Text of the provision
Art. 3. Declaration of basic policy. The State shall afford protection to labor, promote full employment, ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed and regulate the relations between workers and employers. The State shall assure the rights of workers to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of work.
Labor Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
The State commits to protect labor, promote full employment, and ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed, while regulating the relationship between workers and employers. It also guarantees workers’ rights to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of work.
Questions about this provision
- Does the Philippine state have a legal duty to protect workers and guarantee their right to security of tenure?
- Is an employer allowed to deny a job to a qualified person because of their sex, race or religion?
- What rights does the Philippine Labor Code expressly guarantee to every worker?
Related provisions
A note on article numbers. The articles of the Labor Code have been administratively renumbered, so the same provision is often cited under a different number. Supreme Court decisions write both, in the form “Article 297 [282]” — the new number first, the original in brackets. The text on this page is published under its original number, which is the numbering both source texts use. When citing, check which numbering your source follows.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.