Editor’s Note

Publication of this nature is not new as far as the DOLE and the ILS are concerned. During the 1980s and 1990s, the DOLE came out with "Labor Case Digest" while ILS had "Labor Case Bulletin." But whereas its predecessors featured Supreme Court decisions, the Labor Update is essentially about labor cases decided with finality by the DOLE, in particular the Office of the Secretary, the Bureau of Labor Relations, and the National Labor Relations Commission.

Since the aggrieved party or parties no longer appealed these decisions to higher courts, these are already deemed final and executory. Notwithstanding, the Update will also feature Supreme Court decisions from time to time.

This maiden issue features seven DOLE decisions involving such diverse issues as money claims (prescriptive period and accrual of cause of action), ratification of constitution and by-laws during a union's organizational meeting, job classification and the right to self-organization, cancellation of a union's registration due to alleged misrepresentation, impeachment and recall cases via referendum, overload pay and computation of 13th month pay of teachers, withdrawal of complaint and imposition of sanctions against a migrant worker, as well as class suit and solidary obligations of local agent and its foreign principal. The one case decided by the Supreme Court concerns repatriation of the remains of a migrant worker and the validity of Sections 52, 53, 54 and 55 of the omnibus rules implementing the Migrant Workers Act of 1995. 

[ Download the Labor Update, January 2007 Issue ]