Amendment to R.A. No. 679 (Regulation of Employment of Women and Children)

June 16, 1954

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1131

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS THREE, SEVEN AND TWELVE OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO REGULATE THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN, TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION HEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"

SECTION 1.  Section three, seven and twelve of Republic Act Numbered Six hundred seventy-nine are amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 3.  Employment of persons below eighteen years of age. — (a) No woman below eighteen years shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any bar, night club, dance hall, dancing school for men, escort service, lodging house, massage clinic, hotel, resort or other place of work similar to the foregoing, as hostess, waitress, individual entertainer or escort for men, taxi-dancer, professional dance partner, attendant, or in any other similar capacity.

"(b)  No child below eighteen years of age shall be employed or permitted of suffered to work in any pharmacy or laboratory for the preparation of drugs or pharmaceutical or chemical products.

"(c)  No person below eighteen years of age shall be employed or permitted of suffered to work in any shop, factory, industrial or commercial establishment or other place or labor — aisa dc

"(1)  where the work is done in connection with the preparation of, or involves contamination with, any noxious, poisonous, infectious or explosive substances; or

"(2)  where the work, not otherwise specified in this Act, involves serious danger to the life or health of the employee, as the Secretary of Labor may determine after consultation with representatives of employers and employees or organizations thereof.

"For the purpose of paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary of Labor shall from time to time issue orders specifying the occupations which he determines would involve serious danger to the life or health of the employees and shall cause such orders to be published in newspapers of general circulation or by such other means as he deems reasonably calculated to give intersected persons generally notice of such issuance. Any such order shall take effect thirty days after entry thereof.

"Sec. 7.  Employment of women. — (a) No woman, regardless of age, shall be employed in any shop, factory, commercial or industrial establishment or other place of labor to perform work which requires the employee to work always standing or which involves the lifting of heavy objects. acd

"(b)  No woman, regardless of age, shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any industrial undertaking or branch thereof between ten o'clock at night and six o'clock in the morning of the following day, except those who are immediate members of the family operating or owning the same. An employer may be exempted from the requirement of this subsection —

"(1)  in case of force majeure causing an interruption in the work which was not foreseen and which is not of a securing character;

"(2)  by the secretary of Labor, if he finds, after the proper investigation, that the work has to do with raw materials or materials in the course of treatment and which are subject to rapid deteriorations and night work is necessary to preserve such materials from loss; and

"(3)  by the President of the Philippines, with or without the recommendation of the Secretary of Labor, in case of emergency where the national interests demand the suspension of the night work prohibition for women in a particular industry or industries.

"(c)  No woman, regardless of age, shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work, with or without compensation, in any commercial or non-industrial and undertaking or branch thereof, other than agricultural, between twelve o'clock midnight and seven o'clock in the morning of the following day, except those who are immediate members of the family owning or operating the same.

"(d)  No woman, regardless of age, shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any agricultural undertaking at night time without giving her a period of rest of not less than nine consecutive hours.

"The prohibition against night work for women provided for in subsections (b), (c) and (d) hereof shall not apply to —

"(1)  women holding responsible positions of a managerial or technical character; and

"(2)  women employed in health and welfare services.

"(e)  In any shop, factory, commercial, industrial, non- industrial, or agricultural establishment or other place of labor where mean and women are employed, the employer shall not discriminate against any woman in respect to terms and conditions of employment on account of her sex, and shall pay equal remuneration for work of equal value for both men and women employees.

"Sec. 12.  Violation and penalties. — (a) It shall be unlawful for any employer: (1) to discharge any woman employed by him for the purpose of preventing such woman from enjoying the benefits of sections seven or eight of this Act; (2) to discharge such woman on account of her pregnancy, or while on leave or in confinement due to her pregnancy, or (3) to discharge or refuse the admission of such woman upon returning to her work for fear that she may again be pregnant.

"(b)  It shall be unlawful for any employer to discharge any women or child employed by him for having filed a complaint under this Act or to discharge such woman or child or any other employee who has given testimony or is about to give testimony under this Act.

"(c)  It shall be unlawful for any employer to discharge any women or child employed by him for any other cause which is not attributable to the fault of such employee or worker. cdt

"(d)  Any violation of any provisions of this Act shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than five thousand pesos, or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the Court.

"If the violation is committed by a firm, association or corporation, the manager or, in his default, the person acting as such, shall be liable."

SECTION 2.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval. casia

Approved: June 16, 1954

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 50, No. 8, p. 3471 in August 1954