January 3, 1990

NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 5

PROVIDING MEASURES TO BE UNDERTAKEN IN THE LABOR FRONT PURSUANT TO

Pursuant to the provisions of

1. ON LABOR RELATIONS

(a) The right of employees to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of collective bargaining and to engage in concerted activities is an inherent right of labor explicitly protected by the Constitution and shall be safeguarded at all times.

(b) The right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances is likewise recognized as a fundamental Constitutional right.

(c) Within twenty four (24) hours from receipt of a notice of strike or lockout or knowledge of an impending or on-going dispute causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout, the Department of Labor and Employment shall exert all efforts to resolve the said dispute through continuous conciliation/mediation conferences.

(d) The Secretary of Labor and Employment shall exercise all powers authorized under the law to avert the occurrence of widespread strikes and prolonged work stoppages including the suspension of mass retrenchments which impair the operations of public utilities, businesses affected with public interest, and those indispensable to the national interest.

(e) Cases certified to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) pursuant to Article 263 (g) of the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, shall be acted upon immediately and resolved within thirty (30) days from receipt of the certification order.

The NLRC shall immediately adopt the necessary rules and regulations to govern the expeditious resolution of certified cases.

2. ON ENFORCEMENT OF LABOR STANDARDS

(a) In the event the government temporarily takes over or directs the operation of any privately-owned public utility or business affected with public interest pursuant to Sec. 3 (3) of

(b) Pursuant to

(c) All complaints alleging violations of labor and health and safety standards shall be acted upon with twenty four (24) hours from receipt thereof.

3. This Memorandum Order shall take effect five (5) days after publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 3rd day of January, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety.