WHEREAS,
since 1974, as a result of the periodic rounds of quantum increases in
the prices of imported crude oil, the President/Prime Minister has used
his authority under the Constitution to grant the workers immediate
relief from the impact of spiralling prices in consumer goods and
services in the form of increases in wages, allowances or other
wage-related benefits; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, due to the continuous instability of wages and prices, brought
about by external economic factor beyond the nation's control, causing
abrupt and drastic erosion in the real income of the workers, it is
imperative, in the interest of social and economic stability, that the
President/Prime Minister retain such powers; and
WHEREAS, such stand-by powers can be effectively and immediately
exercised thru the issuance of wage orders either upon the
recommendation of the National Wages Council created under Executive
Order No. 614, or at the President/Prime Minister's own initiatives.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
order and decree: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 1. Determination of new appropriate minimum
wages. — The President/Prime Minister may, at his own initiative and on
the basis of urgent economic necessity or upon recommendation of the
National Wages Council, make a determination of appropriate new minimum
wage rates, allowances or other wage-related benefits whether on a
national, regional or industry basis, and issue the corresponding wage
orders. It shall be the duty of the National Wages Council to recommend
such determination whenever it finds in the course of its continuing
study of the wage rates that the prevailing minimum wages are no longer
adequate to maintain the minimum standard of living necessary for the
health, efficiency, and general well-being of the workers within the
framework of the national development program.
Section 2. Wage Recommendation. — In the
determination of the appropriate new minimum wage rates or other
benefits, the National Wages Councils shall either conduct public
hearings, giving notice to interested parties, or hold, in coordination
with the Ministry of Labor and Employment, tripartite conferences for
the purpose. The Council shall have thirty (30) days from the
completion of the hearings or conferences within which to recommend to
the President/Prime Minister the issuance of the wage order
establishing appropriate new minimum wage rates or wage-related
benefits.
Section 3. Wage Order. — If the President/Prime
Minister approves the recommendation, he shall immediately issue a wage
order prescribing the new minimum wage rates or other benefits. If he
rejects the recommendation of the Council, he shall issue a statement
of his reasons therefor and shall direct the Council to consider the
same immediately.
Section 4. Effectivity of Wage Order. — A wage order
shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 5. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 16th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
eighty-one.
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