Labor II

Basic Concepts
Phil. Const. art. III sec. 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to
form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.
Phil. Const. art. XIII sec. 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and
unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful
concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure,
humane conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes
affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers and the preferential
use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith
to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just
share in the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns to investments, and to
expansion and growth.

Arts. 218, 219, 290

Overview and Viewpoint
LABOR STANDARDS – minimum terms and conditions of employment to which employees are legally entitled and
with which employers must comply.
LABOR RELATIONS – interactions between employer and employees or their representatives and the mechanism
by which the standards and other terms and conditions of employment are negotiated, adjusted, and enforced.
DISPUTE HANDLING - Grievance machinery or an in-house problem-solving structure is requirement in CBAs. If
this fails, parties are free to select any third party or a voluntary arbitrator to resolve their differences.
Government intervention is resorted to only when parties fail to reach an agreement or when one disregards the
defined rights of the other.
WORK STOPPAGE- known as “strike” by employees or “lockout” by the employer, is not favored by law but it is
recognized as a legal right strictly regulated as to its purpose and manner of doing it (e.g. no violence + other
prohibitions). It is a measure of last resort and can only be resorted to because of bargaining deadlock or ULP by
employer.
PUBLIC INTEREST- When the dispute violates the rights of others or is accompanied by violence or other illegal
acts, then the injunctive power of the State may be invoked.
WORKERS’ ORGANIZATION
LABOR OR TRADE UNION - combination of workmen organized for the ultimate purpose of securing through
united action the most favorable conditions as regards wages, hours of labor, conditions of employment, etc., for
its members
In a popular sense, it is a completely organized body of dues-paying members, operating through elected officers
and constituting a militant, vital and functioning organ.
It may be said that while every labor union is a labor organization, not every labor organization is a labor union.

Art. 290.
TRIPARTISM – is a representation of the 3 sectors (see below) in the policy-making bodies of the government.
1. The public or the government 2. The employers 3. The workers
What is provided for, for the private sector, is workers’ participation in policy and decision-making processes
directly affecting their rights, benefits, and welfare.

Right to Self-Organization
Arts. 253, 257, 292(c), 219 (e,f)
Organizing in general
- The rights to organize and to bargain, in a general sense, are given not exclusively to employees. Even workers
who are not employees of any particular employer may form their organizations to protect their interests.
The lawful organization enjoys protection under the Bill of Rights.
- Connected to 257 is right to engage in-group action, provided it is peaceful, to support the organization’s
objective which is not necessarily collective bargaining but, simply, to aid and protect its members. But this is not
strike.
Coverage of the Right to Organize; Exceptions
General Rule: The right to form, join or assist a labor organization is granted to all kinds of employees of all kinds
of employers – public or private, profit or nonprofit, commercial or religious.
Exceptions:
Managerial employees, regardless of the kind of organization where they are employed, may not join, assist or
form any labor organization.
Supervisors are allowed to organize, but they cannot form, join or assist a rank- and-file union.

EXCEPTION: EMPLOYEE-MEMBERS OF A COOPERATIVE

A cooperative is by its nature different from an ordinary business concern being run either by persons,
partnerships, or corporations. Its owners and/or members are the ones who run and operate the business while
the others are its employees.

EXCEPTION TO EXCEPTION: ASSOCIATION, NOT UNION

While the members of a cooperative who are also its employees cannot unionize for bargaining purposes, the law
does not prohibit them from forming an association for their mutual aid and protection as employees.

EXCEPTION: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Employees of an organization immuned from Philippine jurisdiction cannot unionize.

Labor Organizations and Registration of Unions

Arts. 219 (g,h), 237, 240-251, 292(a)
Art. 237.
What are they going to submit for registration? Copies of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
Who will submit the CBA? The parties.
When are they going to submit? Within 30 days from the execution of the CBA.
To whom are they going to submit the CBA? To the BLR or the regional office of DOLE.
Is registration a requisite for validity? No.
If registration is not a requisite for validity, what is the point of registering the CBA to the BLR or DOLE? The
registration is necessary to apply the contract-bar rule. (See Liberty Flour Mills).

Art. 240-251
1. DEFINITION OF LABOR ORGANIZATION
1.1 Labor Organization
LABOR ORGANIZATION —
o any union or association of employees in the private sector which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of
collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment.
o Generic term that may refer to a union or association of employees, registered or not.
o Purpose may be broad, e.g., for CB purposes or mutual aid.
1.2 Union
• UNION — Any labor organization in the private sector organized for CV and for other legitimate purposes. o
Note: Not every union is legitimate. Only those that were properly registered are considered LLO.
However, non-registration does not mean that the union is illegitimate. An unregistered LLO has no
legal personality.
• LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATION — any labor organization in the private sector registered or reported
with the DOLE in accordance with Rules III and IV of the IRR. 1.3 Bargaining Representative
• EXCLUSIVE BARGAINING REPRESENTATIVE (EBR) — a legitimate labor union duly recognized or certified as
the sole and exclusive bargaining agent (SEBA) or representative of all the employees in a bargaining unit that will
negotiate a collective contract with the employer. EBR = SEBA.
o Not all LLOs are EBRs. o AnEBRhastobeanLLO. o A union may be an LLO and at the same time, not an EBR.
1.4 Association
• WORKER’S ASSOCIATION — An association of workers organized for the mutual aid and protection of its
members or for any legitimate purpose other than CB.
• LEGITIMATE WORKER’S ASSOCIATION (LWA) — an association of workers organized for mutual aid and
protection of its members or for any legitimate purpose other than collective bargaining registered
 with DOLE in accordance with Rule III, Sec. 2-C and 2-D of the IRR.
1.5. Collective Bargaining v. Dealing with Employer
Collective Bargaining - A right to collectively bargain may be acquired by a labor organization after registering
itself with the DOLE and after being certified by DOLE as the EBR of the employees.
Dealing with Employer- It is a generic description of interaction between employer and employees concerning
grievances, wages, work hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, even if the group is not registered
with DOLE.

2. CLASSIFICATION OF LABOR ORGANIZATION

2.1 NATIONAL LEVEL OR MACRO-LABOR RELATIONS o NATIONAL UNION/FEDERATION
• any labor organization with at least 10 locals/chapters or affiliates each of which must be a duly certified or
recognized CB Agent.
• A group of labor unions in a private establishment organized for CB or for dealing with employers concerning
terms and conditions of employment for their member unions or for participating in the formulation of
social and employment policies, standards, and programs, registered with the BLR in accordance with
Rule III, Sec. 2-B of IRR. (D.O. No. 40-03)
o INDUSTRY UNION
• Any group of LLOs operating within an identified industry, organized for CB or for dealing with employers
concerning terms and conditions of employment within an industry, or for participating in the
formulation of social and employment policies, standards, and programs in such industry, which is duly
registered with DOLE.
O TRADE UNION CENTER — a group of national unions or federations organized for the mutual aid and
protection of its members, for assisting such members in CB, or for participating in the formulation of social and
employment policies, standards, and programs.
o ALLIANCE — an aggregation of unions existing in one line of industry, or in a conglomerate, a group of
franchises, a geographical area, or an industrial center. Unions and federations may create an alliance to help one
another to attain a particular purpose. An alliance cannot represent its member unions in CBA negotiations.
2.2 ENTERPRISE LEVEL OR MICRO-LEVEL RELATIONS
o INDEPENDENT LABOR UNION — created by independent registration.
Independent Registration is obtained by the union organizers in an enterprise through their own action instead of
through issuance of a charter by a federation or national union. Its personality is not derived from a federation.
o CHAPTERS — created by a federation or national union through chartering.
Chartering takes place when a duly registered federation or national union issues a charter to a union in an
enterprise and registers the creation of the chapter with the Regional Office where the applicant operates.
Its legal personality is derived from the national union or federation, but it may subsequently register itself
independently.
COMPANY-UNION — a labor organization which, in whole or in part, is employer-controlled or employer-
dominated. Art. 259 (d) prohibits being a company union.