Exposing children to hazardous work is considered as one of the worst forms of child labor; and is
described as work which, by nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is hazardous or is
likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children, such that it: 13• Debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being;• Exposes the child to physical, emotional or sexual abuse, or is found to be highly stressful psychologicallyor may prejudice morals;• Is performed underground, underwater or at dangerous heights;• Involves the use of dangerous machinery, equipment and tools such as power-driven or explosive
power-actuated tools;• Exposes the child to physical danger such as, but not limited to the dangerous feats of balancing,physical strength or contortion, or which requires the manual transport of heavy loads;

11. The Labor Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended (“Labor Code”), Article 139;
Implementing Rules and Regulations Implementing Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended (“Labor Code IRR”),
Book III, Rule XII, Section 3(2)12. The Labor Code, Article 139
13. Child Protection Act, Section 12-D(4), as amended by the Child Labor Act, Section 3
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 2 of 4148

External Assessment• Is performed in an unhealthy environment exposing the child to hazardous working conditions,
elements, substances, co-agents or processes involving ionizing, radiation, fire, flammable substances,
noxious components and the like, or to extreme temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations;• Is performed under particularly difficult conditions;• Exposes the child to biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoans, nematodes andother parasites;• Involves the manufacture or handling of explosives and other pyrotechnic products.

Requirements applying to farmers’ own children or other family members such as nieces and nephews
helping on the farmers• A child 13 to below 15 years of age may only help out in his/her own family’s farm provided thefollowing conditions are complied with: 14––  Works directly under the sole responsibility of his parents or guardian where only members of his/her family are employed;– – Work shall be light work only and non-hazardous (samples of hazardous work are those done inextreme heat/cold, long hours, at night, with dangerous equipment, and toxic substances);– – Parent or guardian shall provide him/her with the prescribed elementary and/or high school
education;– – Work shall not be more than twenty (20) hours a week, provided that it shall not be more than four(4) hours at any given day; and– – Work shall not be allowed between 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
• Hazardous work has also been defined in general as “work operations or practices performed by a worker
in the establishment or workplace in conjunction with or as an incident to such operations or practices
and which expose the employee to hazards likely to cause any disabling injury, illness, death or physical or
psychological harm.” 15• Conversely, non-hazardous work is defined as “any work or activity in which the employee is not exposed
to any risk which constitutes an imminent danger to his safety and health.” 16• The Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) has specifically identified the kinds of work which
may be considered as hazardous for workers below 18 years of age: 17––  Farmers and Other Plant Growers• Preparatory and planting activities that involve clearing of land, plowing, harrowing, irrigating,constructing paddy dike and cutting;• Plant propagation activating that involve grafting, budding and marcotting:

14. The Labor Code, Article 139; Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule XII, Section 3 [2]; Child Protection Act, Section 12-A
(as amended by the Child Labor Act), Section 3; Child Protection Act, Section 13 (as amended by An Act Providing
for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child,Republic Act No. 9231) (“Child Labor Act”), Section 4
15. Technical Guidelines for Classifying Hazardous and Non-Hazardous Establishments, Workplaces and Work
Processes, Department of Labor and Employment Memorandum Circular No. 02, Series of 1998, Section 2(e)16. Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule XII, Section 3 (2)17. DOLE 149-16 and DOLE 149-A-2017, Section 6
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 3 of 4149

External Assessment• Tending activities that involve weeding, handling, spraying and application of harmful fertilizers,
pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals and the loading and carrying of heavy loads• Harvesting activities such as cutting and picking, spreading for drying, hauling, topping, tumbling,
tuxying, stripping, burning of field, sticking and classifying, threshing, loading and carting ofproduce• Post-harvesting activities such as de-husking, scooping, sacking of products, charcoal making,hauling of products as led by animal guide, loading and unloading of packed farm products,
coconut kilning and de-meating of crops from shell or core, sealing and carting of produce forwarehousing and transport to market and all ancillary work such as clearing, cleaning, and recycling of farm waste in preparation as animal food and other related processes

Other restrictions or requirements on the employment of workers under 18 years (e.g. limit on work
hours, work permits, etc.)
For children 15 to below 18 years of age, they may be employed provided that the following are complied
with: 18
• Work shall be non-hazardous (samples of hazardous work are those done in extreme heat/cold,
long hours, at night, with dangerous equipment, and toxic substances);• Grower shall provide him/her with access to at least elementary or high school education,
including alternative learning systems;• Work shall not be more than forty (40) hours a week, provided that it shall not be more thaneight (8) hours at any given day;• Work shall not be allowed between 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.;• Grower shall submit to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) a report of all children
employed by him; and• Grower shall keep: (a) a register of all children employed by him indicating the date of theirbirths; (b) a separate file of the written consent to their employment given by their parents or
guardians; and (c) a separate file for their educational and medical certificates.

18. Child Protection Act, Section 12-A (as amended by Child Labor Act, Section 3)/ Child Protection Act, Section 13(as amended by An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger
Protection for the Working Child), Republic Act No. 9231 (“Child Labor Act”), Section 4; see also Employment ofYouth Aged 15 to less than 18 Years, DOLE Advisory No. 01-08 / Child Protection Act, Section 15/ The Child andYouth Welfare Code, Presidential Decree No. 603 (“PD 603”), Article 108 & 109
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 4 of 4150

External Assessment

Principle 2 – INCOME AND WORK HOURS
Summary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDS

Wages of all workers
meet, at a minimum,
national legal standards
or agricultural benchmark
standards.

The minimum wage
rates for agriculturaland non-agricultural
employees and workers
in each and every regionof the country shall bethose prescribed by the
Regional Tripartite Wages
and Productivity Boards

MATCHES

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTS
Minimum wage rates for thefollowing regions are as follows:
I (La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos
Norte) – Php265 (Plantation);
Php256 (Non-plantation):
II (Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya,
Quirino, Cagayan) – Php320(plantation and non-plantation)
Region X (Cagayan de Oro,
Bukidnon, Iligan) – Php304-326(plantation and non-plantation)
For more details, DOLE publishes
the minimum wage rates
applicable for all regions in its
site:
http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/statistics/stat_current_
regional.html
The minimum wage rates are theprescribed pay rates for eighthour work in a day.;Wages of all workers
are paid regularly, at aminimum, in accordancewith the country’s laws.

Wages shall be paid atleast once every 2 weeks
or twice a month atintervals not exceeding
16 daysWork hours are incompliance with thecountry’s laws.

The normal hours of workof any employee shall not
exceed eight (8) hours adayThis minimum condition neednot be in writing. The same isconsidered part of the terms
and conditions of employment
regardless of the existence ofa written contract. Even in theabsence of a written employment
contract, the employer has
to comply with the minimum
standards under the Labor Code,one of which is the normal
working hours.

Excluding overtime, work
hours do not exceed, on aregular basis, 48 hours per
week.

Rest period of not lessthan 24 consecutive
hours after every 6
consecutive normal work
days

The normal work hours in a week
is 48 hours computed based on a
6-day work week with an 8-hourwork per day.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 5 of 41

51

External Assessment

Overtime work hours arevoluntary.

As a general rule,
overtime work is
voluntary but anemployee may berequired by the employer
to perform overtime work
under certain urgent
circumstances

Overtime wages are paid
at a premium as requiredby the country’s laws or by
any applicable collective
agreement.

Overtime work beyond
8 hours a day is allowed
provided that theemployee is paid for theovertime work

All workers are provided
with the benefits,holidays, and leave towhich they are entitled by
the country’s laws.

The provisions of theLabor Code on Working
Conditions and Rest
Periods shall apply
to employees in all
establishments andundertakings whether for
profit or not

Similar to the rule on normal
work hours, this condition need
not appear in writing. There arealso instances when the employer
can require an employee towork overtime as enumerated
under the Labor Code. The
corresponding premium or extra
remuneration for overtime work
is likewise provided under the
Labor Code. Thus, the employer isrequired to pay the same with orwithout a written contract to that
effect.

These provisions do not apply
to government employees,
managerial employees, field
personnel, members of thefamily of the employer who aredependent on him for support,
domestic helpers, persons in the
personal service of another, andworkers who are paid by results
as determined by the Secretary ofLabor in appropriate regulations.
As defined under the Labor
Code, “Field personnel” refers to
non-agricultural employees who
regularly perform their duties
away from the principal placeof business or branch office ofthe employer and whose actual
hours of work in the field cannot
be determined with reasonablecertainty.
Field personnel are generally
entitled to minimum standards/
benefits under the Labor Codeexcept for time-based related
benefits and premium suchas overtime pay, night shiftdifferential for night work,
holiday, etc. This has to beso since the employer cannot
establish the actual hours ofwork of the employee in the field(outside employer’s premises)with reasonable certainty.
Example would be sales personnel
who are usually compensatedthrough commissions.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 6 of 41

52

External Assessment

Applicable laws
• The Labor Code and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR)Your Answer
Laws on regular and overtime wages including laws on in kind payment (e.g. minimum wages, minimum
wages agreed with unions, agricultural wage benchmark standards). If a minimum monthly wage isreferenced, please indicate how many hours this wage represents• The minimum wage rates for agricultural and non-agricultural employees and workers in each andevery region of the country shall be those prescribed by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity
Boards. 19• In kind payment is allowed only under special circumstances specified in regulations to be issued by
the DOLE Secretary.
• Pursuant to Article 121 of the Labor Code, as amended, however, the DOLE has issued the Revised
Guidelines on the Conduct of Facility Evaluation that governs the conduct of evaluation by the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards of facilities provided by the employer to his employees.
“Facilities” refer to articles or services provided by the employer for the benefit of the employee or his/her family but shall not include tools of the trade of articles or services primarily for the benefit of theemployer or necessary to the conduct of the employer’s business. (Section 5, Rule VII, Implementing
Rules of Book III, Labor code). The term shall include: 20
1) Meals;
2) Housing for dwelling purposes;
3) Fuel including electricity, water, gas furnished for the non-commercial personal use of theemployee;4) Transportation furnished to the employee between his home and work where the travel time
does not constitute hours worked compensable under the Labor Code and other laws;5) School, recreation and sanitation when operated exclusively for the benefit of the worker or
his family;6) Medical and dental services rendered to the non-industrial cases; and7) Other articles and services given primarily for the benefit of the worker or his family.
• In order that the fair and reasonable value of the facilities may be deducted from the wages of
employees, the following requisites must concur: 21
a. Facilities subject of valuation are customarily furnished by the employer;
b. Deductibility of the value of the facilities must have been voluntarily accepted in writing by theemployee; andc. Facilities must be charged at a fair and reasonable value.

19. Labor Code, Article 99
20. Rule III, DOLE Department Order No. 126-13, Series of 2013
21. Section 1, Rule III, DOLE Department Order No. 126-13, Series of 2013
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 7 of 4153

External Assessment• For the value of meals to be deductible from the wages of employees, the meals provided must be
nutritionally adequate. In determining the fair and reasonable value of meals, at least 30% of theactual cost shall be subsidized by the employer. 22• Under the law, 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 iscustomary, or is necessary because of special circumstances as specified in appropriate regulations to
be issued by the DOLE Secretary or as stipulated in a collective bargaining agreement.
• The DOLE Secretary regulates the payment of wages by results, including pakyao, piecework (or piecerate), 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 the representative of workers’ andemployers’ organizations. The rate generated by the time and motion studies should not fall below theminimum wage rate for an 8 hour work in a given day.
• The relationship of the landowner and the tenant is not governed by the Labor Code, but by special
laws as will be discussed in the succeeding comments.
• Overtime work beyond 8 hours a day is allowed provided that the employee is paid for the overtime
work. Overtime pay is the employee’s regular pay plus at least 25%. If the overtime work was performed
during an employee’s rest day or during a non-working (regular or special) holiday, the overtime pay
shall be the employee’s rest day/holiday pay plus at least 30% of the applicable pay.
• Based on the wage rates per region stated above, overtime pay or premium can be computed asfollows: the hourly rate in Region II (Isabela) can be computed by dividing Php320 with 8 hours, whichis Php40 per hour. 25% of Php40 is 10, so the hourly overtime rate is Php40 + Php10, which is equal
to Php50. Such rate will now be used to multiply for the number of overtime hours worked.
• An employee may be required by the employer to perform overtime work in any of the following
cases: 23• When the country is at war or when any other national or local emergency has been declared by
the Philippine Congress or the President;• 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;• When there is urgent work to be performed on machines, installations, or equipment, in order toavoid serious loss or damage to the employer or some other cause of similar nature;• When the work is necessary to prevent loss or damage to perishable 24 goods; and• Where the completion or continuation of the work started before the eighth hour is necessary to
prevent serious obstruction or prejudice to the business of operations of the employer.

22. Section 2, Rule III, DOLE Department Order No. 126-13, Series of 2013
23. Labor Code, Article 87; Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule I, Section 8, Labor Code, Article 90; Labor Code IRR, Book
III, Rule III, Sections 1 to 8, Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule IV, Section 5
24. The law does not enumerate or define what goods are considered perishable. In one case, however, the Supreme
Court noted the US Supreme Court decision defining “perishable” property as goods which decay and lose theirvalue if not speedily put to their intended use. Since tobacco is an agricultural product that is also subject to decay
and has a limited useful life, then it can arguably be considered as perishable goods
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 8 of 41

54

External Assessment• The instances enumerated above are exemptions to the Constitutional right against involuntary
servitude. Thus, the employee may be disciplined for willful disobedience of a reasonable directivefrom the employer to render overtime under these circumstances.
• Philippine labor laws do not provide for a notice requirement for overtime work. The employer is only
required to pay the mandated overtime rate for workers as provided above. There is no need for a priorwritten agreement. Verbal directive coming from the immediate superior or employer himself would
be sufficient.
• Rest period of not less than 24 consecutive hours after every 6 consecutive normal work days. 25• Premium pay, holiday pay. 26• Premium pay refers to the additional payment for work within 8 hours on rest days or special days
– – Plus 30% of the daily basic rate or a total of 130% for work performed on rest day or special day.
––  Plus 50% of the daily basic rate or a total of 150% for work performed on special day falling on
the employee’s rest day.
––  Plus 30% of the daily basic rate or a total of 260% for work performed on a regular holiday
falling on the employee’s rest day.
• Holiday pay refers to payment of the regular daily wage for any unworked regular holiday– – For any unworked regular holiday, 100% of the employee’s daily wage rate.
– – For work performed on a regular holiday, plus 100% or a total of 200% of the employee’s daily
wage rate.
• Farm workers are usually paid by results such as “pakyaw”. For instance, farm workers are paid for acertain amount to harvest the entire tobacco in a one hectare land. The farmers will be paid without
reference to the number of hours worked in a given day and the agreed amount is usually computedby the number of days the harvest will be completed. In this regard, the law requires that workers paidby result (such as pakyaw) should receive at least the prescribed pay rate (minimum wage) for a given
work day. Therefore, if the work exceeds 8 hours in a given day, the agreed rate or compensation
should also factor in the premium pay for overtime as well as the holiday premiums stated above, incase the work is done during holidays.
• For regular employees, the premium rates are simply applied based on their hourly or daily rate ascomputed earlier.
• For workers paid by results such as pakyaw, piecework and other non-time work, the employer isrequired to submit a time and motion study with the DOLE and make sure that the compensation for
the work done to produce a certain number of the results or piecework for 8 hours should not be lower
than the set minimum wage rate per region.

Wage and hours laws specific to piece rate workers, seasonal workers, and migrant workers• The minimum wage rates for the agriculture employees are prescribed by the Regional Tripartite Wages
and Productivity Boards and from each region. 27

25. Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule IV, Section 5
26. Labor Code, Article 93, Article 94, Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule IV, Sections 4, 6, 7 & 8
27. Labor Code, Article 99
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 9 of 41

55

External Assessment• The Secretary of Labor shall regulate the payment of wages by results, including pakyaw, pieceworkand other non-time work, in order to ensure the payment of fair and reasonable wage rates (refers
to the minimum wage rates set by the RTPWB), preferably through time and motion studies or in
consultation with representatives of workers and employer’s organizations. 28• As discussed above, the rate for piecework requires time and motion study to ensure that thecompensation for a certain number of results or piecework for 8 hours does not fall below the minimum
wage rate for time-based work.

Other specific rules applicable to migrant workers including any legal requirements to ensure they arelegally permitted to work
• Foreign nationals seeking admission into the Philippines for the purposes of employment must apply forthe appropriate work visa. There are several work visa categories available, depending on the corporate
employer’s registration as a legal entity and other special registrations. The most common work visa
pre-arranged employment visa for a period longer than six (6) months. The employer must file theprescribed application with the Bureau of Immigration together with the documentary requirements,
which include application forms and the employment agreement. A pre-arranged employee must also
first secure an Alien Employment Permit from the DOLE.
• Subject to certain exceptions, if a foreign national is already in the Philippines as a tourist or a businessvisitor, he can file the appropriate petition to convert his visa status to that of a pre-arranged employee
without having to leave the Philippines. After the visa approval has been stamped on the employee’s
passport, the processing of the Alien Certificate of Registration Identification Card (ACR I-Card) will
start. The work visa can be renewed/extended prior to its expiry. After expiry, a new application for awork visa must be submitted. 29• All foreign nationals who intend to engage in gainful employment in the Philippines must apply for
an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) (though certain categories of foreign nationals are excluded fromthis requirement). 30 In this regard, only the following categories of foreign nationals are exempt fromsecuring an AEP in order to work in the Philippines:• All members of the diplomatic services and foreign government officials accredited by the Philippine
Government.
• Officers and staff of international organizations of which the Philippine Government is a cooperating member, and their legitimate spouse desiring to work in the Philippines.
• Foreign nationals elected as members of the governing board who do not occupy any other position,
but have only voting rights in the corporation.
• All foreign nationals granted exemption by special laws and all other laws that may be promulgatedby the Congress.
• Owners and representatives of foreign principals, whose companies are accredited by the Philippine
Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), who come to the Philippines for a limited period
solely for the purpose of interviewing Filipino applicants for employment abroad.
28. Labor Code, Article 101
29. Commonwealth Act No 613, An Act to Control and Regulate the Immigration of Aliens into the Philippines (ThePhilippine Immigration Act of 1940) sections 19 and 20
30. Labor Code, Article 40; Department Order No 97-09, Revised Rules for the Issuance of Employment Permits toForeign Nationals, as amended by Department Order No 120-12, section 1
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 10 of 4156

External Assessment• Foreign nationals who come to the Philippines to teach, present and or conduct research studies
in universities and colleges as visiting, exchange or adjunct professors under formal agreements
between the universities or colleges in the Philippines and foreign universities and foreign
governments (provided that exemption is on a reciprocal basis).
• Permanent resident foreign nationals, probationary or temporary resident visa holders.
• An approved AEP is required before a foreign national can file an application for a work visa.
• All applications for an AEP must be filed and processed at the DOLE Regional Office or Field Office
which has jurisdiction over the intended place of work. In the case of foreign nationals to be assigned
in related companies, they can file their application with the Regional Office which has jurisdiction
over any of the applicant’s intended places of work.

Laws on payment of wages relevant to the frequency of payment in agriculture, for example, laws on
whether end of season one-time payments are permissible• 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 theemployee.
• Payment of wages by check or money order shall be allowed when such manner of payment iscustomary, or is necessary because of special circumstances as specified in appropriate regulations to
be issued by the Secretary of Labor or as stipulated in a collective bargaining agreement. 31• Wages shall be paid at least once every 2 weeks or twice a month at intervals not exceeding 16 days.
If on account of force majeure or circumstances beyond the employer’s control, payment of wages onor 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 lessfrequency than once a month. 32 The local or national government usually declares a state of calamity
in case of a force majeure affecting a particular locality or region. The employer, however, may alsopresent evidence before the labor court for specific events that prevent the employer from paying thesalaries in accordance with the frequency set under the Labor Code to justify non-compliance.
• Arguably, this provision applies only to rank and file employees and not with supervisory or managerial
employees. In other words, for managerial and supervisory employees, salaries can be paid once amonth.

Laws on regular and overtime hours (e.g. maximum work hours, requirements for overtime hours to be
voluntary)• The provisions of the Labor Code on Working Conditions and Rest Periods 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 arepaid by results as determined by the Secretary of Labor in appropriate regulations. 33

31. Labor Code, Article 102
32. Labor Code, Article 103
33. Labor Code, Articles 82-96
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 11 of 4157

External Assessment• The normal hours of work of any employee shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day. 34• Work may be performed beyond eight (8) hours a day provided that the employee is paid for theovertime work, an additional compensation equivalent to his regular wage plus at least twenty-five
percent (25%) thereof. Work performed beyond eight (8) hours on a holiday or rest day shall be paid
an additional compensation equivalent to the rate of the first eight (8) hours on a holiday or rest day
plus at least thirty percent (30%) thereof. 35

Requirements that employers must meet to request overtime from workers• Overtime work beyond 8 hours a day is allowed provided that the employee is paid for the overtime
work. 36
• Normal hours of work is eight (8) hours; any excess is considered overtime work and subject to overtime
premium pay. However, there is no maximum number of allowable overtime work fixed by law.
• Maximum days of work is six (6) days per week. A 24-hour rest day is required after every 6 consecutive
normal work days. Work during an employee’s rest day is subject to payment of rest day premium pay.
• Children below fifteen (15) years of age may be allowed to work for not more than twenty (20) hours
a week provided, that the work shall not be more than four (4) hours at any given day. Children fifteen(15) years of age but below eighteen (18) shall not be allowed to work for more than eight (8) hours
a day, and in no case beyond forty (40) hours a week. Lastly, children below fifteen (15) years of age
shall not be allowed to work between eight o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning of thefollowing day and no child fifteen (15) years of age but below eighteen (18) shall be allowed to work
between ten o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning of the following day (Child Labor
Act, Section 3).

Laws on basic entitlements or benefits to be paid to workers (e.g. social security, health care, holidays,
other leave entitlements etc.)• Employers are required to enroll their employees, and make contributions on their behalf, with thefollowing:• Social Security System (SSS) – Both employer and employee make contributions. Membershipentitles employees to monetary benefits for sickness, maternity, disability, retirement and death.
Employees are likewise allowed to avail themselves of loans, payable through salary deduction.
• Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) – Both employer and employee makecontributions. Membership entitles employees to medical insurance.
• Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) – Both employer and employee make contributions.
Membership entitled employees to avail of housing or other multi-purpose loans.
• Also, employees are entitled to the following:• Yearly service incentive leave of five (5) days with pay, for employees who have already renderedat least one (1) year of service
34. Labor Code, Article 83
35. Labor Code, Article 87
36. Labor Code, Article 87; Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule I, Section 8, Labor Code, Article 90; Labor Code IRR, Book
III, Rule III, Sections 1 to 8, Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule IV, Section 5
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 12 of 4158

External Assessment• Maternity leave of 60 days if by normal delivery, or 78 days if by cesarean delivery, for the first four(4) deliveries/miscarriages• Paternity leave of seven (7) days with pay for the first four (4) deliveries/miscarriages• Solo Parents’ leave of seven (7) days with pay• Holiday pay. The Philippines observes the following public holidays:
Regular Holidays
New Year’s Day- January 1

Maundy Thursday- Moveable

Good Friday- Moveable

Araw ng Kagitingan- April 9Labor Day

- May 1

Independence Day- June 12

National Heroes Day- Last Monday of August

Bonifacio Day- November 30

Christmas Day- December 25

Rizal Day- December 30• In addition, the Muslim holidays of Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha are also celebrated, the exact days on which
they fall to be announced by the Office of the President of the Philippines.
Special (Non-Working) Days
Ninoy Aquino Day
All Saints’ Day
Additional Special (Non-Working) Day
Last Day of the Year

- August 21- November 1- December 31• The employer may require an employee to work on a regular holiday but shall pay such employee twice
the regular pay. If the work is required on any special day, the employee is entitled to an additional
30% of regular pay.
• Additional compensation for work performed:• On an employee’s scheduled rest day (plus 30% of regular pay);• On Sundays and holidays (plus 30% of regular pay), if the nature of the work is such that there are
no regular work days and rest days;• On a regular holiday which also falls on a rest day (plus 30% of regular pay and 30% of the 100%
regular pay due for working on a regular holiday, or a total of 60% of regular pay); and• On special days which also falls on the employee’s scheduled rest day (50% of regular pay).
• Generally even farm workers are entitled to the above benefits, especially when the workers arecompensated based on time rendered for work or time-based as farm workers do not fall on any ofthe exemptions under Article 82 of the Labor Code, as amended. As mentioned, farm workers are notconsidered field employees. Big agricultural plantations such as for pineapple, sugarcane, cassava, orbanana usually provide these benefits.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 13 of 4159

External Assessment• However, most of the tobacco farmers grow tobacco using their own personal land, relatively of asmall size, e.g., 1 hectare, etc. As such, they work on their own farms or engage just a handful of farmworkers (say 3 or 4 workers) to perform farm work on a “pakyaw” basis. There is a pre-agreed rate fordoing the work such as planting, harvesting, or applying CPAs and the compensation is agreed basedon the number of workdays to complete the work multiplied by the agreed rate, which is usually theprevailing minimum wage rate in the region. As noted above, if the work exceeds 8 hours in a dayor the work falls on a holiday, the agreed rate should factor in the required premium payments forovertime or holiday work.
• For social security, philhealth, or other social welfare benefits cited above, the small farm owners
declare themselves as self-employed with the SSS, together with fisherfolks. For Philhealth, all citizens
are covered by the Philhealth fund through the local government units. Thus, it is seldom that small
farm owners register their farm workers with the SSS and Philhealth.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 14 of 4160

External Assessment

Principle 3 – FAIR TREATMENT
Summary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDSNo physical abuse, threatof physical abuse, or
physical contact with
the intent to injure or
intimidate

The Revised Penal Codeprovides for criminal
penalties for physicalabuse, maltreatment,
coercion, threats, orother forms of physicalcontact with intent toinjure or intimidate

No sexual abuse or
harassment

The Anti-sexual
Harassment law
specifically provides
penalties for sexual
abuse or harassment in aworkplace

No verbal abuse or
harassment

The Revised Penal Codeprovides penalties forslander, oral defamation,
libel or any verbal abuseor harassment

Various special laws also provides
for penalties involving verbal
abuse or harassment such as the
Magna Carta for Women, Antisexual Harassment law, etc.

No discrimination on
the basis of race, color,caste, gender, religion,
political affiliation, union
membership, status as aworker representative,
ethnicity, pregnancy, social
origin, disability, sexual
orientation, citizenship, or
nationality

Various laws provide
for criminal penalties
against different forms of
discrimination

The New Civil Code also provides
for civil damages arising fromdiscriminatory acts

Worker access tofair, transparent andanonymous grievancemechanism

Recourse may either be in
the regular courts or the
National Labor Relations
Commission which is
jurisdictional dependingon the cause of action

MATCHES

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTS

Applicable laws
• Physical Punishment, Abuse, etc.
• Physical Injuries (The Revised Penal Code, Act No. 3815 (“RPC”), Articles 263, 265, 266 [1], [2])• Maltreatment (RPC, Article 266 [3])• Coercion (RPC, Articles 286, 287)
• Child abuse, cruelty or exploitation or be responsible for conditions prejudicial to the child’sdevelopment. (Child Protection Act, Section 10)
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 15 of 41

61

External Assessment• Protection to women against all forms of violence, including physical, sexual and psychologicalviolence (Magna Carta of Women, Republic Act No 9710, Section 4 [k] [2])• Civil claims for damages against employers (Republic Act No. 386 [“Civil Code”], Article 33)• Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (Republic Act No. 7877, Section 3 [a][1], Sections 4 & 5)
• Magna Carta for Persons with Disability (Republic Act No. 7277 as amended)• Unjust Vexation (RPC, Article 287 [2])• Threats (RPC, Articles 282, 283 & 284)
• Oral Defamation (Slander) (RPC, Article 358)
• Slander by Deed (RPC, Article 359)
• Discrimination and Harassment• Discrimination against any woman employee (Labor Code, Article 135; Labor Code IRR, Book III,
Rule XI, Section 4 [c] & Rule XII, Section 13, Magna Carta of Women, Section 35 in relation to
Section 4 [b])• Solo parent (Labor Code, Article 140)
• Persons with disabilities (Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, Republic Act No. 7277, as
amended, Section 5; Rule II, Section 1.2 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Magna
Carta for Persons with Disability)• Persons with HIV (Republic Act No. 8504, Section 35)• In regard to wages, workhours and other terms and conditions of employment to encourage or
discourage union membership (Labor Code, Article 248 [e])• An employee for having given or being about to give testimony under the Labor Code (Labor Code,
Article 248 [f])• Discriminate against any employee who has filed any complaint or proceeding with respect towages or has testified or is about to testify in such proceedings (Labor Code, Article 118)Your Answer
Laws defining and prohibiting physical, sexual, or verbal threats, abuse, contact, or harassment• Philippine laws do not provide for specific rules against physical punishment (or threat), verbal abuse,
etc. which are particularly applicable to workers or employees.
• In general, however, the Philippine Revised Penal Code (RPC) declares the following acts as criminal
offenses and are equally applicable to workers or employees:• Physical Injuries. Committed by any person who, without intent to kill, shall inflict upon anotherany physical injury. The penalty for this offense varies depending on the degree of injury inflicted
upon the aggrieved party/complainant, which are classified into serious physical injury, less serious
physical injury and slight physical injury. (Articles 263, 265, 266 (1), (2))• Maltreatment. Committed by any person who shall ill-treat another by deed without causing any
injury. (Article 266 (3))

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 16 of 41

62

External Assessment• Coercion. The penalty for this offense varies depending on: (i) the means used to coerce (violence,
intimidation or intimidation), and (ii) the purpose of the coercion. (Articles 286 and 287)
• Unjust Vexation. Includes any human conduct which although not productive of some physical ormaterial harm would, however, unjustly annoy or vex an innocent person. (Article 287 (2))• Threats. Committed by any person who shall threaten another with the infliction upon the person,
honor or property of the latter or his family of any wrong. The penalty for this offense varies
depending: (i) whether the wrong threatened amounts to a crime and if so, the crime that he or
she threatened to commit; (ii) whether the threat was made to impose or demand a condition; (iii)the manner the threat was made; and (iv) the prevailing circumstances when the threat was made.
(Articles 282, 283 and 284)
• Oral Defamation (Slander). (Article 358)
• Slander by Deed. Committed by any person who shall perform an act, not constituting libel, whichshall cast dishonor, discredit or contempt upon another person. (Article 359)
• In addition, Section 10(a) of the Child Protection Act prohibits any person from committing any
acts of child abuse, cruelty or exploitation or be responsible for conditions prejudicial to the child’sdevelopment.
• Section 9 of the Magna Carta of Women provides the policy of the State to ensure that all womenare protected from all forms of violence, including physical, sexual and psychological violenceoccurring within the general community, such as rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment andintimidation at work. (Section 4 (k) (2))• Article 33 of the Civil Code of the Philippines (“Civil Code”) provides that for cases involving
defamation, fraud, and physical injuries, a civil action for damages, entirely separate and distinct
from the criminal action, may be brought by the injured party.
• In relation, civil claims for damages against employers may arise from violations of the “abuse ofright” clauses, which particularly provides that:– – Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act withjustice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith. (Article 19)––  Every person who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently, causes damage to another, shallindemnify the latter for the same. (Article 20)––  Any person, who willfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals,
good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage. (Article 21)• Protection from Sexual Harassment– – The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act (Republic Act No. 7877) protects employees from sexual
harassment which may be committed by an employer or any other person having authority,
influence or moral ascendency over the employee concerned in a work or employment-related
environment.
– – Sexual harassment in a work/employment-related environment is committed when:• The sexual favor is made as a condition in the hiring or in the employment, re-employment
or continued employment of said individual, or in granting said individual favorable
compensation, terms, conditions, promotions, or privileges; or the refusal to grant thesexual favor results in limiting, segregating or classifying the employee which in any way

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 17 of 4163

External Assessment

would discriminate, deprive or diminish employment opportunities or otherwise adversely
affect said employee.
• The above acts would impair the employee’s rights or privileges under existing labor laws.
• The above acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for theemployee.
• The employer or the head of the work/employment-related environment or institution has a duty toprevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the
resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment. Towards this end, the employer orhead of office shall:• Promulgate appropriate rules and regulations in consultation with and jointly approved by theemployees, through their duly designated representatives, prescribing the procedure for theinvestigation of sexual harassment cases and the corresponding administrative sanctions.
• Create a committee on decorum and investigation of cases on sexual harassment. The committee
shall conduct meetings with officers and employees to increase understanding and prevent
incidents of sexual harassment. It shall also conduct the investigation of alleged cases constituting
sexual harassment.
• The employer or head of work/employment-related environment or institution shall be solidarily liablefor damages arising from the acts of sexual harassment committed in the employment environment if
the employer or head of work/employment-related environment or institution is informed of such actsby the offended party and no immediate action is taken thereon.

Laws defining and prohibiting discrimination• Article 135 of the Labor Code of the Philippines (Labor Code) declared as unlawful for any employer
to discriminate against any woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment
solely on account of her sex and imposed criminal and civil liabilities for the commission of acts of
discrimination against women. The same provision also identified the following as acts of discrimination:• 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 equal work value.
• Favoring a male over a female employee with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study
and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes.
• All other acts determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment as a form of discriminationof a woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment on account of her sex.
(Book III, Rule XI, Section 4 (c) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Labor Code, as
Amended)• In addition, Section 35 of the Magna Carta of Women prohibits in general discrimination against
women, defined as “any gender-based distinction, exclusion, or restriction which has the effect or
purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women, irrespectiveof their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field.” (Section 4 (b) (1))• Article 140 of the Labor Code prohibits an employer from discriminating any person in respect toterms and conditions of employment on account of his/her age.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 18 of 4164

External Assessment• The Labor Code considers as unfair labor practice for an employer to discriminate:• In regard to wages, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment in order toencourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. (Article 248 (e))• An employee for having given or being about to give testimony under the Labor Code. (Article 248(f))• Section 7 of the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act (Republic Act No. 8972) prohibits an employer fromdiscriminating a solo parent employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment on accountof his or her status.
• Section 5 of the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability (Republic Act No. 7277, as amended) provides
that no persons with disabilities shall be denied access to opportunities for suitable employment. A
qualified disabled employee shall be subject to the same terms and conditions of employment and thesame compensation, privileges, benefits, incentives or allowances as a qualified able bodied person.
• In addition, Rule II, Section 1.2 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Magna Carta for
Persons with Disability provides that no individual or entity, whether public or private, shall discriminate
against a qualified disabled person by reason of disability in regard to job application procedures; thehiring, promotion, or discharge of employees; employee compensation, job training, and other terms
and conditions of employment. The said also identified the following as acts of discrimination:• Limiting, segregating or classifying a disabled job applicant in such manner that adversely affects
his work opportunities;• Using qualification standards, employment tests or other selection criteria that rule out or tend torule out a disabled person unless such standards, tests or other selection criteria are shown to be
job-related for the position in question and are consistent with business necessity;• Utilizing standards, criteria or methods of administration that:––  have the effect of discrimination on the basis of disability.
––  perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to common administrative control.
• Providing a lower compensation, salary, wage or other forms of remuneration and fringe benefits to aqualified disabled employee by reason of his disability as compared to a worker performing the same
type and amount of work but who is not disabled;• Favoring a non-disabled employee over a qualified disabled employee with respect to promotion,
training opportunities, study and scholarship grants, solely on account of the latter’s disability;• Re-assigning or transferring a disabled employee to a job or position he cannot perform by reason of
his disability;• Dismissing or terminating the services of a disabled employee by reason of his disability unless theemployer can prove that the satisfactory performance of the work involved is impaired by reason of
the disability to the prejudice of the business entity; Provided, however, that the employer has firstexerted effort to provide reasonable accommodations for the disabled worker;• Failing to select or administer in the most effective manner employment tests which accurately reflect
or measure the skills, aptitude or positive traits of the disabled applicant or employee rather than the
impaired sensory, manual or speaking capabilities of such applicant or employee, if any; and• Excluding disabled persons from membership in labor unions or similar organizations.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 19 of 41

65

External Assessment

Protection of workers from discrimination (workers’ rights and employers’ obligations)• The special laws enumerated above provide for protection of workers from various forms of
discrimination.

Laws on resources for victimized workers including any access to grievance mechanisms• Recourse may either be in the regular courts or the National Labor Relations Commission which is
jurisdictional depending on the cause of action as enumerated above.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 20 of 4166

External Assessment

Principle 4 – FORCED LABOR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Summary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDS

No work under bond, debt
or threat

The Philippine
Constitution proscribes
involuntary servitude
in any form, except as
punishment for a crimefor which a party has
been duly convicted

Workers must receive
wages directly from theemployer.

The Labor Code requires
the employer to directly
pay the wages to theemployee

In case of death of the employee,
the employer is required to pay
the accrued wages and benefitsof the deceased employee to his/her legal heirs

Workers are free to leave
their employment at any
time with reasonable
notice, without threat or
penalty

The employee may resignfrom employment at any
time subject to 30 dayprior written notice

If the employee fails to observe
the notice requirement, he/she
may be held liable for damages.
There are certain instances whenan employee may resign effective
immediately without being held
liable for damages such as when
there is threat to his/her life
arising from his/her employment

Workers are not required
to make financial deposits
with farmers, labor
contractors, or any otherthird party at the time ofrecruitment or at any point
during employment

No employer shall require
his/her worker to makedeposits from which
deduction shall be made,for the reimbursementof loss of, or damage
to tools, materials or
equipment supplied by
the employer

Workers are not charged
recruitment fees or otherrelated fees for theiremployment by labor
contractors

It is unlawful for an
employer to makeany deduction fromthe wages of any
employee for theemployer’s benefit,
or his representative
or intermediary as
consideration of apromise of employment
or retention of
employment

MATCHESAppendix III - Legal Information _ page 21 of 41

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTS

67

External Assessment

Wages or income fromcrops and work done are
not withheld beyond thelegal and agreed payment
conditions.

It shall be unlawful forany person, directly or
indirectly, to withhold
any amount from thewages of a worker or
induce him to give up
any part of his wages
by force, stealth,intimidation, threat orby any other means
whatsoever without theworker’s consent

Farmers do not retain
the original identity
documents of any worker

NA

Where farmers arelegally required to retain
the original identity
documents of workers,
they provide securestorage protected fromunauthorized access andensure workers haveaccess to their documents
upon end of employment

NA

Where labor contractors
are used, farmers verify
their labor practices andensure they are in linewith the ALP standards

NA

No employment of prisonor compulsory labor

No involuntary servitude
in any form shall exist
except as a punishment
for a crime whereof theparty shall have been
duly convicted

Contract growing or growershipagreement is not covered by thelaw on contracting under Articles
106-109 of the Labor Code andits prevailing implementing rules,
Department Order No. 174,
Series of 2017

Applicable laws
• The Philippine Constitution, Article III, Section 18(1)• The RPC, Articles 272 (slavery), 273 (exploitation of child Labor)• Worst forms of child labor such as slavery, sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom,
and forced or compulsory labor are prohibited (Child Protection Act, Section 12-D [1] [as amended by
the Child Labor Act, Section 3])• Unlawful to withhold any amount from the wages of a worker or induce him to give up any part of his
wages (Labor Code, Article 116)

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 22 of 41

68

External Assessment

Your Answer
Legislation on forced labor (including any regulation on identity document retention or wage withholding)• Philippine laws provide for protection against forced labor.
• Article III, Section 18 (1) of the Philippine Constitution proscribes involuntary servitude in any form,
except as punishment for a crime for which a party has been duly convicted.
• In relation, the RPC provides for punishment for the commission of the following crimes which aretantamount to forced labor:• Slavery. Committed by anyone who shall purchase, sell, kidnap or detain a human being for the
purpose of enslaving him or her. (Article 272)
• Exploitation of child labor. Committed by anyone who, under the pretext of reimbursing a debt
incurred by an ascendant, guardian or person entrusted with the custody of a minor, shall, against
the latter’s will, retain such minor in his or her service. (Article 273)
• Services rendered under compulsion in payment of debt. Committed by any person who, in orderto require or enforce the payment of a debt, shall compel the debtor to work for him or her, against
the debtor’s will, as a household servant or a farm worker.
• In addition, Section 3 of the Child Labor Act (enumerates forced or compulsory labor as practices
similar to slavery and considers it as one of the worst forms of child labor.

Legislation relating to limits or prohibitions on recruitment fees and deposits workers may be required topay• Unlawful to make any deduction from the wages of any employee for the employer’s benefit, or his
representative or intermediary as consideration of a promise of employment or retention of employment(Labor Code, Article 117)
• No employer shall require his worker to make deposits from which deductions shall be made forthe reimbursement of loss or damage to tools, maintenance, or equipment supplied by the employer
subject to exceptions (Labor Code, Article 114; Labor Code IRR, Book III, Rule VIII, Section 14))

Legislation regulating the operation of labor brokers and other third party recruiters• Article 106 to 109 of the Labor Code and DOLE Department Order No. 174 series of 2017 (DOLE 174)
are the current applicable laws and regulations.
• Contract growing/farming is excluded from the coverage of DOLE 174 37• Job contracting arrangements shall be legitimate if the following conditions concur:• The contractor must be registered with the DOLE and carries on a distinct and independent
business;• The contractor has substantial capital and/or investment;• The Service Agreement ensures compliance with all the rights and benefits under Labor Laws.

37. Department Circular No. 01-17 Clarifying the applicability of Department Order No. 174, Series of 2017
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 23 of 41

69

External Assessment• A third party workers service provider or job contractor/sub-contractor must comply with the following:• Minimum capitalization requirement of at least Php5Million fully paid up capital• Proof of ownership or lease agreement on tools, equipment, machineries and work premises• Payment of Php100,000.00 registration fee with the DOLE
• Proof of financial capacity to pay the wages and benefits of the workers in every service contract
using the Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC) formula in government procurement• Control over the performance of the work of the employee deployed or assigned to render thecontracted work or services• Not engaged in labor-only contracting arrangement• Not engaged in prohibited activities under Section 6 of DOLE 174• Observes the rights of its workers under Section 10 of DOLE 174• Observes the required contracts under Section 11 of DOLE 174• Not delisted from the registry of legitimate contractor/subcontractor• DOLE 174 prohibit labor-only contracting. Under Section 5 of DOLE 174, there is labor-only contracting
when:• The contractor does not have substantial capital or• Contractor does not have investments in the form of tools, equipment, machineries, supervision,
work premises, among others, and• The Contractor’s employees recruited and placed are performing activities which are directly
related to the main business operation of the principal.

Laws on prison labor• No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted (Philippine Constitution, Article III, Section 18 (2))

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 24 of 4170

External Assessment

Principle 5 – SAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Summary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDS

Farmers provide a safe
and sanitary working
environment

Every employer, including
farmers, covered by the
Occupational Safety and
Health Standards (OSHS)
shall give complete job
safety instructions to all
his workers, especiallyto those entering thejob for the first time,
including those relating
to the familiarization with
their work environment,
hazards to which theworkers are exposed toand steps taken in case of
emergency

Farmers take allreasonable measures toprevent accidents, injury
and exposure to healthrisks.

This is covered by the
OSHS

No person is permitted to
top or harvest tobacco,or to load barns unlessthey have been trainedon avoidance of green
tobacco sickness.

NANo person is permitted
to use, handle or apply
crop protection agents(CPA) or other hazardous
substances such as
fertilizers, without having
first received adequate
training.

This is covered by the
OSHS

No person is permitted
to use, handle or apply
crop protection agents(CPA) or other hazardous
substances such as
fertilizers, without using
the required personal
protection equipment.

The employer shallprovide his workers withnecessary protective
clothing and equipment
maintained in goodcondition

Persons under the age of18, pregnant women, andnursing mothers must nothandle or apply CPA.

NA

MATCHESAppendix III - Legal Information _ page 25 of 41

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTS

There is no regulation about thisparticular requirement specificto tobacco farming. If this relatesalso to the application of CPA,
then the general provisions under
the OSHS apply.

There is no regulation about thisparticular requirement specificto tobacco farming. If this relatesalso to the application of CPA,
then the general provisions under
the OSHS apply71External Assessment

NA
No person do not enter afield where CPA have been
applied unless and until it
is safe to do so.

There is no regulation about thisparticular requirement specificto tobacco farming. If this relatesalso to the application of CPA,
then the general provisions under
the OSHS apply

Every person has access to NA
clean drinking and washingwater close to where theywork and live.

There is no regulation about thisparticular requirement specificto tobacco farming. If this relatesalso to the application of CPA,
then the general provisions under
the OSHS apply

NA

There is no regulation about thisparticular requirement specificto tobacco farming. If this relatesalso to the application of CPA,
then the general provisions under
the OSHS apply

Accommodation, where
provided, is clean, safe,
meets the basic needs ofworkers, and conforms to
the country’s laws.

Applicable laws
• Article 162 and 165 of the Labor Code• The Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) are the rules and regulations governing worksafety and health as mandated in PD 442, Book IV, Article 162, of the Labor Code of the Philippines.
• Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order 2015-09 Rules andthe Procedures for the Implementation of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) issued on 19 May
2015;• DOLE Department Order No. 136 series of 2014 on the Guidelines for the Implementation of Global
Harmonised System (GHS) in Chemical Safety Program in the Workplace (DOLE DO 136-14)
Your Answer
Requirements for provision of medical protection (availability of first aid kit, health & safety training etc.)• Each employer covered by the provisions of the OSHS shall:• give complete job safety instructions to all his workers, especially to those entering the job for the
first time, including those relating to the familiarization with their work environment, hazards towhich the workers are exposed to and steps taken in case of emergency;• comply with the requirements of OSHS. (Occupational Safety and Health Standards (“OSHS”), Rule
1000, Section 1005)• All workers shall be thoroughly informed of the health hazards connected with their work and themeasures to be taken to protect themselves therefrom. (OSHS, Rule 1090, Section 1093.12)• The employer shall provide his workers with necessary protective clothing and equipment maintainedin good condition. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)• Workers exposed to prolonged contact with natural fertilizers shall be subjected to regular medical
examination. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 26 of 4172

External Assessment• It shall be the duty of every employer to:• Establish in his workplace occupational health services to provide a healthful place of work;• Adopt and implement a comprehensive health program for his workers;• Enter into a contract with hospitals or dental clinics, if these are not available in his workplace; and• Maintain a health record of his programs and activities and submit an annual medical report, using
form DOLE/BWC/HSD/OH-47, to the Regional Labor Office concerned, copy furnished the DOLE
Bureau of Working Conditions on or before the last day of March of the year following the covered
period. (OSHS, Rule 1965, Section 1965.01)

Requirements to report accidents and injuries• Disability benefits may be claimed from the Social Security System provided that the employee is acontributing member. (SSS Law)
• OSHS, Rule 1053 provides for the reporting obligations of the employer to report work accidents or
occupational illness in places of employment.
• OSHS, Rule 1054 provides for the obligation of employer to maintain and keep an accident and illness
record. OSHS, Rule 1054 also provides that the employer shall accomplish an Annual Work Accident/
Illness Exposure Data Report in duplicate using the prescribed form DOLE/BWC/HSD-IP-6b, whichshall be submitted to the DOLE’s Bureau of working conditions copy furnished the Regional Labor
Office or duly authorized representative having jurisdiction on or before the 30th day of the monthfollowing the end of each calendar year.
• OSHS, Rule 1093, Section 1093.17 provides that the employer shall maintain accurate record of
employee exposure to potentially toxic materials which are required to be measured or monitored.
This record shall be open to authorized agents and the workers exposed to such hazards

Requirements for green tobacco sickness training or awareness• None.

Requirements for PPE needed for using, handling, storing, or disposing of crop protection agents (CPA).
This may vary depending on the CPA in question.
• Workers handling pesticides and harmful fertilizers shall be instructed not to eat, drink or smoke
unless: (a) they have removed their protective clothing; (b) they have washed their hands and face; and(c) they are in the area for eating purposes. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)• All containers with hazardous substances shall be properly labelled.
1093.04)(OSHS, Rule 1090, Section• Workers handling pesticides and harmful fertilizers shall: (a) deposit their personal or street clothingin rooms provided for the purpose; (b) remove all protective clothing and equipment at the end of each
day’s work and deposit them in specified decontaminating containers provided for the purpose; ad(c) wash hands, face and neck or take a shower if pesticides/harmful fertilizers was used or handled.
(OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 27 of 4173

External Assessment• Protective clothing shall be laundered or otherwise thoroughly cleaned at least once a week or more
frequently, depending upon the degree of the contamination and the material or substance used.
(OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)• Workers shall thoroughly wash gloves after every use. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)• Workers shall be provided with, and shall use personal protective clothing and equipment in accordancewith the requirements of Rule 1080. (OSHS, Rule, Section 1093.03(1))• Protective clothing, like boots, gloves, googles and face shield shall be use in mixing, diluting, sprayingor spreading toxic fertilizers (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.01(4))• PPE shall also be used to supplement control methods when such measures cannot adequately
eliminate the hazard or when other measures are not possible. (OSHS, Rule 1090, Section 1093.03(2))

Restrictions on CPA use, handling, storing, or disposing (e.g. restrictions on vulnerable population such as
under 18s, pregnant women, nursing mothers interacting with CPA)
• When practicable, harmless substances shall be substituted for hazardous substances or the process
shall be revised to reduce worker exposure to the hazards. (OSHS, Rule 1090, Section 1093.01)• Pesticides and fertilizers shall be handled and used only by persons thoroughly instructed in their use
handling hazards and the precautions that shall be taken to avoid such hazards. (OSHS, Rule 1950,
Section 1953.01)• Persons working with pesticides and fertilizers shall have pre-employment and periodic examinationsas provided under Rule 1960. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1953.02)• Persons handling pesticides and fertilizers which react strongly to alcohol, shall abstain from alcoholic
drinks at least 10 hours before and at least 12 hours after any work or operation where these substances
are applied. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1953.03)• All personnel exposed to irritating or toxic substances shall be provided with appropriate protective
clothing including head covering, which shall: (a) be removed before eating or leaving the premises
and kept in places provided for the purpose; (b) not be taken out of the factory by the users for any
purpose; and (c) be maintained in good condition and washed or cleaned at least once a week. (OSHS,
Rule 1090, Section 1093.10)

Other legislation related to CPA, (e.g. where they may be stored or transported, explicit restrictions on
specific CPAs, weather conditions under which CPA application may or may not occur, other restrictions
limiting contact or exposure with CPA)
• All containers with hazardous substances shall be properly labelled.
1093.04)(OSHS, Rule 1090, Section• Workers exposed to prolonged contact with natural fertilizers shall be subjected to regular medical
examination. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1955.03)• Persons working with pesticides and fertilizers shall have pre-employment and periodic examinationsas provided under Rule 1960. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1953.02)• Persons handling pesticides and fertilizers which react strongly to alcohol, shall abstain from alcoholic
drinks at least 10 hours before and at least 12 hours after any work or operation where these substances
are applied. (OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1953.03)

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 28 of 4174

External Assessment• All personnel exposed to irritating or toxic substances shall be provided with appropriate protective
clothing including head covering, which shall: (a) be removed before eating or leaving the premises
and kept in places provided for the purpose; (b) not be taken out of the factory by the users for any
purpose; and (c) be maintained in good condition and washed or cleaned at least once a week. (OSHS,
Rule 1090, Section 1093.10)• Pesticides or empty containers shall not be left lying about in the fields, yards and other open areas,and shall not be thrown into pods, streams or drains OSHS, Rule 1950, Section 1957 (2)• Handling and disposal of pesticides and fertilizers are usually governed by the Occupational Safety and
Health Standards (OSHS).
• For Pesticides:
Rule 1957 provides: Disposed of Unwanted Materials:(1) Waste of harmful pesticides, empty cases, boxes, bottles, and other containers shall be:a. returned to the supplier, if practicable;
b. buried deep in the earth away from springs and other water sources;
c. burned in such a way that persons cannot be endangered by the smoke and other products of
combustions.
(2) Pesticides or empty containers shall not be left lying about in the fields, yards, and other open
areas, and shall not be thrown into the ponds, streams or drains.
(3) Pesticides that have not lost their potency shall be destroyed. The competent authority shall be
consulted on the proper disposal of large quantities of these substances.
• For Fertilizers:
1955: Fertilizers:
1955.01: Handling:
The following rules shall be observed in the handling of agricultural chemicals:(1) Fertilizers shall not be left unattended to when not in use;
(2) Fertilizers shall be prepared by mechanical means in closed vessels. However, if closed
mechanical preparation is impracticable:
a. Tall vessels and long handled implements shall be used to reduce the risk of splashing;b. Vessels shall not be fully filled to avoid splashing.
(3) Unbreakable vessels shall be used in the preparation of toxic fertilizers.
(4) Protective clothing, like boots, gloves, goggles and face shield shall be used when mixing,
diluting, spraying or spreading toxic fertilizers.
(5) Spillage of fertilizers and contamination shall be prevented. Spillage shall be thoroughly cleaned
immediately.
(6) Whenever practicable, apply toxic fertilizers by mechanical means.
(7) Immediately after spraying toxic fertilizers in a greenhouse, the employers shall:a. require all persons entering the greenhouse to be properly protected;
b. post notices on all gates of the greenhouse stating how long the area is to remain closed
before entry of persons without proper protection is allowed.
(8) Workers using toxic fertilizers shall not:a. blow out blocked spray pipes or nozzle with the mouth;b. spray or spread fertilizers against the direction of the wind.
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 29 of 4175

External Assessment(9) Decontaminate the exterior of all tanks and containers in which toxic fertilizers are stored.
(10) Securely close the opening of all tanks and containers in which toxic fertilizers are kept.
(11) Tanks and piping shall:a. be regularly checked for damage andb. be provided with stop valves or other devices that can effectively prevent or limit theescape of the substance.
(12) Fertilizers shall be transported only in suitable vehicles to ensure protection to the driver andother users of the vehicles.
(13) Handling of organic fertilizers shall be by mechanical means to minimize direct contact withsuch fertilizers or in the absence of mechanical means, proper protection during handling shall be
required.
(14) Personal protective equipment shall be provided too, and used by workers when applying
mineral fertilizers.
1955.02: Storage:(1) Storage place for fertilizers shall be well lighted to facilitate easy identification of chemicals.
(2) Storage building shall be sound, weather-proof, water-tight and fire-resistant.
(3) Storage rooms or buildings shall be locked to prevent entry of unauthorized persons or
animals.
(4) Fertilizers shall be stored separately from other material and in particular; away from foodand feeding stuff.
(5) Fertilizers of different kinds shall be stored separately in sacks or containers on skids or
platform and kept away from walls and combustible materials.
(6) Transfer nitrate from bags and wooden barrels to incombustible bins. Empty bags andbarrels shall be thoroughly washed after each use.
(7) Sodium chloride shall be stored in metal containers.
(8) Aqua ammonia shall be stored in a cast iron or mild steel tank designed with a working
pressure of 7 kg./cm 2(9) Anhydrous ammonia shall be transported and stored in pressure containers designed witha working pressure of 18.65 kg,/cm2 g (265 psig). Storage tanks shall have no brass andcopper fittings.
(10) Anhydrous ammonia tanks shall be provided with pressure relief valves on the pipelines
and bleed valves in the hoses.
(11) Tanks for anhydrous ammonia shall:a. be situated at a safe distance from other buildings, fire hazard and traffic;
b. be protected against solar heat and mechanical damage; andc. not more than four-fifths (4/5) full.
(12) Organic fertilizer shall be stored in open and well ventilated areas.
(13) Fertilizers stored in containers other than those provided by the manufacturer shall beclearly labeled with the name of the substance and marked with proper symbols.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 30 of 4176

External Assessment

Requirements related to providing drinking water and safe housing• None.

Requirements for worker accommodation if provided• Not applicable.

Restrictions on farm equipment (e.g. maintenance and licensing for operators)• None.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 31 of 41

77

External Assessment

Principle 6 – FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Summary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDS

Farmers do not interferewith workers’ right tofreedom of association.

The Philippine
Constitution protects the
freedom of workers toform and join unions forpurposes which are notcontrary to law

Workers are free to join
or form organizations
and unions of their own
choosing.

This is allowed by theConstitution and theLabor Code

Workers are free tobargain collectively.

This is allowed by theConstitution and theLabor Code

Worker representatives
are not discriminatedagainst.

This is covered by the
Labor Code

It is considered Unfair Labor
Practice for an employer tointerfere, coerce or restrain
workers from the exercise of theirright to self-organization

Worker representatives
have access to carryout their representative
functions in theworkplace.

This is protected by the
Labor Code

It is considered Unfair Labor
Practice for an employer tointerfere, coerce or restrain
workers from the exercise of theirright to self-organization

Persons under the age of18, pregnant women, andnursing mothers must nothandle or apply CPA.

NA

There is no regulation about thisparticular requirement specificto tobacco farming. If this relatesalso to the application of CPA,
then the general provisions under
the OSHS apply

MATCHES

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTS
The Labor Code specificallyallows workers to create labororganizations

Applicable laws
• Philippine Constitution, Article III, Section 8• Philippine Constitution, Article XIII, Section 3(2)• Labor Code, Article 3
Your Answer
Laws on organizing unions and their operation (e.g. protections in place for freedom of association,
protection against employer interference)• The Philippine Constitution protects the freedom of workers to form and join unions for purposes
which are not contrary to law. (Article III, Section 8; Article XIII, Section 3 (2)) The Philippine
Constitution also provides that “The State shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization,collective bargaining and negotiations. Workers are also granted the right to participate in policy andAppendix III - Legal Information _ page 32 of 4178

External Assessment

decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.” (Philippine
Constitution, Article XIII, Section 3 [2])• In addition, Article 3 of the Labor Code declares that it is the policy of the State to assure the rights of
the workers to self-organization.

Laws or requirements for collective bargaining• All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable,
medical, or educational institutions, whether operating or not shall have the right to self-organizationand to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective
bargaining. (Article 243 of the Labor Code) On the other hand, 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.

Laws related to worker representatives (e.g. requirements for representatives to be in place, protection
from discrimination, access to carry out functions in workplace)• None.

Other prohibitions on union discrimination and employer interference• 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. (Labor Code, Article 246)
• The Labor Code considers as unfair labor practice for any employer to: (a) Interfere with, restrain, or
coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization (Labor Code, Article 248(a)); (b)Require as a condition of employment that a person or an employee shall not join a labor organizationor shall withdraw from one to which he or she belongs (Labor Code, Article 248(b); (c) Contract out
services or functions being performed by union members when such will interfere with, restrain, or
coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization (Labor Code, Article 248(c); and(d) Initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or administration of any labororganization, including the giving of financial or other support to it or its organizers or supporters(Labor Code, Article 248(d)).

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 33 of 41

79

External Assessment

Principle 7 – TERMS OF EMPLOYMENTSummary
ALP MEASURABLE
STANDARDS

MARKET LEGAL STANDARDSMATCHES

EXCEEDSOPPOSESCOMMENTS

At the time of hire,
farmers inform workers of
their legal rights

There is no suchrequirement 38

Employment relationship mayarise notwithstanding theabsence of a written contract by
the application of the so-called
four-fold test, i.e., payment ofwages, hiring and selection,
discipline and dismissal, and rightto control the manner and meansof workAt the time of hire,
farmers inform workers of
the essential aspects of
the work relationship andwork place safety suchas work to be performed,
working hours, wages
paid, period of hire, and alllegally mandated benefits

There is no suchrequirement

Employment may exists based on
the application of the four-fold
test

Farmers and workers
have entered into
written employment
contracts when requiredby a country’s laws andworkers receive a copy ofthe contract.

Writtencontract is not arequirement foran employment
relationship toexistsTerms and conditions of
employment contracts
do not contravene thecountry’s laws.

The Labor Codeprovides for theminimum terms
and conditionsof employment
which cannot be
waived by theparties even in a
written contract

Applicable laws
• Labor Code, Articles 243, 297-299 (just and authorized causes of termination of employment• DOLE Department Order No. 147 series of 2015 on Amending the Implementing Rules and Regulationsof Book VI of the Labor Code
38. Article 3 of the Philippine New Civil Code expressly provides that ignorance of the law excuses noone from compliance therewith. Thus, farmers are also expected to be aware of their legal rights.
However, for the protection of the parties and not just the worker, there is a need to put the agreement in writing
where the parties lay down their respective rights and obligations especially in employment contracts with ordinary
rank and file employees or farm workers. Doubts in the interpretation and implementation of our labor laws aswell as employment contracts are usually resolved in favor of labor or the worker as the law recognizes that theemployer and the worker do not stand on equal playing field.
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 34 of 4180

External Assessment

Your Answer
Legal requirements to constitute labor/employment relation• Article 243 of the Labor Code states that “all persons employed in commercial, industrial andagricultural 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 labororganizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent anditinerant workers, self-employed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may
form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection.”

Laws and regulations on employment contracts (incl. necessity for written employment contracts, and if
is not what are the grounds to consider the existence of a verbal employment agreement)• It is not necessary to have a written employment contract to prove that a person is an employee. Thereis also no law specifically enumerating the terms that must be included in an employment contract.
• Article 1306 of the Civil Code of the Philippines recognizes the freedom of the parties to stipulate or
establish the terms and conditions of a contract, provided these are not contrary to law, morals, good
customs and public policy.
• However, Article 1700 of the Civil Code classifies labor contracts as contracts imbued with public
interest.
• Labor laws and statutory labor standards are deemed to be written into all employment contracts,
and stipulated terms and conditions cannot fall below the applicable labor standards provided by the
Labor Code. Any terms or conditions that violate the applicable labor standards are null and void.
Employment contracts cannot be used by employers to evade their responsibility for complying withlabor laws.

Required content for written employment contracts• As mentioned above, there is also no law specifically enumerating the terms that must be included inan employment contract.
• The four-fold test is used only to determine employer-employee relationship and does not apply
to landowner and tenant relationship. Employment is generally governed by the Labor Code, whilelandlord-tenant relationship is governed by special laws.
• Republic Act (R.A.) No. 1199, which became operative on 30 August 1954, was enacted to govern
share tenancy. Section 14 of the said law recognized the rights of the tenants to choose for leasehold
tenancy agreement. R.A. No. 3844, which took effect on 8 August 1963, as amended by RA No. 6389,
finally declared agricultural share tenancy as contrary to public policy and was, thereby, abolished.
Section 4 of RA 6389 automatically converted share tenancy throughout the country into agriculturalleasehold relationship.
• The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) or R.A. No. 6657, which took effect on 15 June
1988, expressly repealed Section 35 of R.A. No 3844 which exempted fishponds, saltbeds, and lands
principally planted to citrus, coconut, cacao, coffee, durian and other similar permanent crops. The
significant implications of this evolution of the law are as follows:

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 35 of 41

81

External Assessment

1. The abolition of share tenancy now covers all agricultural landholdings without exceptions;2. The conversion of share tenancy into leasehold is mandated by law;
3. Agricultural leasehold can be a preliminary step to land ownership. Hence, all share-crop tenants
were automatically converted into agricultural lessees as of 15 June 1988, whether or not a leasehold
agreement has been executed; and4. Leaseholders’ security of tenure shall be respected and guaranteed.
In accordance with these developments of the law, Sec. 12 of R.A. No. 6657 mandates the Departmentof Agrarian Reform (DAR) to determine and fix the lease rentals within retained areas and areas not yet
acquired for agrarian reform in accordance with Section 34 of R.A. No. 3844.
• Additionally, Section 6 of R.A. No. 6657 recognizes the right of the farmer to elect whether to becomea farmer-beneficiary or a leaseholder in the retention area of the landholder. Section 67 of the same
Act directs the Registrar of Deeds to “register . . . patents, titles, and documents required for the
implementation of the CARP.”• Pursuant to the DAR’s mandate to protect the rights and improve the tenurial and economic status offarmers in tenanted lands, and its efforts to provide for an effective mechanism that shall implement
leasehold and improve the method for determining and fixing lease rentals, as well as deal with external
factors such as the prevailing practice and stance of landowners to deny the existence of tenancy
relations whenever possible, the rules and procedures governing agricultural leasehold tenancy andleasehold implementation, particularly DAR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 02-06, was issued by the
Department of Agrarian Reform.
• Under DAR AO No. 02-06, agricultural leasehold shall be based on a tenancy relationship. The following
are essential elements of agricultural tenancy:
1.1. The parties are the landholder and the tenant;1.2. The object of the relationship is an agricultural land;
1.3. There is consent freely given either orally or in writing, express or implied;
1.4. The purpose of the relationship is agricultural production;
1.5. There is personal cultivation;
1.6. There is consideration given to the lessor either in a form of share of the harvest or payment of
fixed amount in money or produce to or both

Deadline for contract conclusion (e.g. on date of hire or within 30 days of hire etc.)• None.

Requirements for various types of contract (indefinite term, definite term, temporary workers, andprobationary workers)
As mentioned above, generally, there are no specific requirements. However, as a general reference, thefollowing are the types of employment arrangement under Philippine jurisprudence and labor laws andregulations:

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 36 of 4182

External Assessment• Regular Employees• There are two kinds of regular employees (Labor Code, Article 294):– –  Regular employees by nature of work, that is, those who are engaged to perform activities
which are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer.
– –  Regular employees by years of service, that is, those who have rendered at least one year ofservice, whether continuous or broken, with respect to the activity in which they are employed.
• The primary standard to determine regular employment is the reasonable connection between
the particular activity performed by the employee in relation to the usual business or trade of theemployer. The test is whether the activity of the employee is usually necessary or desirable in theusual business or trade of the employer.
• A regular employee enjoys the benefit of security of tenure as guaranteed by the Philippine
Constitution. This means that the employee cannot simply be terminated, other than those justand authorized causes as provided by law.
• Probationary Employees• Article 295 of the Labor Code makes express reference to probationary employment, which
provides a trial period, during which the employer observes the fitness, propriety and efficiency ofa probationer to decide whether he is qualified for permanent employment, while the probationer
seeks to prove to the employer that he has the qualifications to meet the reasonable standards
for permanent employment. If the employee was allegedly hired on a probationary basis, but
was not informed of the standards that would qualify him as a regular employee, he is deemed aregular employee from the very start. Additionally, an employee who is allowed to work beyond
the probationary period shall be deemed regular. This probationary period is usually fixed at six
months or less. However, the parties to an employment contract can agree to a longer periodof probation (for example, when the same is established by company policy or when the same isrequired by the nature of work to be performed by the employee).
• Fixed-Term Employees• While not specifically mentioned in Article 294 of the Labor Code, a fixed-term employment isrecognized under the Civil Code, pursuant to the freedom of parties to fix the duration of thecontract, whatever its object. These fixed-term employment contracts are not limited to seasonal
work or specific projects with predetermined completion dates; also contemplated are employment
arrangements whereby the parties have assigned a specific date of termination. This pertains to
fixed-term employment where the duration of employment is already indicated and agreed uponby the parties at the onset of employment.
• In this jurisdiction, the frequency of payment of wages or salaries does not affect the classificationof employment. Regular employees could either be monthly paid or daily paid workers. It is only
the frequency of the payment of salaries that differentiates monthly from daily paid workers but
their classification as to whether they are regular, project, fixed-term, or probationary is what isdetermined by the application of the pertinent provisions of the Labor Code.
• A verbal agreement for fixed term employment is allowed. However, a written contract is preferredin order to have an evidence that the parties agreed to the duration of employment. Otherwise, theworker may claim regular employment and alleged that the duration of employment is indefinite.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 37 of 4183

External Assessment• For this employment arrangement to be considered compliant with the employees’ right to securityof tenure, it must:– – Be voluntarily and knowingly agreed upon by the parties, without any force, duress, or improperpressure being brought to bear upon the employee, absent any vices of consent.
––  Appear that the employer and employee dealt with each other on more or less equal terms, withno moral dominance whatever being exercised by the former over the latter.
• Project Employees• A project employee is one whose employment has been fixed for a specific project or undertaking,the completion or termination of which has been determined at the time the employee is engaged(Labor Code, Article 294). It is not sufficient that an employee is hired for a specific project orphase of work. There must also be a determination of, or a clear agreement on, the completion or
termination of the project at the time the employee is engaged.
• The services of project employees are coterminous with the project. They can be terminated upon
the end or completion of that project, or a phase of the project, for which they were hired. The
employer has no obligation to pay them separation pay.
• The predetermination of the duration of the period of a project employment is important in
resolving if an employee is a project employee or not. For example, in a previous case, the Court
ruled that while the employee was clearly hired for a specific project, the absence of a definite
period of the project led the Court to the conclusion the employee was regular.
• Seasonal Employees• Seasonal workers perform work that is seasonal in nature and are employed only for the duration of
one season (Labor Code, Article 294). Ideally, the duration of the season has to be indicated at theonset of employment. The duration of employment is being dictated by the duration of the season
say for instance the tobacco planting and/or harvesting season. For instance, in the hotel industry,
hotels are allowed to engage additional workers only for the duration of the Christmas or holiday
season. There is a need to define the duration at the onset of employment as the worker may claim
regular employment which is for an indefinite period. Regular employment can be terminated only
for just or authorized causes and expiration of a period or season is not one of them.
• Seasonal workers who are rehired every working season are considered to be regular employees.
The nature of their relationship with the employer is such that during off season they are temporarilylaid off, but when their services are needed, they are re-employed. They are not, strictly speaking,separated from the service but are merely considered as on a leave of absence without pay until
they are re-employed. Their employment relationship is never severed but only suspended. As aresult, these employees are considered to be in the regular employment of the employer.
• However, it is not sufficient that the work performed is seasonal in nature. There must also be
evidence that the employee worked only for the duration of the season. For example, in a previous
case, the fact that the employees repeatedly worked as sugarcane workers for the employer forseveral years established the regular employment.
• Casual Employees• There is casual employment where an employee is engaged to perform a job, work or service whichis merely incidental to the business of the employer, and that job, work or service is for a definite
period made known to the employee at the time of engagement (Implementing Rules of the Labor
Code, Book VI, Rule I, section 5(b)). A casual employee is one whose work is neither regular, projector seasonal.
Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 38 of 4184

External Assessment• A good example on this is a worker or carpenter hired for instance to rebuild a part of a barn. A
carpenter can be hired as a casual employee for the upkeep and maintenance of the barns such as
painting the walls or the roof. If the carpenter continues to work with the employer for a period of
1 year, either continuous or intermittent, the worker will be considered a regular casual employee
whose employment shall continue as long as the need for the services exists.
• However, if a casual employee has worked for at least one year (whether continuously or not) hebecomes a regular employee but only with respect to the activity in which he is employed, and his
employment will continue while that activity exists. Even though a casual employee, he is entitledto all the rights and privileges, and is subject to the same duties and obligations, as is granted bylaw to regular employees during the period of his actual employment.

Requirements for termination of employment (termination with or without cause, wrongful dismissal,
notice periods required to end employment etc.)• The right to security of tenure means that a regular employee shall remain employed unless his or her
services are terminated for just or authorized cause and after observance of procedural due process.
• An employer may dismiss an employee on the following just causes:• serious misconduct;• willful disobedience;• gross and habitual neglect of duty;• fraud or breach of trust;• commission of a crime or offense against the employer, his family or representative;• other similar causes.
• The other grounds are authorized causes:• installation of labor-saving devices;• redundancy;• retrenchment to prevent losses;• closure and cessation of business; and• disease / illness• In termination for authorized causes, separation pay is the amount given to an employee terminated
due to installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment, closure or cessation of businessor incurable disease.
• Separation pay may also be granted to an illegally dismissed employee in lieu of reinstatement.
• In cases of installation of labor-saving devices or redundancy, the employee is entitled to receive theequivalent of one month pay or one month for every year of service, whichever is higher.
• In cases of retrenchment, closure or cessation of business or incurable disease, the employee is entitled
to receive the equivalent of one month pay or one-half month pay for every year of service, whicheveris higher.
• In case of separation pay in lieu of reinstatement, the employee is entitled to receive the equivalent of
one month pay for every year of service.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 39 of 4185

External Assessment• An employer shall observe procedural due process before terminating one’s employment. In atermination for just cause, due process involves the two-notice rule:• notice of intent to dismiss specifying the ground for termination, and giving said employee
reasonable opportunity within which to explain his or her side;• A hearing or conference where the employee is given opportunity to respond to the charge, present
evidence or rebut the evidence presented against him or her;
• A notice of dismissal indicating that upon due consideration of all the circumstances, grounds havebeen established to justify termination.
• In a termination for an authorized cause, due process means a written notice of dismissal to theemployee specifying the grounds at least 30 days before the date of termination. A copy of the notice
shall also be furnished the Regional Office of the DOLE where the employer is located.
• For probationary employees, termination can be done prior to their acquiring the status of regular
employees if they fail to meet the performance standards required of their position, which standards
were made known to them at the start of their probationary employment.
• For project or fixed-term employees, termination can be done upon completion of the project or when
the fixed-term expires.
• In cases of termination for just causes, the employee is entitled to payment of indemnity or nominal
damages in a sum of not more than 30,000 pesos ; in case of termination for authorized causes, 50,000
pesos .
• The legality of a dismissal may be questioned before the Labor Arbiter of a Regional Arbitration
Branch of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), through a complaint for illegal dismissal.
In establishments with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the dismissal may be questioned
through the grievance machinery established under the CBA. If the complaint is not resolved at thislevel, it may be submitted to voluntary arbitration.
• An employee may question his or her dismissal based on substantive or procedural grounds.
• The substantive aspect pertains to the absence of a just or authorized cause supporting the dismissal.
• The procedural aspect refers to the failure of the employer to give the employee the opportunity to
explain his or her side.
• An employee who is dismissed without just cause is entitled to any or all of the following:• reinstatement without loss of seniority rights;• in lieu of reinstatement, an employee may be given separation pay of one month pay for every yearof service• full backwages, inclusive of allowances and other benefits or their monetary equivalent from thetime compensation was withheld up to the time of reinstatement;• damages if the dismissal was done in bad faith• Reinstatement means restoration of the employee to the position from which he or she has been
unjustly removed. Reinstatement without loss of seniority rights means that the employee, uponreinstatement, should be treated in matter involving seniority and continuity of employment as though
he or she had not been dismissed from work. When a Labor Arbiter rules for an illegal dismissal,
reinstatement is immediately executory even pending appeal by the employer (Article 223 of the Labor
Code).

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 40 of 4186

External Assessment• Reinstatement pending appeal may be actual or by payroll, at the option of the employer.
• Full backwages refer to all compensations, including allowances and other benefits with monetaryequivalent that should have been earned by the employee but was not collected by him or her becauseof unjust dismissal. It includes all the amounts he or she could have earned starting from the date ofdismissal up to the time of reinstatement.

Options for farmers to obtain legal assistance about their obligations (e.g. government departments, local
labor offices, farmer associations etc.)• None.

Specific requirements for leaf growing contracts (e.g. government imposed templates, government
approval of contracts, freedom to choose terms of contract)• None.

Appendix III - Legal Information _ page 41 of 4187

External Assessment

Appendix IV – Communication materials
ALP Principles leaflet

PPE Usage leaflet

Appendix IV - Communication Materials _ page 1 of 488External Assessment

CPA leaflet

GTS leaflet

Appendix IV - Communication Materials _ page 2 of 489

External Assessment

Hazardous tasks for Children leaflet

Child labor leaflet

Appendix IV - Communication Materials _ page 4 of 490

External Assessment

Farmers booklet

Appendix IV - Monitoring forms _ page 1 of 491

External Assessment

Appendix V – Glossary
ALP

Agricultural Labor Practices

ALP Code

PMI’s Agricultural Labor Practices Code

ALP Code Principle

Short statements that set expectations of how the farmer should
manage labor on his/her farm in seven focus areas

ALP Program

Agricultural Labor Practices Program

Correction

Any action that is taken to eliminate a situation not meeting thestandard

Corrective action

Steps taken to remove the causes of a situation not meeting thestandard

CPA

Crop Protection Agents

Crew leader

Person responsible for managing a group of workers

DOLE

Department of Labor and Employment

Family farm

Farm that depends mainly on family members for the production of
tobaccoFarm Profiles

A data collecting tool developed by PMI with Verité to track thesocio-economic profile of the farms

GAP

Good Agricultural Practices

GTS

Green Tobacco Sickness

Leaf tobacco supplierCompany that has a contract with PMI to supply tobacco but is nota farmer

Measurable Standard

A Measurable Standard defines a good labor practice on a tobacco
farm and helps determining to what extent the labor conditions andpractices on a tobacco farm are in line with the ALP Code Principles

Migrant labor

Labor coming from outside the farm’s immediate geographic areaNGO

Non-Governmental Organization

Piece work

Payment at a fixed rate per unit of production/work

PMI

Philip Morris International, Inc. or any of its direct or indirect
subsidiaries

PPE

Personal Protection Equipment

Preventive action

Steps taken to remove the causes of potential situations notmeeting the standard

Appendix V - Glossary _ page 1 of 292

External Assessment

Prompt Action

A situation in which workers’ physical or mental well-being might
be at risk, children or a vulnerable group – pregnant women, theelderly - are in danger, or workers might not be free to leave theirjob

Root cause

The underlying reason that caused a situation not meeting thestandard

Root cause analysis

A set of analyzing and problem solving techniques targeted at
identifying the underlying reason that caused a situation notmeeting the standard

Sharecropping

A system of agriculture in which the farmer has a partner (“socio”)
who either works together with the farmer or manages a plot of
land. Costs of inputs and/or revenue are shared.

STP

Sustainable Tobacco Production

SRTP

Social Responsibility in Tobacco Production; industry-wide program

Support mechanism

A way for workers to access information and get support in difficult
situations and for workers and farmers to get support in mediating
disputes. Farmers have access to additional services to improvelabor and business practices.

Appendix V - Glossary _ page 2 of 293