Legitimate Labor Organizations

November 21, 1936

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 213

AN ACT TO DEFINE AND REGULATE LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

SECTION 1. For the purposes of this Act, a legitimate labor organization is an organization, association, or union of laborers duly registered and permitted to operate by the Department of Labor, and governed by a constitution and by-laws not repugnant to or inconsistent with the laws of the Philippines.

SECTION 2. All associations which are duly organized and registered with, and permitted to operate by, the Department of Labor, shall have the right to collective bargaining with employers for the purpose of seeking better working and living conditions, fair wages, and shorter working hours for laborers, and, in general, to promote the material, social and moral well-being of their members, and no labor organization shall be denied such registration and permission to operate, except such whose object is to undermine and destroy the constituted government or to violate any law or laws of the Philippines, in which case it shall be refused registration and permission to operate as a legitimate labor organization. The registration of, and the issuance of a permit to any legitimate labor organization shall entitle it to all the rights and privileges granted by law.

SECTION 3. An application to register and operate a legitimate labor organization, accompanied by a copy of the Constitution and by-laws thereof, shall be filed with the Secretary of Labor, who shall conduct an investigation of the activities of the applying labor organization and if, on such investigation, it shall appear that the applicant is entitled to registration, he shall issue a permit therefor upon payment of the registration fee of five pesos: Provided, however, That any permit issued by the Secretary of labor to any legitimate labor organization shall last for a period of two years only from the date of issue, but it may be renewed for like periods upon payment of a renewal fee of three pesos for each renewal permit.

SECTION 4. Every legitimate labor organization duly registered and permitted to operate in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall keep a book and records containing a list of its members in alphabetical order and the minutes of its meetings, and shall submit to the Secretary of Labor a report at least once a year, within thirty days after the anniversary of the date when its permission to operate was granted, on its fiscal and other activities during the preceding year. Failure to comply with these requirements shall be sufficient cause for the revocation of the permit issued to any defaulting legitimate labor organization. The Secretary of Labor, or his duly authorized agent, shall have power to inquire, from time to time, into the activities of any registered legitimate labor organization, and to examine its books and other records to determine compliance or noncompliance with the laws.

SECTION 5. Any person or persons, landlord or landlords, corporation or corporations or their agents, partnership or partnerships or their agents, who intimidate or coerce any employee or laborer or tenant under his or their employ, with the intent of preventing such employee or laborer or tenant from joining any registered legitimate labor organization of his own choosing, or, who dismiss or threaten to dismiss such employee or laborer or tenant from his employment for having joined, or for being a member of, any registered legitimate labor organization, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment of not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one thousand pesos, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: November 21, 1936