LABOR RELATIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS (PREFINAL)

Refers to any conflict between and among union members.

Refers to any conflict between and among legitimate labor organizations.

The Bureau of Labor Relations and the Labor Relations Divisions in the regional offices of the Department of Labor shall have original and exclusive authority to act, at their own initiative or upon request of either or both parties, on all inter-union and intra-union conflicts.

The Bureau shall have fifteen (15) working days to act on labor cases before it, subject to extension by agreement of the parties.

EXAMPLES ARE CONTROVERSIES PERTAININF TO:

EFFECT OF INTER-UNION OR INTRA-UNION DISPUTES

WHO HAS ORIGINAL JURISDICTION OVER INTER-UNION OR INTRA-UNION DISPUTES

The rights, relationships, and obligations of the parties-litigants against each other prior to the filing of the action subsists until the dispute is decided with finality.

The pendency of an inter-union or intra-union dispute or other related labor relations dispute is not a prejudicial question to a petition for certification election. Therefore, it is not a ground for suspension or dismissal of the petition for certification election.

If the dispute involves independent unions, local chapter, or workers' association.

If the dispute involves trade union centers, federations, national unions, or workers' association operating in more than one (1) region.

WHO HAS APPELLATE JURISDICTION OVER INTER-UNION OR INTRA-UNION DISPUTES?

for cases decided by the DOLE Regional Director.

for cases decided by the Bureau of Labor Relations in the exercise of its original jurisdiction.

NOTE

The Bureau of Labor Relations (or the DOLE Regional Offices) has the power to expel a union officer from office.

ART. 250 OF LABOR CODE (RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP IN A LABOR ORGANIZATION)

Transferred the conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitration functions of the Bureau of Labor Relations to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.

Any compromise settlement including those involving labor standard laws voluntarily agreed upon by the parties with the assistance, of the Bureau or the regional office of the Department of Labor, shall be final and binding upon the parties.

This is a contract whereby the parties by making reciprocal concessions, avoid litigation or put an end to one already commenced.

COMPROMISE ENCOURAGED BY LAW

The right to enter into a compromise is subject to the limitations imposed by Article 6 of the Civil Code

NATURE OF COMPROMISE

A compromise settlement voluntarily entered into between the parties is binding.

It is governed by the basic principle that obligations arising from contracts have the force and effect of law between the parties.

a compromise cannot later be disowned or set aside merely because a party has changed his mind.

It is a document whereby a person relinquishes to another a claim to a right or property.

It is a valid and binding compromise agreement. Once an employee executes this, he is thereby estopped from filing any further claim against his employer, arising from his employment.

Which must be exercised personally by the employees themselves. Where the compromise agreement was signed by only three (3) out of five (5) employees, the non-signatories are not bound by that amicable settlement.

A Lawyer cannot enter into a compromise agreement with the opposing party without a special power of attorney from the client « Without such special power of attorney, the compromise entered into by the lawyer will not bind the party concerned.

The union cannot enter into a compromise without the specific individual consent of each employee concerned. The union can only assist them but cannot decide for them.

The law does not limit compromises to cases about to be filed or to cases already pending in court. The parties can still enter into a compromise even if a final judgment has already been rendered or even if the case is already in the process of execution. This is impliedly authorized by Article 2040 of the Civil Code.

(which is commonly known as labor union) is an association of employees created for collective bargaining or dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment.

It is a labor organization operating at the enterprise level.

It is a labor organization with at least ten (10) local chapters or affiliates, each of which must be a collective bargaining agent.

It is a labor organization operating at the enterprise level that acquired legal personality through independent registration and is not affiliated with a national union or federation.

It is a labor organization without an independent registration whose legal personality is derived from its mother union or federation.

It is an independent union attached to a national union or federation.

It is a labor organization composed of workers in a particular industry.

It is a labor organization composed of workers engaged in a particular trade or occupation of a kind that requires skill and training.

It is a labor organization composed of employees in the same company.

It is a labor organization, the formation of which has been assisted by any act defined as unfair labor practice.

It is a group of registered national unions or federations organized for giving mutual aid and protection of its members, assisting its members in collective bargaining or in formulating social and employment policies, standards, and programs.

KINDS OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

PURPOSE OF REGISTRATION

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS MUST BE REGISTERED

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT

If all the legal requirements for registration are complied with, this becomes a ministerial duty.

It does not affect the legal personality of a labor organization, as its rights and obligations remain under the new name.

The notice of change of name should be accompanied by the following documents:

(or chartered local) is a labor organization without an independent registration whose legal personality is derived from its mother union or federation.

WHO CAN CREATE A LOCAL CHAPTER

A local chapter becomes a legitimate labor organization only when the following documents have been submitted to the Bureau of Labor Relations:

The Bureau shall act on .all applications for registration within thirty (30) days from filing

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 30-DAY PERIOD

It is a labor organization composed of at least ten (10) affiliates or local chapters, each of which must be a duly certified bargaining agent in the establishment where they operate.

For a quitclaim to be valid, the following requisites must be present.

the aggrieved party can rescind the compromise and pursue his original claim or file a motion to enforce the compromise.

the aggrieved party can file a motion for execution, or file an action to annul the compromise judgment on the ground of mistake, fraud, violence, intimidation, undue influence, or falsity in the execution of the compromise embodied in the judgment.

Arbitration Article 234 of the Labor Code mandates that all labor cases should undergo conciliation or mediation prior to the filing of a formal complaint. Labor Arbiters or the appropriate agencies of the Department of Labor and Employment cannot entertain cases that have not undergone the mandatory conciliation or mediation.

Arbitration The mandatory conciliation or mediation as mandated by Article 234 of the Labor Code is not a prerequisite to voluntary arbitration. This could be gleaned from the opening phrase of the law which states "(e)xcept as provided in Title VIIA, Book V of this Code. " The reason for this is because cases cognizable by voluntary arbitration will initially be threshed out at the grievance machinery to explore the possibility of amicable settlement.

Any information and statement made during the conciliation proceedings cannot be used as evidence in the arbitration proceedings. Such information shall be treated as privileged communication.

The Bureau shall have the power to require the appearance of any person or the production of any paper, document, or matte Persevant to a labor dispute under its jurisdiction either at the request of any interested party or at its own initiative.

The power to issue subpoena extends only to matters relevant to the labor dispute under its jurisdiction.

The Secretary of Labor and Employment may appoint, in addition to the present personnel of the Bureau and the Industrial Relations Divisions, such number of examiners and other assistants as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this Code.

The Bureau shall keep a registry of legitimate labor organizations. ·The Bureau shall also maintain a file of all collective bargaining agreements and other related agreements and records of settlement of labor disputes and copies of orders, and decisions of voluntary arbitrators.

The parties should register their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) within thirty (30) days from the execution, with the DOLE Regional Office where the union was registered or where the union principally operates.

The Bureau shall not entertain any other petition for certification election or any other action which may disturb the administration of duly registered existing collective bargaining agreements affecting the parties except under Articles 253 (now Article 264), 253-A (now Article 265), and 256 (now Article 268) of this Code.

No petition questioning the majority status of the incumbent bargaining agent shall be entertained and no certification election shall be conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment outside of the sixty-day period immediately before the expiry of such five-year term of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Registration Not Essential for Validity of CBA

To register a CBA, two (2) principal conditions that must be complied with

POSTING OF THE CBA

RATIFICATION OF THE CBA

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Remedy If Registration Is Denied

ART. 238 PROHIBITION ON CERTIFICATION ELECTION

THE CONTRACT-BAR PRINCIPLE

if all the requisites for registration have been complied with.

This is intended to facilitate the settlement of labor disputes by encouraging the parties to make full disclosure of facts and circumstances without fear.

Two (2) or more unions are unified and a new organization is created, hence, the legal existence of all the consolidating labor organizations ceases.

WHO MAY FILE A PETITION FOR CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION

WHERE TO FILE PETITION FOR CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION

NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEDERATION AND LOCAL UNION

WHEN A FEDERATION BECOMES A LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATION

EFFECT OF CANCELLATION PROCEEDINGS