Work and Public

Authorities: The Role

of the State
Alain Supiot
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WELFARE NATION
STATE
STATE STATE
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Social State
Three Mainstays
1. Labor Law
2. Social Security
3. Public Services
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ECONOMY STATE STATE

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Modern State
Fundamental responsibilities:
1. Promotion of law and order
2. Personal safety and the safe-guarding of goods
3. Protection of property
4. Support of individual and collective freedom
5. Maintenance of an appropriate economic and
monetary framework
6. Responsibility to promote social cohesion
7. Ensure the welfare of its people
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Role of the State

2 Ways to view the Role of the State
1. Authority-based or minimum state
2. Protective or provider state
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Social State in Great Britain

» The State was directly involved in the delivery of
many fundamental social rights
» Municipal Socialism: used to describe the local
government-led social reform that includes gas and
water supplies public services that are controlled by
the government.
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Mitbestimmung in Germany
» Also known as co-determination
» The State played a minor role in the market-based
economic and social system
» Major labor market responsibilities are entrusted to
organized trades
» The importance of the State should not be
underestimated since many laws regulate the labor
market: layoffs, maintenance of pay in the even of
illness, job creation, or the organization of work in
companies
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French Model
» Minimum State – a power which individuals must
serve
» Social State – a force at the service of individuals
» In labor relations, the State intervenes to impose
social law and order
» The State appears as the guarantor of respect for the
principle of equality among its citizens
Role of Government Institutions
in the Shaping and
Administration of Labor and
Industrial Relations Policy
Bach Macaraya
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Labor Code of the Philippines

 Enacted on May 1, 1974 by late President Ferdinand Marcos

National Labor Relations Commission

Quasi-judicial body tasked to promote and maintain industrial
peace by resolving labor and management disputes involving both
local and overseas workers.

It is attached to the Department of Labor and Employment for

program and policy coordination.
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Degree of Government Intervention

Article 217. Jurisdiction of the Labour Arbiters and the
Commission
» Labour Arbiters shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction
to hear and decide in cases involving all workers, whether
agricultural or non-agricultural, such as:
 Unfair labour practice cases;
 Termination disputes;
 Cases involving wages, rate of pay, hours of work, and
other terms and conditions of employment;
 Claims for actual, moral, exemplary, and other forms of
damage arising from the employer-employee relations; and
 Cases involving Collective Bargaining Agreement, legality
of strikes, and lockouts.
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State Intervention on Industrial Relations in

Organized or Unionized Establishment
Article 231. Registry of Unions and File of Collective Bargaining
Agreement
» The law requires the Unions to register with the Department of
Labour and Employment (DOLE), Bureau of Labor Relations, and to
file with the Bureau a copy of their collective agreement.
Article 232. Prohibition on Certification Election
» The Bureau shall not entertain any petition for certification election
or any other action which may disturb the administration of duly
registered existing collective bargaining agreements affecting the
parties
Article 233. Privileged Communication
» Information and statements made at conciliation proceedings shall
be treated as privileged communication and shall not be used as
evidence in the Commission.
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Strikes and Lock-Outs

Article 264. Prohibited Activities
» No labour organization or employer shall declare a strike or lock-out
without first having bargained collectively without the necessary
strike or lock-out vote first having been obtained and reported to the
Ministry (now Department of Labour and Employment)
» No strike or lockout shall be declared after assumption of
jurisdiction by the President of the Minister (now Secretary of DOLE)
or after certification or submission of the dispute to compulsory or
voluntary arbitration or during the pendency of cases involving the
same grounds for strike or lockout.
» No person shall obstruct, impede, or interfere with, by force,
violence, coercion, threats or intimidation, any peaceful picketing by
employees during any labour controversy or in the exercise of the
right to self-organization or collective bargaining, or shall aid or abet
such obstruction or interference.
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Strikes and Lock-Outs

Article 264. Prohibited Activities
» No employer shall use or employ any strike-breaker, nor shall any
person be employed as a strike-breaker
» No public official or employee, including officers and personnel of
the New Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Integrated National
Police or armed person, shall bring in, introduce, or escort in any
manner individual who seeks to replace strikers in entering or
leaving the premises od a strike area, or work in place of the strikers
» No person engaged in picketing shall commit any act of violence,
coercion, or intimidation or obstruct the free ingress to or egress
from the employer’s premises
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Strikes and Lock-Outs

Article 265. Improve Offer Balloting
» In the event of a strike or lockout, the law requires the Trade Union
to undergo an improved offer balloting
» In an effort to settle a strike, the DOLE shall conduct a referendum
by secret ballot on the improved offer of the employer on or before
the 30th day of the strike. If at least a majority of the union members
vote to accept the improved offer, the striking workers shall
immediately return to work and the employer shall thereupon
readmit them upon the signing of the agreement.
» In case of a lockout, the DOLE shall conduct a referendum by secret
balloting on the reduced offer of the union on or before the 30th day
of the lockout. When at least a majority of the board of director or
trustees vote to accept the reduced offer, the workers hall
immediately return to work and the employer shall thereupon
readmit them upon the signing of the agreement.
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Incomes Policy
Living Wage
» 1987 Philippine Constitution’s standard payment for incomes policy
» Unlike minimum wage that is calculated on the basis of the needs of
a worker, the Living Wage is based on the concept of ‘family needs’
» The amount necessary to support an average Filipino Family (i.e. the
father, the mother, and four dependents)
» However, the reality on the ground is that the Philippine economy is
not financially capable or large enough to absorb such a high
criterion such as a ‘living wage’
» However, the Labour Code prescribes the fixing of regional
minimum wages tied up with productivity through the establishment
of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB)
that are under the supervision and administration of the National
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Council
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Payment
Forms of Payment
» No employer shall pay the wages of an employee by means of
promissory notes, voucher, coupons, tokens, tickets, chits, or any
object other than legal tender, even when expressly requested by the
employee.
Frequency of Payment
» Wages shall be paid at least once every two (2) weeks or twice a
month at intervals not exceeding sixteen (16) days