Republic ofthe Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

‘THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
First Reguiar Session

3338

House Bill No. _ 33

Introduced by Akbayan Representatives Mario “Mayong” Joyo Aguja,
Loretta Ann P. Rosales and Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel

1 Act Prot lar Em Purpose,
‘Amending Pr Decree 442

EXPLANATORY NOTE,

‘Since its adoption, the current provisions on security of tenure and regular
employment has been the subject of numerous interpretations through
implementing ruies by the Executive and jurisprudence by the Judiciary. AS
such, there is 3 need to revise the provisions of Presidential Decree No, 442
‘otherwise known as the Labor Code 0 as to incorporate these interpretations
land, more importantly, create a coherent and consistent framework of
‘employment classification,

‘As such, the present proposal draws from executive and judicial
pronouncements on security of tenure in order to create a holistic and
harmonious set of rules regarding classes and rights of employees. in
Particular, the salient points ofthe proposed bill include:

1. The incorporation of the executive and judicial recognition that
all classes of employees are entitled to secunty of tenure,

2. The incorporation of the workers’ right to notice and heaving.

3. The clafication of what constitutes regular, casual, and project
‘employment

Building on these concepts, the proposal seeks to introduce the following

4. Employment may be fixed by the term of the project, task or work to
be performed but may not be bound to a mere reference toa time,

2. The period of probationary employment is fixed at six months when
all employers shall have enough time to ascertain whether a worker is
fit for retention or not


3. Deliberate miscassication of employees for the purpose of
misleading them as to their rights is deomed en unfair labor practice

\With nese amendments to the Labor Code, the proposal seaks to balance the
legitimate business interests of the employer with the need for protection of
workers from the prejudice of non-regularization. After al, for as long as tt
employer profits through and by the labor of its empioyees, it is but fair 10
recognize the workers’ right to remain employed absent any legal cause for
his dismissal,

Hence, the support of this billis earnestly sought

RON ya

Dehestinwcet
‘ANA THERESIA HONTIVEROS-BARAQUEL


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City, Metro Manila

‘THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 3338

Introduced by Akbayan Representatives Mario “Mayong” Joyo Aguja,
Loretta Ann P. Rosales and Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Barequel

‘An Act P ar Employ nd for this Purpose,

‘Amending Presidential Decree 442

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

Article 1. Unfair Labor Practice of Employers. Avticle 248 of Presidential
Decree No, 442 is hereby amended to read as follows

ART. 248. Unfair labor practices of employers. - It shall be unlawful for an
‘employer to commit any of the folowing unfair labor practice:

(2) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right
to self-organization

(©) To require 2s a condition of employment that a person or an employee
shall not join a labor organization or shall withdraw from one to which he
belongs;

(c) TO ENGAGE A LABOR ONLY CONTRACTOR OR To contract out
Services or functions being performed by MEMBERS OF THE BARGAINING
UNIT when such will interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the
‘exercise of their rights to self-organization;

(@) To initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or
‘administration of any labor organization, including the giving of financial or
‘ther support to it or its organizers or supporters;

(@) To discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work and other terms and
Conditions of employment in order to encourage or discourage membership in


‘any labor organization. Nothing in this Code or in any other law shall stop the
parties from requiring membership in a recognized collective bargaining agent
‘a8 @ condition for employment, except those employees who ere already
‘members of another union at’ the time of the signing of the collective
bargaining agreement. Employees of an appropriate bargaining unit who are
‘not members of the recognized collective bargaining agent may be assessed
2 reasonable fee equivalent to the dues and other fees paid by members of
the recognized collective bargaining agert, if such non-union members accept
the benefits under the collective bargaining agreement: Provided, that the
individual authorization required under Article 242, paragraph (0) of this Code
shall not apply to the non-members of the recognized collective bargaining
agent:

(f) To dismiss, discharge or otherwise prejudice or discriminate against an
‘empioyee for having given or being about to give testimony under this Code,

(9) To violate the duty to bargain collectively as prescribed by this Code;

(h) To pay negotiation or attorney's fees to the union or its officers or agents
8 part of the settlement of any issue in collective bargaining or any other
dispute; or

(i) To Violate a collective bargaining agreement.

() TO CLASSIFY AS CASUAL, CONTRACTUAL, SUBCONTRACTED
EMPLOYEES, AGENCY EMPLOYEES, OR OTHER NON-REGULAR
CLASSIFICATION THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE - REGULAR
EMPLOYEES BY VIRTUE OF ARTICLE 280 OF THIS CODE.

‘The provisions of the preceding paragraph notwithstanding, only the officers
land agents of corporations, associations or partnerships who have actually
participated in, authorized ‘or ratified unfair labor practices shall be held
criminally lable

Article 2. Security of Tenure. Article 279 of Presidential Decree No. 442 is
hereby repealed and amended to read as follows,

ART. 279. Security of tenure. All employees shall enjoy security of tenure
‘and shall not be terminated from employment except for a just cause or when
‘authorized by this Title. Also, due process in employment relations requires
‘any empioyer who seeks to dismiss a worker to furnish him a written notice
Stating the particular acts or omission constituting the grounds for his
dismissal. n cases of abandonment of work, the written notice shall be served
fat the worker's last known address. Due process entities the worker an
opportunity to answer the allegations stated against him in the notice of
dismissal within a reasonable period from receipt of such notice and with the
assistance of a representative if he so desires. Due process requires the
‘employer to afford the worker ampie opportunity to be heard and to defend
himself with the assistance of his representative, iThe so desires.


The employer shall immediately notify a worker in writing of a decision to
dismiss him stating clearly the reasons therefor.

‘An employee who is dismissed from workin violation of any of hs rights under
this article shail be ented to immediate reinstatement without loss of
‘seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of
allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed
from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his
actual reinstatement.

Article 3. Regular and Casual Employment. Article 280 of Presidential
Decree No, 442 is hereby repealed and amended to read as follows:

ART. 260. Regular and casual employment. - The provisions of written
‘agreement to the contrary notwithstanding and regardiess of the oral
‘agreement of the parties, an employment shall be deemed to be regular
where the employee has been engaged to perform activities which are usually
necessary oF desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer. No
‘employer shall hire or otherwise maintain regular employees comprising less
than 80% of its total workforce, including workers under subcontracting
arrangements. in no case shall subcontractors be engaged to provide
‘workers to perform jobs usually necessary and desirable to the usual
business or trade of the employer or which is performed by regular
‘employees,

‘An employment shall be deemed to be casual if it is not usually necessary or
sirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, provided, that any
employee who has rendered at least one year of service, whether such
service is continuous or broken, shall be considered a regular employee with
respect to the activity in which he is employed and his employment shall
Continue unless he is terminated for a just cause or when authorized by this
Title.

Article 4. Project and Extra Employment. Article 280-A is hereby inserted
into Presidential Decree No. 442 as follows:

Article 280-A. Project and Extra employment. Project employment refers
to that which has been fixed for @ specific project or undertaking the
Completion or termination of which has been determined and made known to
the employee atthe time of his engagement

Extra employment refers to additional work to be performed in restaurant and
hotel establishments specifically for banquet functions, seminars and similar
functions where the regular employees cannot reasonable cope with the
increased demands of such events.

Project and Extra employees shall have the right to security of tenure and are
entitled to resume their employment in the same or similar position upon the
start of the next project or occasion for extra employment, as the case may


be; provided that, during the time that their services are not actually availed
of, they shall be considered to be on authonzed leave without pay.

Article 5. Prohibition against Fixed Term Employment. Article 280-8 is
hereby inserted into Presidential Decree No. 442 as follows:

Article 280-B. Prohibition against Fixed Term Employment. No employer
shall hire any employee for a fixed period only except those hired as project
‘and extras where appropriate. Any stipulation fixing a period of employment
shall be void.

Article 6 Probationary Employment. Article 281 of Presidential Decree
No. 442 is hereby repealed and amended to read as follows:

ART. 281. Probationary employment. - Probationary employment shall not
exceed six (6) months from the date the employee started working. This shall
apply to all kinds of employment, including teaching personnel in all
‘educational institutions. The services of an employee who has been engaged
(on a probationary basis may be terminated for a just cause or when he fails to
‘qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made
known by the employer to the employee at the time of his engagement. In all
cases, an employee who is allowed to work after a probationary period, even
Under the guise of an extension, shall be considered 2 regular employee.

Article 7. Penalties. Article 288 of Presidential Decree No. 442 is hereby
repealed and amended to read as follows

ART. 268. Penalties. - Except as otherwise provided in this Code, or unless
the acts complained of hinge on question of interpretation or implementation
‘of ambiguous provisions of an existing collective bargaining agreement, any
violation of the provisions of this Code deciared to be unlawful or penal in
nature shall be punished with a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos
(P1,000.00) ‘nor more than Ten, Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) or
imprisonment of not less than three months nor more than three years, or
both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court

ANY PRINCIPAL OR SUB-CONTRACTOR WHO ENGAGES IN LABOR
ONLY CONTRACTING SHALL BE SOLIDARILY LIABLE TO INDEMNIFY
EACH SUBCONTRACTED EMPLOYEE NO LESS THAN P50,000.00
WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO OTHER MONETARY AWARDS TO WHICH
SUCH SUBCONTRACTED EMPLOYEE MAY BE ENTITLED SUCH AS
BACKWAGES, MONETARY CLAIMS AND BENEFITS UNDER AN
APPLICABLE CERTIFIED BARGAINING AGREEMENT.

ANY EMPLOYER WHO DELIBERATELY CATEGORIZES OR OTHERWISE
‘TREATS REGULAR EMPLOYEES TO BE ANY NON-REGULAR EMPLOYEE
SHALL BE LIABLE TO INDEMNIFY EACH MISCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE NO
LESS THAN P50,000.00 WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO OTHER MONETARY
AWARDS TO WHICH SUCH EMPLOYEE MAY BE ENTITLED SUCH AS


BACKWAGES, MONETARY CLAIMS AND BENEFITS UNDER AN
APPLICABLE CERTIFIED BARGAINING AGREEMENT.

In addition to such penalty, any alien found guity shall be summarily deported
‘upon completion of service of sentence.

Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any criminal offense
Punished in this Code, shall be under the concurrent jurisdiction of the
‘Municipal or City Courts and the Courts of First instance.

Article 8 Separability provisions. If any provision of this law or the
application thereof to any person o circumstance, is held invalid, the
remainder of this law, or the application of such provision or part to other
Persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

Article 9. Repealing clause. All other provisions of existing laws, orders,
decrees, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

Article 10. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days atter its
‘publication in the Official Gazette or in atleast two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved
MARIO IG” JOYO AGUJA

LORETTA ANN P. ROSALES

a rmattiience— farapel
ANA THERESIA HONTIVEBOS-SARAQUEL,