The National Labor Relations Commission (Filipino: Pambansang Komisyon sa Ugnayang Paggawa, abbreviated NLRC) is a quasi-judicial agency tasked to promote and maintain industrial peace based on social justice by resolving labor and management disputes involving local and overseas workers through compulsory arbitration and alternative modes of dispute resolution. The NLRC part of the Department of Labor and Employment where its policies and programs are coordinated. The commission dates back to the commonwealth period, when the contract labor law act was passed in the United States Congress on January 23, 1885, it was then implemented in the Philippines on June 6, 1899.
History
The Philippines was abiding by the contract labor law act until the national assembly through Commonwealth Act No. 103 created the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) on October 29, 1936. In the onset of CIR's existence it was first placed under the supervision of the Department of Justice. The court consisted of a presiding judge and four associate judges which were then appointed by the President of the Philippines, which should have consent from the commission on appointments.
During the martial law, former president Ferdinand E. Marcos issued presidential decree (P.D.) 21 creating an interim National Labor Relations Commission. It comprised three members the undersecretary of labor as Chairman, the Director of labor relations and the Director of labor standards. The Interim Commission took point in all matters involving employer-employee relations including all disputes and grievances. The interim NLRC existed for two years, until the passage of P.D. 442. The CIR was abolished on November 1, 1974, because of its conflicts with the provisions of the newly formed interim NLRC. The NLRC under P.D. 442 was given the same scope of services to the interim NLRC but had its members increased as the volume of labor cases also increased.
After the EDSA revolution the NLRC was regionalized after the 1986 constitutional convention. The first and second division's main offices are in Manila. These divisions handle cases from the National Capital Region (NCR). The third division, whose offices are also in Manila, handles cases from Luzon except the NCR. The fourth division, which is in Cebu City, handles cases from the Visayas, while the fifth division, in Cagayan de Oro, handles cases from Mindanao.