Philippine Child Labour Laws and Legislation

Republic of the Philippines MINISTRY OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT MANILA POLICY INSTRUCTION NO. 23 TO : All Concerned SUBJECT : Hours of Work of Children; Night Work and Physical Examination of Children   Pursuant to the power vested upon the Secretary of Labour by Article 139(b) of the Labour Code as amended and in order to protect the health and welfare of the employed minor, the following regulations are hereby promulgated for the guidance of all concerned:   Section 1 - Hours of Work of Children; Night Work -   (a) No child below sixteen years of age shall be employed or permitted or suffered to work in any applicable industrial undertaking:   (1) for more than seven hours daily or forty-two hours weekly; (2) between six o’clock in the afternoon and six o’clock in the morning of the following day. (b) No child who has attained the age of sixteen years but below eighteen years shall be permitted or suffered to work in any industrial undertaking between ten o’clock at night and seven o’clock in the morning of the following day. Children employed at night under the provision of this sub-section shall be granted a rest of at least thirteen consecutive hours between two working periods. (c) No children and young persons [below] eighteen years of age shall be admitted to employment in any industrial undertaking unless they have been found fit for the work of which they are to be employed by a duly licensed physician after thorough pre-employment medical examination.   Section 2 - The physician engaged by an employer pursuant to this rule shall, in addition to providing medical service to the workers in cases of emergency, perform among others, the following duties:   (a) Conduct pre-employment medical examination free of charge for proper selection and placement of all workers especially minor workers from fifteen years of age to eighteen years of age;   (b) Collabourate closely with the safety and technical personnel of the establishment to assure selection and placement of workers from the standpoint of physical, mental, physiological and psychological suitability, including investigation of accidents where the probable causes are exposure to occupational health hazards;   (c) Conduct free annual physical examination of the workers;   (d) Develop and implement a comprehensive occupational health programme for the employees of the establishment. A report shall be submitted annually to the Bureau of Labour Standards describing the programme established and implementation thereof.  These regulations shall take effect immediately.  30 May 1977   (SGD) BLAS F. OPLE Secretary       Back to Index