March 2023
March Jurisdictional Update – Philippines
Update provided by Kerwin Tan of Tan Hassani and Counsels.
The full court of the High Court of the Philippines recently declared void a provision in the collective bargaining agreement between Philippine Airlines and the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines. The High Court held that setting an earlier retirement age for female cabin attendants at 55 years old and male cabin attendants at 60 years old, was void for lack of basis, discriminatory against women, and contrary to laws, international convention, and public policy.
The High Court emphasized the fundamental equality of women and men before the law which is guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution, the Philippine Labor Code, the Magna Carta of Women, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. It found that Philippine Airlines failed to provide a reasonable basis for differentiating compulsory retirement age based on sex, which deprived 5 years earlier the female cabin attendants’ benefits attached to employment, such as income and medical benefits.