SECURITY OF TENURE OF EMPLOYEES (Part 2)

Authorized cause is found under Articles 283 and 284 of the Labor Code. Article 283 pertains to termination on account of redundancy, retrenchment, installation of labor-saving devices, and cessation or closure of business. While Article 284 refers to termination on the ground of incurable disease.

Hence, unless due to “just cause” or “authorized cause”, no employee shall be dismissed from service. The security of tenure provision in the Labor Code has constitutional underpinnings.

They came into being because of the provisions in the Constitution upholding the rights of workers and affording them protection. Some of these constitutional provisions include Promotion of Welfare under Section 18, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution. This provides that the State affirms labor as a primary social economic force.

It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare. Another constitutional provision is Section 3, Article 13 pertaining to Full Protection to Labor. It provides that the State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.

Employees cannot be dismissed from service simply because they are active in union activities or work towards its formation. The Constitution guarantees the employees’ rights to self-organization in Section 3, par 2, Article 13 thereof. It provides that the State shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage.

They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law. Under Article 2, Section 9 of the 1987 Constitution, Promotion the State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

(See Discussion in the book How to Design and Formulate Company Code of Discipline, pp. 10-12)