Wage orders.
Section 6
SEC. 6. Wage orders.- Upon the filing of the Wage Board's report, the Secretary of Labor shall give notice to interested parties and conduct a public hearing thereon within fifteen days. On the basis of the Wage Board's report and recommendations and on the basis of the public hearing, the Secretary of Labor shall, within fifteen days after the termination of the hearing, approve or reject, but shall not modify, the minimum wages recommended by the Wage Board. If he rejects the minimum wages recommended by the Wage Board, he shall issue a statement of his reasons therefor, and shall submit the matter to the same Board which shall be convened within fifteen days, and such Board shall submit its report and recommendations within thirty days after it has been convened, and in case of further disagreement between the Secretary and the Board, the decision of the Secretary shall prevail. If he approves the recommendation of the Wage Board, he shall, on the date of approval, issue a wage order prescribing the minimum wages to be paid to the employees in the industry. Due notice of any hearing provided for in this section shall be given by publication in such newspapers of general circulation and by such other means as the Secretary of Labor deems reasonably calculated to give general notice to interested parties. The procedure at the public hearings before the Secretary shall be consonant with due process of law. The rules of evidence applied by the courts in proceedings at law shall not strictly apply in any proceeding conducted by or before a Wage Board. Orders issued under this section shall define the industry to which they shall apply and may include such administrative regulations as the Secretary of Labor finds necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act and of the orders. Except as provided in section nine the rates established by any minimum wage order shall apply alike to all employees regardless of age or sex. No such order shall take effect until fifteen days after due notice is given of the issuance thereof by publication in such newspapers of general circulation and by such other means as the Secretary of Labor deems reasonably calculated to give to interested parties general notice of such issuance. A certified copy of each of such order shall be filed in the office of the President of the Philippines. No employer shall, after the effective date of a minimum wage order, pay an employee who is within the scope of the wage order, employed by him, wages at less than the amount prescribed in this Act or in such order, as the case may be.