SEC. 39. Rights for Agricultural Labor&mdashdTo enable the farm workers to enjoy the same rights and opportunities in life as industrial workers, they shall enjoy the following:
(1)Right to self-organization;
(2)Right to engage in concerted activities;
(3)Right to minimum wage;
(4)Right to work for not more than eight hours;
(5)Right to claim for damages for death or injuries sustained while at work;
(6)Right to compensation for personal injuries, death or illness; and
(7)Right against suspension or lay-off.
SEC. 40. Right to Self-Organization.&mdashThe farm workers shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join or assist farm workers’ organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing: Provided, That this right shall be exercised in a manner as will not unduly interfere with the normal farm operations. Individuals employed as supervisors shall not be eligible for membership in farm workers' organizations under their supervision but may form separate organizations of their own.
SEC. 41. Right to Engage in Concerted Activities.&mdashThe farm workers shall also have the right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining and other mutual aid or protection.
For the purpose of this and the preceding Section, it shall be the duty of the farm employer or manager to allow the farm workers, labor leaders, organizers, advisers and helpers complete freedom to enter and leave the farm, plantation or compound at the portion of the same where said farm workers live or stay permanently or temporarily.
SEC. 42. Right to Minimum Wage.&mdashNotwithstanding any provision of law or contract to the contrary, farm workers in farm enterprises shall be entitled to at least P3.50 a day for eight hours' work: Provided, That this wage may, however, be increased by the Minimum Wage Board as provided for in Republic Act Numbered Six hundred and two.
SEC. 43. Right to Eight Hours' Work.&mdashnotwithstanding the provision of existing laws to the contrary, farm workers shall not be required to work for more than eight hours daily. When the work is not continuous, the time during which the farm worker is not working and can leave his working place and can rest completely shall not be counted.
Work may be performed beyond eight hours a day in case of actual or impending emergencies caused by serious accidents, fire, flood, typhoon, epidemic, or other disaster or calamity, or in case of urgent work to be performed on farm machines, equipment or installations in order to avoid a serious loss which the farm employer or manager would otherwise suffer, or some other just cause of a similar nature, but in all such cases the farm workers shall be entitled to receive compensation for the overtime work performed at the same rate as their regular wages, plus at least twenty-five per centum additional, based on their daily wages.
No farm employer or manager shall compel a farm worker to work during Sundays and legal holidays: Provided, however, That should the farm worker agree to work on said days, he shall be paid an additional sum of at least twenty-five per centum of his regular compensation: Provided, further, That the farm employer or manager shall not be held liable for any claim for overtime work which he had not previously authorized, except if the work rendered was to avoid damages to crops, produce, work animals or implements, buildings or the like.
Any agreement or contract between the farm employer or manager and the farm worker contrary to the provisions of this Section shall be null and void.
SEC. 44. Right of Action for Damages.&mdashNotwithstanding the provisions of existing laws to the contrary, Act Numbered Eighteen hundred and seventy-four, as amended, entitled "An Act to extend and regulate the responsibility of employers for personal injuries and death suffered by their employees while at work", shall apply to farm workers insofar as it may be applicable.
SEC. 45. Right to Compensation for Personal Injuries, Death, or Illness.&mdashNotwithstanding the provisions of existing laws to the contrary, Act Numbered Thirty-four hundred and twenty-eight, as amended, entitled "An Act prescribing the compensation to be received by employees for personal injuries, death or illness contracted in the performance of their duties", shall apply to farm workers insofar as it may be applicable.
SEC. 46. Right Against Suspension or Lay-Off.&mdashThe landowner, farm employer or farm manager shall not suspend, lay-off, or dismiss any farm worker without just cause from the time a farm workers' organization or group of farm workers has presented to the landowner a petition or complaint regarding any matter likely to cause a strike or lockout and a copy thereof furnished with the Department of Labor, or while an agricultural dispute is pending before the Court of Agrarian Relations. If it is proved during the said period that a worker has been suspended or dismissed without just cause, the Court may direct the reinstatement and the payment of his wage during the time of his suspension or dismissal, or of any sum he should have received had he not been suspended or dismissed, without prejudice to any criminal liability of the landowner, farm employer or farm manager as prescribe by Section twenty-four of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and three, as amended.
SEC. 47. Other Applicable Provisions.&mdashAll other existing laws applicable to non-agricultural workers in private enterprises which are not inconsistent with this Code shall likewise apply to farm workers, farm labor organizations and agrarian disputes as defined in this Code, as well as to relations between farm management and farm labor and the functions of the Department of Labor and other agencies.
SEC. 48. Exceptions to Preceding Sections.&mdashThe preceding Sections of this Chapter, except Sections forty, forty-one, forty-two and forty-three shall not apply to farm enterprises comprising not more than twelve hectares.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
