Labor Disini

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS LAW)
LABOR RELATIONS LAW
PRELIMINARIES: CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY BASIS CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS Article 2, Section 18 . The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare. Article 3, Section 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. Article 13, Section 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.
WHAT DOES THE ABOVEMENTIONED CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS SPELL OUT? The State shall: 1. Afford full protection to labor a. Local and overseas b. Organized and unorganized 2. Promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all 3. It shall guarantee the rights of ALL workers to the following: a. Labor Relations i. Self-organization ii. Collective bargaining and negotiations iii. Peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law b. Labor Standards i. Security of tenure ii. Humane conditions of work iii. Living wage c. Others i. Participation in policy and decision making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law 4. Promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers 5. Promote the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace 6. 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 of investments, and to expansion and growth STATUTORY BASIS ART. 211. Declaration of Policy . - A. It is the policy of the State:
MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO
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LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)
(a) To promote and emphasize the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations, including voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as modes of settling labor or industrial disputes; (b) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of social justice and development; (c) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement; (d) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning their rights and obligations as union members and as employees; (e) To provide an adequate administrative machinery for the expeditious settlement of labor or industrial disputes; (f) To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial peace; and (g) To ensure the participation of workers in decision and policy-making processes affecting their rights, duties and welfare. B. To encourage a truly democratic method of regulating the relations between the employers and employees by means of agreements freely entered into through collective bargaining, no court or administrative agency or official shall have the power to set or fix wages, rates of pay, hours of work or other terms and conditions of employment, except as otherwise provided under this Code. (As amended by Section 3, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989). ART. 212. Definitions. - (a) "Commission" means the National Labor Relations Commission or any of its divisions, as the case may be, as provided under this Code. (b) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Labor Relations and/or the Labor Relations Divisions in the regional offices established under Presidential Decree No. 1, in the Department of Labor. (c) "Board" means the National Conciliation and Mediation Board established under Executive Order No. 126.
(d) "Council" means the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration Advisory Council established under Executive Order No. 126, as amended. (e) "Employer" includes any person acting in the interest of an employer, directly or indirectly. The term shall not include any labor organization or any of its officers or agents except when acting as employer. (f) "Employee" includes any person in the employ of an employer. The term shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless the Code so explicitly states. It shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a result of or in connection with any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice if he has not obtained any other substantially equivalent and regular employment. (g) "Labor organization" means any union or association of employees which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment. (h) "Legitimate labor organization" means any labor organization duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or local thereof. (i) "Company union" means any labor organization whose formation, function or administration has been assisted by any act defined as unfair labor practice by this Code. (j) "Bargaining representative" means a legitimate labor organization whether or not employed by the employer. (k) "Unfair labor practice" means any unfair labor practice as expressly defined by the Code. (l) "Labor dispute" includes any controversy or matter concerning terms and conditions of employment or the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms and conditions of employment, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee.
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(m) "Managerial employee" is one who is vested with the powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. Supervisory employees are those who, in the interest of the employer, effectively recommend such managerial actions if the exercise of such authority is not merely routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment. All employees not falling within any of the above definitions are considered rank-and-file employees for purposes of this Book. (n) "Voluntary Arbitrator" means any person accredited by the Board as such or any person named or designated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement by the parties to act as their Voluntary Arbitrator, or one chosen with or without the assistance of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, pursuant to a selection procedure agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or any official that may be authorized by the Secretary of Labor and Employment to act as Voluntary Arbitrator upon the written request and agreement of the parties to a labor dispute. (o) "Strike" means any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. (p) "Lockout" means any temporary refusal of an employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. (q) "Internal union dispute" includes all disputes or grievances arising from any violation of or disagreement over any provision of the constitution and by laws of a union, including any violation of the rights and conditions of union membership provided for in this Code. (r) "Strike-breaker" means any person who obstructs, impedes, or interferes with by force, violence, coercion, threats, or intimidation any peaceful picketing affecting wages, hours or conditions of work or in the exercise of the right of self-organization or collective bargaining. (s) "Strike area" means the establishment, warehouses, depots, plants or offices, including the sites or premises used as runaway shops, of the employer struck against, as well as the immediate vicinity actually used by picketing strikers in moving to and fro before all points of entrance to and
exit from said establishment. (As amended by Section 4, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989). PRESENT LABOR RELATIONS POLICY METHODS OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT, ARTICLE 211 (a)(b) To promote and emphasize the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations, including voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as modes of settling labor or industrial disputes To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of social justice and development RATIONALE FOR VOLUNTARY DISPUTE SETTLEMENT Labor relations are characterized by its inter-party nature. It is due to this inter-party nature that voluntary settlement is preferred. Labor relations encourage a truly democratic method of regulating the relations between the employers and employees by means of agreements freely entered into through collective bargaining Free agreement among the parties is the general rule while government intervention is the exception. Note: there is symmetry in the law with respect to Article 211 A(a) with respect to B(b)
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Article 211 (A) Goal of both (A) and (B) is the attainment of industrial peace State policies: promote and emphasize the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations Voluntary settlement|interparty character of labor relations Real and lasting peace in the industry not attainable through compulsion (attained through human experience)
Article 211 (B) Exception to the rule: covers situation which are normal as well as those which are not normal The law is likewise realistic, which recognizes that industrial peace through voluntary means is not always true Rationale: there is public interest involved when workers and employers are irreconcilable, as such, the government should intervene This provision likewise holds the same state policy for the furtherance of industrial peace but follows a different methodology Nonetheless, an escape clause is provided wherein parties may resort back to voluntary means
some of the employees involved. The Secretary then assumed jurisdiction over the dispute and ordered the employees to return to work. The hotel refused to accept the employees and moved for reconsideration. Thereafter, the Secretary issued an order, ordering that the employees be reinstated in the payroll without having to actually returning to work. HELD: The State encourages an environment wherein employers and employees themselves must deal with their problems in a manner that mutually suits best. A voluntary, instead of compulsory, mode of dispute is the general rule. In the present case, there is no showing that the facts called for payroll reinstatement as an alternative remedy. A strained relationship between the striking employees and management is no reason for payroll reinstatement in lieu of actual reinstatement. Petitioner correctly points out that labor disputes naturally involve strained relations between labor and management, and that in most strikes, the relations between the strikers and the non-strikers will similarly be tense. Bitter labor disputes always leave an aftermath of strong emotions and unpleasant situations. Nevertheless, the government must still perform its function and apply the law, especially if, as in this case, national interest is involved. Compared to the cited case of UST v. NLRC There, the Secretary assumed jurisdiction over the labor dispute between striking teachers and the university. He ordered the striking teachers to return to work and the university to accept them under the same terms and conditions. However, in a subsequent order, the NLRC provided payroll reinstatement for the striking teachers as an alternative remedy to actual reinstatement. It is noted however that the UST ruling was made in the light of one very important fact: the teachers could not be given back their academic assignments since the order of the Secretary for them to return to work was given in the middle of the first semester of the academic year. The NLRC was, therefore, faced with a situation where the striking teachers were entitled to a return to work order, but the university could not immediately reinstate them since it would be impracticable and detrimental to the students to change teachers at that point in time. TRADE UNIONISM, ARTICLE 211 (b)(c)
MANILA DIAMOND HOTEL EMPLOYEES UNION V. CA 447 SCRA 97 (2004) The petitioner filed for certification election so that it may be declared as the sole bargaining representative of the employees but its petition was denied. It then wrote to the management, asking the latter to engage with it in collective bargaining negotiations. The human resources department notified them that it couldnt be done because of the results of the certification election. The petitioner replied that they are not giving a notice to bargain but merely asking the hotel to bargain with them to the exclusion of the other rank-and-file employees. The union then took a strike vote and despite deliberations with the NCMB, staged a strike. The hotel alleging that the same was illegal, it dismissed
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(1) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of social justice and development (2) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement; WORKER ENLIGHTENMENT, ARTICLES 211 (d), 277 (a), 241 (p) (1) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning their rights and obligations as union members and as employees; (2) All unions are authorized to collect reasonable membership fees, union dues, assessments and fines and other contributions for labor education and research, mutual death and hospitalization benefits, welfare fund, strike fund and credit and cooperative undertakings. (3) It shall be the duty of any labor organization and its officers to inform its members on the provisions of its constitution and bylaws, collective bargaining agreement, the prevailing labor relations system and all their rights and obligations under existing labor laws. For this purpose, registered labor organizations may assess reasonable dues to finance labor relations seminars and other labor education activities. Any violation of the above rights and conditions of membership shall be a ground for cancellation of union registration or expulsion of officers from office, whichever is appropriate. At least thirty percent (30%) of the members of a union or any member or members specially concerned may report such violation to the Bureau. The Bureau shall have the power to hear and decide any reported violation to mete the appropriate penalty. Criminal and civil liabilities arising from violations of above rights and conditions of membership shall continue to be under the jurisdiction of ordinary courts. VICTORIA V. INCIONG (1988) Victoria was employed in Far East Broadcasting Company. He later together with other employees organized an employees union. They sought recognition from the company but the latter
maintained that they cannot as they are not under the scope of the Industrial Peace Act. Despite conciliation efforts and advise by the NCMB that they cannot be recognized as the broadcasting company is not included in the Industrial Peace Act, they staged a strike. This prompted the company to file for damages and preliminary injunction. Petitioner was subsequently dismissed from the company and he alleged that he was illegally dismissed since prior clearance is needed from the Secretary before the dismissal of employees or cessation of business. HELD: Technically speaking, no clearance was obtained by private respondent from the then Secretary of Labor, the last step towards full compliance with the requirements of law on the matter of dismissal of employees. However, the rationale behind the clearance requirement was fully met. The Secretary of Labor was apprised of private respondent's intention to terminate the services of petitioner. This in effect is an application for clearance to dismiss petitioner from employment. The affirmance of the restrictive condition in the dispositive portion of the labor arbiter's decision in NLRC Case Nos. 0021 and 0285 by the Secretary of Labor and the Office of the President of the Philippines, signifies a grant of authority to dismiss petitioner in case the strike is declared illegal by the Court of First Instance of Bulacan. Consequently and as correctly stated by the Solicitor General, private respondent acted in good faith when it terminated the employment of petitioner upon a declaration of illegality of the strike by the Court of First Instance of Bulacan. Moreover, the then Secretary of Labor manifested his conformity to the dismissal, not once, but twice. In this regard, the mandatory rule on clearance need not be applied. The strike staged by the union in 1972 was a futile move. The law then enforced, Republic Act 875 specifically excluded respondent company from its coverage. Even if the parties had gone to court to compel recognition, no positive relief could have been obtained since the same was not sanctioned by law. Because of this, there was no necessity on the part of private respondent to show specific acts of petitioner during the strike to justify his dismissal. This is a matter of responsibility and of answerability. Petitioner as a union leader, must see to it that the policies and activities of the union in the conduct of labor relations are within the precepts of law and any deviation
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from the legal boundaries shall be imputable to the leader. He bears the responsibility of guiding the union along the path of law and to cause the union to demand what is not legally demandable, would foment anarchy which is a prelude to chaos. Petitioner should have known and it was his duty to impart this imputed knowledge to the members of the union that employees and laborers in non- profit organizations are not covered by the provisions of the Industrial Peace Act and the Court of Industrial Relations [in the case at bar, the Court of First Instance] has no jurisdiction to entertain petitions of labor unions or organizations of said non-profit organizations for certification as the exclusive bargaining representatives of said employees and laborers. MACHINERY DISPUTE SETTLEMENT, ARTICLE 211 (e) (a) To provide an adequate administrative machinery expeditious settlement of labor or industrial disputes; for the
ST. MARTINS FUNERAL HOMES V. NLRC 295 SCRA 494 Aricayos filed against petitioner a case for illegal dismissal. He alleged that he was employed by the company as an operations manager but he wasnt included in the payroll nor was there any contract of employment. The company on the other hand, alleged that he was merely accommodated by the previous owner of the company as he was in dire need of financial assistance but when records were checked, irregularities in accounts were discovered and Aricayos was duly removed for misappropriating funds. The labor arbiter ruled that there wasnt any employer-employee relationship. The NLRC on appeal remanded to the arbiter the case for further proceedings. Having its motion for reconsideration denied, Aricayos filed a petition for certiorari to the SC. HELD: All references in the amended Section 9 of B.P. No. 129 to supposed appeals from the NLRC to the Supreme Court are interpreted and hereby declared to mean and refer to petitions for certiorari under Rule 65. Consequently, all such petitions should hence forth be initially filed in the Court of Appeals in strict observance of the doctrine on the hierarchy of courts as the appropriate forum for the relief desired.
DELTAVENTURES V. CABATO 327 SCRA 521 Respondent-employees filed a case of illegal dismissal against their employer. The labor arbiter ruled in their favor and ruled for the payment of backwages and reinstatement. The appeal being denied, the employees sought the issuance of a writ of execution to satisfy the judgment. The labor arbiter duly issued one but seeing that there are not enough assets to satisfy claims, a levy was made on one of the real properties. Before the auction sale could happen, petitioner files a third-party complaint as it was allegedly the owner of the property. The auction sale was thereafter suspended. The petitioner then files a complaint with the RTC, making the same allegations in its third-party claim, praying as well for injunction and damages. The employees sought the dismissal of the civil case and the court then ruled in their favor, ruling that the petitioner cannot maintain the two claims both at the same time. HELD: Petitioner failed to realize that by filing its third-party claim with the deputy sheriff, it submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the Commission acting through the Labor Arbiter. It failed to perceive the fact that what it is really controverting is the decision of the Labor arbiter and not the act of the deputy sheriff in executing said order issued as a consequence of said decision rendered. Jurisdiction once acquired is not lost upon the instance of the parties but continues until the case is terminated. 23 Whatever irregularities attended the issuance and execution of the alias writ of execution should be referred to the same administrative tribunal which rendered the decision. 24 This is because any court which issued a writ of execution has the inherent power, for the advancement of justice, to correct errors of its ministerial officers and to control its own processes. The broad powers granted to the Labor Arbiter and to the National Labor Relations Commission by Articles 217, 218 and 224 of the Labor Code can only be interpreted as vesting in them jurisdiction over incidents arising from, in connection with or relating to labor disputes, as the controversy under consideration, to the exclusion of the regular courts.
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Having established that jurisdiction over the case rests with the Commission, we find no grave abuse of discretion on the part of respondent Judge Cabato in denying petitioner's motion for the issuance of an injunction against the execution of the decision of the National Labor Relations Commission. Moreover, it must be noted that the Labor Code in Article 254 explicitly prohibits issuance of a temporary or permanent injunction or restraining order in any case involving or growing out of labor disputes by any court or other entity (except as otherwise provided in Arts. 218 and 264). As correctly observed by court a quo, the main issue and the subject of the amended complaint for injunction are questions interwoven with the execution of the Commission's decision. No doubt the aforecited prohibition in Article 254 is applicable. Petitioner should have filed its third-party claim before the Labor Arbiter, from whom the writ of execution originated, before instituting said civil case. The NLRC's Manual on Execution of Judgment, issued pursuant to Article 218 of the Labor Code, provides the mechanism for a third-party claimant to assert his claim over a property levied upon by the sheriff pursuant to an order or decision of the Commission or of the Labor Arbiter. The power of the Labor Arbiter to issue a writ of execution carries with it the power to inquire into the correctness of the execution of his decision and to consider whatever supervening events might transpire during such execution. INDUSTRIAL PEACE, ARTICLE 211 (f), 273 To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial peace Note that industrial peace remains to be aspirational PARTICIPATION IN POLICY AND DECISION MAKING, in addition to the constitutional provision is ARTICLE 211 (g) To ensure the participation of workers in decision and policymaking processes affecting their rights, duties and welfare. WAGE-FIXING, ARTICLE 211(B), 99, 124 To encourage a truly democratic method of regulating the relations between the employers and employees by means of agreements freely entered into through collective bargaining, no
court or administrative agency or official shall have the power to set or fix wages, rates of pay, hours of work or other terms and conditions of employment, except as otherwise provided under this Code. The minimum wage rates for agricultural and non-agricultural employees and workers in each and every region of the country shall be those prescribed by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards. The regional minimum wages to be established by the Regional Board shall be as nearly adequate as is economically feasible to maintain the minimum standards of living necessary for the health, efficiency and general well-being of the employees within the framework of the national economic and social development program. In the determination of such regional minimum wages, the Regional Board shall, among other relevant factors, consider the following: o The demand for living wages; o Wage adjustment vis--vis the consumer price index; o The cost of living and changes or increases therein; o The needs of workers and their families; o The need to induce industries to invest in the countryside; o Improvements in standards of living; o The prevailing wage levels; o Fair return of the capital invested and capacity to pay of employers; o Effects on employment generation and family income; and o The equitable distribution of income and wealth along the imperatives of economic and social development.
LABOR INJUNCTION, ARTICLES 254, 263 (g), 218 General rule: Injunction prohibited. - No temporary or permanent injunction or restraining order in any case involving or growing out of labor disputes shall be issued by any court or other entity, except as otherwise provided in Articles 218 and 264 of this Code. Exceptions to the rule o When, in his opinion, there exists a labor dispute causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout in an industry indispensable to the national interest, the Secretary of Labor and Employment may assume jurisdiction over the dispute and decide it or certify the same to the Commission for
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compulsory arbitration. Such assumption or certification shall have the effect of automatically enjoining the intended or impending strike or lockout as specified in the assumption or certification order. If one has already taken place at the time of assumption or certification, all striking or locked out employees shall immediately returnto-work and the employer shall immediately resume operations and readmit all workers under the same terms and conditions prevailing before the strike or lockout. The Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Commission may seek the assistance of law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with this provision as well as with such orders as he may issue to enforce the same. To enjoin or restrain any actual or threatened commission of any or all prohibited or unlawful acts or to require the performance of a particular act in any labor dispute which, if not restrained or performed forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to any party or render ineffectual any decision in favor of such party: Provided, That no temporary or permanent injunction in any case involving or growing out of a labor dispute as defined in this Code shall be issued except after hearing the testimony of witnesses, with opportunity for cross-examination, in support of the allegations of a complaint made under oath, and testimony in opposition thereto, if offered, and only after a finding of fact by the Commission, to the effect:
Tripartism in labor relations is hereby declared a State policy. Towards this end, workers and employers shall, as far as practicable, be represented in decision and policy-making bodies of the government. The Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized representatives may, from time to time, call a national, regional, or industrial tripartite conference of representatives of government, workers and employers for the consideration and adoption of voluntary codes of principles designed to promote industrial peace based on social justice or to align labor movement relations with established priorities in economic and social development. In calling such conference, the Secretary of Labor and Employment may consult with accredited representatives of workers and employers.
POINTERS FOR LIMITED INJUNCTION (a) If there is a labor dispute (b) By the NLRC (c) Following certain requirements RATIONALE FOR LIMITED INJUNCTION It is because that injunction shouldnt be use to circumvent labor law Experience shows that when injunction is issued, the scale is tilted more in favor of the party for whom the injunction was issued TRIPARTISM, ARTICLE 275
RATIONALE BEHIND TRIPARTISM AND WORKER PARTICIPATION The belief that a party who participates in the culmination of a policy has greater assurance of effectiveness of the policy and its success However, if we look at the law, a fence was built around the law in matters that affects of rights and welfarebut can the whole gamut of rights and welfare be catalogued? This fence prompts some questions likecan an employee veto any policy drafted by the company or management? In PAL v. NLRC, it was held that the right exists but the employee doesnt have the veto power. It just means that the right is qualified and is not absolute. The right only exists for those affecting their rights and welfare. Nonetheless, they dont have the power to veto.
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Government
Employers
FLOW PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 243 WITH RESPECT TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF SELF-ORGANIZATION (a) General statement of the right enshrined in the Constitution (b) How it will operate (c) Restrictions as to its applicability CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES FOUND IN THE PROVISION OF THE LABOR CODE (1) Managerial employees (2) Supervisory employees (3) Rank-and-file employees
Workers/ employees
RIGHT TO SELF-ORGANIZATION CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY BASIS OF RIGHT Article 3, Section 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. Article 13, Section 3 . xxx 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. xxx ART. 243. Coverage and employees right to self-organization. - All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable, medical, or educational institutions, whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, selfemployed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980).
DOES THE PROVISION OF THE LABOR CODE VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS? IS THE CLASSIFICATION VALID? No, it is not a violation In answering this, on the onset, begin with the assumption that the restrictions are valid The law, in interpreting the law, saw the purpose of the Constitution as well as it recognizes the different needs and interests of supervisory and rank-and-file employees respectively there might be conflict between the interests of the two classes of employees o Fast forwardthere is conflict in areas of discipline as well as economic interests and loyalty ART. 244. Right of employees in the public service. - Employees of government corporations established under the Corporation Code shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their respective employers. All other employees in the civil service shall have the right to form associations for purposes not contrary to law. (As amended by Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986). ART. 245. Ineligibility of managerial employees to join any labor organization; right of supervisory employees . - Managerial employees are not eligible to join, assist or form any labor organization. Supervisory employees shall not be eligible for membership in a labor organization of the rank-and-file employees but may join, assist or form separate labor organizations of their own. (As amended by Section 18, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
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ART. 245-A. Effect of inclusion as members of employees outside the bargaining unit. The inclusion as union members of employees outside the bargaining unit shall not be a ground for the cancellation of the registration of the union. Said employees are automatically deemed removed from the list of membership of said union. ART. 246. Non-abridgment of right to self-organization. - It shall be unlawful for any person to restrain, coerce, discriminate against or unduly interfere with employees and workers in their exercise of the right to selforganization. Such right shall include the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations for the purpose of collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in lawful concerted activities for the same purpose for their mutual aid and protection, subject to the provisions of Article 264 of this Code. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980). UST FACULTY UNION V. BITONIO 318 SCRA 186 Private respondents were officers of the USTFU. The recognized union had a CBA with the school. The secretary-general on a relevant date announced that there would be a general assembly for the next election of union officers. The petitioners appealed the same with the med-arbiter, alleging that the same was not in accordance with the unions constitution and by-laws. The medarbiter issued a temporary restraining order, even so, the general assembly still proceeded as scheduled. Members and nonmembers alike attended the same and petitioners were elected as officers. The private respondents then prayed for the nullification of elections, being a violation of the temporary restraining order. They likewise filed a motion to order petitioners to vacate the union office. The med-arbiter ruled in their favor and this was affirmed by the director. HELD: Self-organization is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution and the Labor Code. Employees have the right to form, join or assist labor organizations for the purpose of collective bargaining or for their mutual aid and protection. Whether employed for a definite period or
not, any employee shall be considered as such, beginning on his first day of service, for purposes of membership in a labor union. Corollary to this right is the prerogative not to join, affiliate with or assist a labor union. Therefore, to become a union member, an employee must, as a rule, not only signify the intent to become one, but also take some positive steps to realize that intent. The procedure for union membership is usually embodied in the union's constitution and bylaws. An employee who becomes a union member acquires the rights and the concomitant obligations that go with this new status and becomes bound by the union's rules and regulations. The constitutional right to self-organization is better understood in the context of ILO Convention No. 87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organize), to which the Philippines is signatory. Article 3 of the Convention provides that workers' organizations shall have the right to draw up their constitution and rules and to elect their representatives in full freedom, free from any interference from public authorities. The freedom conferred by the provision is expansive; the responsibility imposed on union members to respect the constitution and rules they themselves draw up equally so. The point to be stressed is that the union's CBL is the fundamental law that governs the relationship between and among the members of the union. It is where the rights, duties and obligations, powers, functions and authority of the officers as well as the members are defined. It is the organic law that determines the validity of acts done by any officer or member of the union. Without respect for the CBL, a union as a democratic institution degenerates into nothing more than a group of individuals governed by mob rule. NATIONAL UNION OF BANK EMPLOYEES V. MINISTER OF LABOR 110 SCRA 274 Exclusion of certain rank-and-file employees from the collective bargaining unit. Allegedly, this is in violation of the right to selforganization. HELD: The question therefore of excluding certain rank and file employees for being allegedly confidential, managerial or technical does not simply involve a definition of the bargaining unit but rather raises the fundamental
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issue of coverage under or eligibility for the exercise of the workers' rights to self-organization and collective bargaining. On this score, the law on coverage and exclusion on the matter should by now be very clear. Article 244 of the Labor Code states that all persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises, including religious, charitable, medical or educational institutions operating for profit shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations for purposes of collective bargaining. Articles 245 and 246 (ibid) provide that security guards and managerial employees are not eligible to form, assist or join any labor organization. As defined by the Code, a managerial employee is one who is vested with powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees, or to effectively recommend such managerial actions. All employees not falling within this definition are considered rank and file employees for purposes of selforganization and collective bargaining. It is in the light of the foregoing provisions of law that the challenged order, in so far as it excludes all managerial and supervisory employees, secretaries of bank officials, credit investigators, telephone operators, loan security custodians, employees in the accounting, auditing, legal, trust and personnel departments respectively, should be modified for being either superfluous, discriminatory or simply contrary to law. The express exclusion of managerial employees in the Order is superfluous for the same is already provided for by law and is presumed when the bargaining unit was defined as comprising all the regular rank and file employees of the bank. It is also anomalous and discriminatory when it excluded employees of the personnel department but included specific individuals like Manuel Simibcay Primi Zamora and Carmelita Sy. Exclusion as managerial employee is not based on the personality of the occupant but rather on the nature and function of the position. The exclusion of the other positions is likewise contrary to law, there being no clear showing that they are managerial employees. The mere fact of being a supervisor or a confidential employee does not exclude him from coverage. He must strictly come within the category of a managerial employee as defined by the Code. The Constitution assures to all workers such rights to self-organization and collective bargaining. Exclusions, being the exception and being in derogation of such constitutional mandate, should be construed in strictissimi juris.
Furthermore, to uphold the order of exclusion would be to allow the emasculation of the workers' right to self-organization and to collective bargaining, statutory rights which have received constitutional recognition when they were enshrined in the 1973 Constitution. Indeed, the further rulings that 'other non-confidential employees included in the bank's list of proposed exclusion be allowed to vote but the votes should be segregated as challenged and that in case of doubt as to whether or not the position held by an employee is confidential in nature, the employee should be allowed to vote but his vote should be segregated as challenged' both complete the said order's self-nullifying effects. At the most and indeed as a policy, exclusion of confidential employees from the bargaining unit is a matter for negotiation and agreement of the parties. Thus, the parties may agree in the CBA, to exclude certain highly confidential positions from the bargaining unit. Absent such agreement, coverage must be observed. In any event, any negotiation and agreement can come after the representation issue is resolved and this is just the situation in the instant case. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-selfgoverning or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 2. 1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation,
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especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures. 2. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. 3. Developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the economic rights recognized in the present Covenant to non-nationals. Article 8 . 1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure: (a) The right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of his choice, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, for the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others; (b) The right of trade unions to establish national federations or confederations and the right of the latter to form or join international trade-union organizations; (c) The right of trade unions to function freely subject to no limitations other than those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others; (d) The right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity with the laws of the particular country. 2. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces or of the police or of the administration of the State. 3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislative measures which would prejudice, or apply the law in such a manner as would prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 22. 1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests. 2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police in their exercise of this right. 3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislative measures which would prejudice, or to apply the law in such a manner as to prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention. ILO Convention No. 87: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organization. PART I. FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION Article 1 Each Member of the International Labour Organisation for which this Convention is in force undertakes to give effect to the following provisions. Article 2 Workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation. Article 3 1. Workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their
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programmes. 2. The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof. Article 4 Workers' and employers' organisations shall not be liable to be dissolved or suspended by administrative authority. Article 5 Workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to establish and join federations and confederations and any such organisation, federation or confederation shall have the right to affiliate with international organisations of workers and employers. Article 6 The provisions of Articles 2, 3 and 4 hereof apply to federations and confederations of workers' and employers' organisations. Article 7 The acquisition of legal personality by workers' and employers' organisations, federations and confederations shall not be made subject to conditions of such a character as to restrict the application of the provisions of Articles 2, 3 and 4 hereof. Article 8 1. In exercising the rights provided for in this Convention workers and employers and their respective organisations, like other persons or organised collectivities, shall respect the law of the land. 2. The law of the land shall not be such as to impair, nor shall it be so applied as to impair, the guarantees provided for in this Convention. Article 9 1. The extent to which the guarantees provided for in this Convention shall apply to the armed forces and the police shall be determined by national laws or regulations. 2. In accordance with the principle set forth in paragraph 8 of Article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation the ratification of
this Convention by any Member shall not be deemed to affect any existing law, award, custom or agreement in virtue of which members of the armed forces or the police enjoy any right guaranteed by this Convention. Article 10 In this Convention the term organisation means any organisation of workers or of employers for furthering and defending the interests of workers or of employers. PART II. PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANISE Article 11 Each Member of the International Labour Organisation for which this Convention is in force undertakes to take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that workers and employers may exercise freely the right to organise. PART III. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Article 12 1.In respect of the territories referred to in Article 35 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation as amended by the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation Instrument of Amendment 1946, other than the territories referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 of the said article as so amended, each Member of the Organisation which ratifies this Convention shall communicate to the Director-General of the International Labour Office with or as soon as possible after its ratification a declaration stating: a) the territories in respect of which it undertakes that the provisions of the Convention shall be applied without modification; b) the territories in respect of which it undertakes that the provisions of the Convention shall be applied subject to modifications, together with details of the said modifications; c) the territories in respect of which the Convention is inapplicable and in such cases the grounds on which it is inapplicable; d) the territories in respect of which it reserves its decision. 2. The undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be an integral part of the ratification and shall have the force of ratification.
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3. Any Member may at any time by a subsequent declaration cancel in whole or in part any reservations made in its original declaration in virtue of subparagraphs (b), (c) or (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article. 4. Any Member may, at any time at which the Convention is subject to denunciation in accordance with the provisions of Article 16, communicate to the Director-General a declaration modifying in any other respect the terms of any former declaration and stating the present position in respect of such territories as it may specify. Article 13 1. Where the subject-matter of this Convention is within the self-governing powers of any non-metropolitan territory, the Member responsible for the international relations of that territory may, in agreement with the government of the territory, communicate to the Director-General of the International Labour Office a declaration accepting on behalf of the territory the obligations of this Convention. 2. A declaration accepting the obligations of this Convention may be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office: a) by two or more Members of the Organisation in respect of any territory which is under their joint authority; or b) by any international authority responsible for the administration of any territory, in virtue of the Charter of the United Nations or otherwise, in respect of any such territory. 3. Declarations communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office in accordance with the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall indicate whether the provisions of the Convention will be applied in the territory concerned without modification or subject to modifications; when the declaration indicates that the provisions of the Convention will be applied subject to modifications it shall give details of the said modifications. 4. The Member, Members or international authority concerned may at any time by a subsequent declaration renounce in whole or in part the right to have recourse to any modification indicated in any former declaration. 5. The Member, Members or international authority concerned may, at any
time at which this Convention is subject to denunciation in accordance with the provisions of Article 16, communicate to the Director-General a declaration modifying in any other respect the terms of any former declaration and stating the present position in respect of the application of the Convention. ILO Convention No. 95: Bargaining Convention Right to Organize and Collective
Article 1 1. Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in respect of their employment. 2. Such protection shall apply more particularly in respect of acts calculated to-(a) make the employment of a worker subject to the condition that he shall not join a union or shall relinquish trade union membership; (b) cause the dismissal of or otherwise prejudice a worker by reason of union membership or because of participation in union activities outside working hours or, with the consent of the employer, within working hours. Article 2 1. Workers' and employers' organisations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts of interference by each other or each other's agents or members in their establishment, functioning or administration. 2. In particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers' organisations under the domination of employers or employers' organisations, or to support workers' organisations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organisations under the control of employers or employers' organisations, shall be deemed to constitute acts of interference within the meaning of this Article. Article 3 Machinery appropriate to national conditions shall be established, where necessary, for the purpose of ensuring respect for the right to organise as defined in the preceding Articles. Article 4
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Measures appropriate to national conditions shall be taken, where necessary, to encourage and promote the full development and utilisation of machinery for voluntary negotiation between employers or employers' organisations and workers' organisations, with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements. Article 5 1. The extent to which the guarantees provided for in this Convention shall apply to the armed forces and the police shall be determined by national laws or regulations. 2. In accordance with the principle set forth in paragraph 8 of Article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation the ratification of this Convention by any Member shall not be deemed to affect any existing law, award, custom or agreement in virtue of which members of the armed forces or the police enjoy any right guaranteed by this Convention. Article 6 This Convention does not deal with the position of public servants engaged in the administration of the State, nor shall it be construed as prejudicing their rights or status in any way. Article 7 The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Article 8 1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organisation whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General. 2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the DirectorGeneral. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been registered. Article 9
1. Declarations communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 35 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation shall indicate -a) the territories in respect of which the Member concerned undertakes that the provisions of the Convention shall be applied without modification; b) the territories in respect of which it undertakes that the provisions of the Convention shall be applied subject to modifications, together with details of the said modifications; c) the territories in respect of which the Convention is inapplicable and in such cases the grounds on which it is inapplicable; d) the territories in respect of which it reserves its decision pending further consideration of the position. 2. The undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be an integral part of the ratification and shall have the force of ratification. 3. Any Member may at any time by a subsequent declaration cancel in whole or in part any reservation made in its original declaration in virtue of subparagraph (b), (c) or (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article. 4. Any Member may, at any time at which the Convention is subject to denunciation in accordance with the provisions of Article 11, communicate to the Director-General a declaration modifying in any other respect the terms of any former declaration and stating the present position in respect of such territories as it may specify. Article 10 1. Declarations communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 of Article 35 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation shall indicate whether the provisions of the Convention will be applied in the territory concerned without modification or subject to modifications; when the declaration indicates that the provisions of the Convention will be applied subject to modifications, it shall give details of the said modifications.
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2. The Member, Members or international authority concerned may at any time by a subsequent declaration renounce in whole or in part the right to have recourse to any modification indicated in any former declaration. 3. The Member, Members or international authority concerned may, at any time at which this Convention is subject to denunciation in accordance with the provisions of Article 11, communicate to the Director-General a declaration modifying in any other respect the terms of any former declaration and stating the present position in respect of the application of the Convention. Article 11 1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered. 2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article. Article 12 1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organisation of the registration of all ratifications, declarations and denunciations communicated to him by the Members of the Organisation. 2. When notifying the Members of the Organisation of the registration of the second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organisation to the date upon which the Convention will come into force. STANDARD CHARTERED BANK EMPLOYEES UNION V. CONFESSOR 432 SCRA 308 HELD:
Under the International Labor Organization Convention (ILO) No. 87 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE to which the Philippines is a signatory, "workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to job organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization." The aforcited ILO Conventions are incorporated in our Labor Code, particularly in Article 243 thereof, which provides: ART. 243. COVERAGE AND EMPLOYEES RIGHT TO SELFORGANIZATION. All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable, medical or educational institutions whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, self-employed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection. and Articles 248 and 249 respecting ULP of employers and labor organizations. Parenthetically, if an employer interferes in the selection of its negotiators or coerces the Union to exclude from its panel of negotiators a representative of the Union, and if it can be inferred that the employer adopted the said act to yield adverse effects on the free exercise to right to self-organization or on the right to collective bargaining of the employees, ULP under Article 248(a) in connection with Article 243 of the Labor Code is committed. EXTENT AND SCOPE OF RIGHT ART. 243. Coverage and employees right to self-organization. - All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable, medical, or educational institutions, whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, self-
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employed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980). ART. 246. Non-abridgment of right to self-organization. - It shall be unlawful for any person to restrain, coerce, discriminate against or unduly interfere with employees and workers in their exercise of the right to selforganization. Such right shall include the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations for the purpose of collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in lawful concerted activities for the same purpose for their mutual aid and protection, subject to the provisions of Article 264 of this Code. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980). PAN-AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS V. PAN-AMERICAN EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION 27 SCRA 1202 Refusal of the company to admit back to work the union officers who resorted to a strike upon failure to come up with a concrete agreement. HELD: The moment management displays what in this case appears to be grave but unwarranted distrust in the union officials discharging their functions just because a strike was resorted to, then the integrity of the collective bargaining process itself is called into question. It would have been different if there were a rational basis for such fears, purely speculative in character. The record is bereft of slightest indication that any danger, much less one clear and present, is to be expected from their return to work. Necessarily, the union officials have the right to feel offended by the fact that, while they will be paid their salaries in the meanwhile they would not be considered as fit persons to perform the duties pertaining to the positions held by them. Far from being generous such an offer could rightfully, be considered insulting. The greater offense is to the labor movement itself, more specifically to the right of self-organization. There is both a constitutional and statutory recognition that laborers have the right to form unions to take care of their interests vis-a-vis their employers. Their freedom organizations would be
rendered nugatory if they could not choose their own leaders to speak on their behalf and to bargain for them. If petitioner were to succeed in their unprecedented demand, the laborers in this particular union would thus be confronted with the sad spectacle of the leaders of their choice condemned as irresponsible, possibly even constituting a menace to the operations of the enterprise. That is an indictment of the gravest character, devoid of any factual basis. What is worse, the result, even if not intended, would be to call into question their undeniable right to choose their leaders, who must be treated as such with all the respect to which they are legitimately entitled. The fact that they would be paid but not be allowed to work is, to repeat, to add to the infamy that would thus attach to them necessarily, but to respondent union equally. UST FACULTY UNION V. BITONIO Supra WORKER QUALIFICATIONS Article 277 (c ). Any employee, whether employed for a definite period or not, shall, beginning on his first day of service, be considered as an employee for purposes of membership in any labor union. (As amended by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715). UST FACULTY UNION V. BITONIO Supra WORKERS WITH RIGHT TO SELF-ORGANIZATION ALL EMPLOYEES ART. 243. Coverage and employees right to self-organization. - All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable, medical, or educational institutions, whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, selfemployed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers
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may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980). Article 212. xxx (f) "Employee" includes any person in the employ of an employer. The term shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless the Code so explicitly states. It shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a result of or in connection with any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice if he has not obtained any other substantially equivalent and regular employment. VICTORIANO V. ELIZALDE ROPE WORKERS UNION 59 SCRA 54 HELD: Both the Constitution and Republic Act No. 875 recognize freedom of association. Section 1 (6) of Article III of the Constitution of 1935, as well as Section 7 of Article IV of the Constitution of 1973, provide that the right to form associations or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 875 provides that employees shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join of assist labor organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of collective bargaining and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining and other mutual aid or protection. What the Constitution and the Industrial Peace Act recognize and guarantee is the "right" to form or join associations. Notwithstanding the different theories propounded by the different schools of jurisprudence regarding the nature and contents of a "right", it can be safely said that whatever theory one subscribes to, a right comprehends at least two broad notions, namely: first, liberty or freedom, i.e., the absence of legal restraint, whereby an employee may act for himself without being prevented by law; and second, power, whereby an employee may, as he pleases, join or refrain from Joining an association. It is, therefore, the employee who should decide for himself whether he should join or not an association; and should he choose to join, he himself makes up his mind as to which association he would join; and even after he has joined, he still retains the liberty and the power to leave and cancel his membership with said organization at any time. It is clear, therefore, that the right to join a union includes the right to abstain from joining any union. Inasmuch as what both the Constitution and the Industrial Peace Act have recognized, and guaranteed to the employee, is the "right" to join associations of his choice, it would be absurd to say that the law also
imposes, in the same breath, upon the employee the duty to join associations. The law does not enjoin an employee to sign up with any association. The right to refrain from joining labor organizations recognized by Section 3 of the Industrial Peace Act is, however, limited. The legal protection granted to such right to refrain from joining is withdrawn by operation of law, where a labor union and an employer have agreed on a closed shop, by virtue of which the employer may employ only member of the collective bargaining union, and the employees must continue to be members of the union for the duration of the contract in order to keep their jobs. Thus Section 4 (a) (4) of the Industrial Peace Act, before its amendment by Republic Act No. 3350, provides that although it would be an unfair labor practice for an employer "to discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization" the employer is, however, not precluded "from making an agreement with a labor organization to require as a condition of employment membership therein, if such labor organization is the representative of the employees". By virtue, therefore, of a closed shop agreement, before the enactment of Republic Act No. 3350, if any person, regardless of his religious beliefs, wishes to be employed or to keep his employment, he must become a member of the collective bargaining union. Hence, the right of said employee not to join the labor union is curtailed and withdrawn. To that all-embracing coverage of the closed shop arrangement, Republic Act No. 3350 introduced an exception, when it added to Section 4 (a) (4) of the Industrial Peace Act the following proviso: "but such agreement shall not cover members of any religious sects which prohibit affiliation of their members in any such labor organization". Republic Act No. 3350 merely excludes ipso jure from the application and coverage of the closed shop agreement the employees belonging to any religious sects which prohibit affiliation of their members with any labor organization. What the exception provides, therefore, is that members of said religious sects cannot be compelled or coerced to join labor unions even when said unions have closed shop agreements with the employers; that in spite of any closed shop agreement, members of said religious sects cannot be refused employment or dismissed from their jobs on the sole ground that they are not members of the collective bargaining union.
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It is clear, therefore, that the assailed Act, far from infringing the constitutional provision on freedom of association, upholds and reinforces it. It does not prohibit the members of said religious sects from affiliating with labor unions. It still leaves to said members the liberty and the power to affiliate, or not to affiliate, with labor unions . If, notwithstanding their religious beliefs, the members of said religious sects prefer to sign up with the labor union, they can do so. If in deference and fealty to their religious faith, they refuse to sign up, they can do so; the law does not coerce them to join; neither does the law prohibit them from joining; and neither may the employer or labor union compel them to join. Republic Act No. 3350, therefore, does not violate the constitutional provision on freedom of association. KAPATIRAN SA MEAT AND CANNING DIVISION V. CALLEJA 162 SCRA 367 HELD: After deliberating on the petition and the documents annexed thereto, We find no merit in the Petition. The public respondent did not err in dismissing the petitioner's appeal in BLR Case No. A-12-389-87. This Court's decision in Victoriano vs. Elizalde Rope Workers' Union, 59 SCRA 54, upholding the right of members of the IGLESIA NI KRISTO sect not to join a labor union for being contrary to their religious beliefs, does not bar the members of that sect from forming their own union. The public respondent correctly observed that the "recognition of the tenets of the sect ... should not infringe on the basic right of self-organization granted by the constitution to workers, regardless of religious affiliation." The fact that TUPAS was able to negotiate a new CBA with ROBINA within the 60-day freedom period of the existing CBA, does not foreclose the right of the rival union, NEW ULO, to challenge TUPAS' claim to majority status, by filing a timely petition for certification election on October 13, 1987 before TUPAS' old CBA expired on November 15, 1987 and before it signed a new CBA with the company on December 3, 1987. As pointed out by Med-Arbiter Abdullah, a "certification election is the best forum in ascertaining the majority status of the contending unions wherein the workers themselves can freely choose their bargaining representative thru secret ballot." Since it has not been shown that this order is tainted with unfairness, this Court will not thwart the holding of a certification election.
GOVERNMENT CORPORATION EMPLOYEES ART. 244. Right of employees in the public service. - Employees of government corporations established under the Corporation Code shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their respective employers. All other employees in the civil service shall have the right to form associations for purposes not contrary to law. (As amended by Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986). SUPERVISORS ART. 245 . Ineligibility of managerial employees to join any labor organization; right of supervisory employees . - Managerial employees are not eligible to join, assist or form any labor organization. Supervisory employees shall not be eligible for membership in a labor organization of the rank-and-file employees but may join, assist or form separate labor organizations of their own. (As amended by Section 18, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989). ART. 245-A. Effect of inclusion as members of employees outside the bargaining unit. The inclusion as union members of employees outside the bargaining unit shall not be a ground for the cancellation of the registration of the union. Said employees are automatically deemed removed from the list of membership of said union. ART. 212. (m) "Managerial employee" is one who is vested with the powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. Supervisory employees are those who, in the interest of the employer, effectively recommend such managerial actions if the exercise of such authority is not merely routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment. All employees not falling within any of the above definitions are considered rank-and-file employees for purposes of this Book. (g) "Labor organization" means any union or association of employees which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment.
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RIGHT FILOIL REFINERY CORPORATION V. FILOIL CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION 46 SCRA 512 SUPERVISORY AND
of "thwarting the right of the concerned employees to selforganization." HELD: Managerial employees are ranked as Top Managers, Middle Managers and First Line Managers. Top and Middle Managers have the authority to devise, implement and control strategic and operational policies while the task of First-Line Managers is simply to ensure that such policies are carried out by the rank-and- file employees of an organization. Under this distinction, "managerial employees" therefore fall in two (2) categories, namely, the "managers" per se composed of Top and Middle Managers, and the "supervisors" composed of First-Line Managers. Thus, the mere fact that an employee is designated "manager" does not ipso facto make him one. Designation should be reconciled with the actual job description of the employee, for it is the job description that determines the nature of employment. In the petition before us, a thorough dissection of the job description of the concerned supervisory employees and section heads indisputably show that they are not actually managerial but only supervisory employees since they do not lay down company policies. PICOP's contention that the subject section heads and unit managers exercise the authority to hire and fire is ambiguous and quite misleading for the reason that any authority they exercise is not supreme but merely advisory in character. Theirs is not a final determination of the company policies inasmuch as any action taken by them on matters relative to hiring, promotion, transfer, suspension and termination of employees is still subject to confirmation and approval by their respective superior. Thus, where such power, which is in effect recommendatory in character, is subject to evaluation, review and final action by the department heads and other higher executives of the company, the same, although present, is not effective and not an exercise of independent judgment as required by law. SAMSON V. NLRC 330 SCRA 460 Samson was dismissed due to serious misconduct and loss of trust and confidence. HELD:
HELD: As stated for the Court by the now Chief Justice in AG & P Co. of Manila, Inc. vs. C.I.R., section 3 of the Industrial Peace Act "explicitly provides that "employees" and this term includes supervisors "shall have the right to selforganization, and to form, join or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of collective bargaining through representations of their own choosing and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining and other mutual aid or protection" and that "individuals employed as supervisors ... may form separate organizations of their own". Indeed, it is well settled that "in relation to his employer," a foreman or supervisor "is an employee within the meaning of the Act" ... For this reason, supervisors are entitled to engage in union activities and any discrimination against them by reason thereof constitutes an unfair labor practice." TEST PAPER INDUSTRIES CORPORATION V. LEGUESMA 330 SCRA 295 PICOP's main thesis is that the positions Section Heads and Supervisors, who have been designated as Section Managers and Unit Managers, as the case may be, were converted to managerial employees under the decentralization and reorganization program it implemented in 1989. Being managerial employees, with alleged authority to hire and fire employees, they are ineligible for union membership under Article 245 of the Labor Code. Furthermore, PICOP contends that no malice should be imputed against it for implementing its decentralization program only after the petition for certification election was filed inasmuch as the same is a valid exercise of its management prerogative, and that said program has long been in the drawing boards of the company, which was realized only in 1989 and fully implemented in 1991. PICOP emphatically stresses that it could not have conceptualized the decentralization program only for the purpose
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Samson was illegally dismissed. Given the environmental circumstances of this case, the acts of petitioner clearly do not constitute serious misconduct as to justify his dismissal. Neither is his dismissal justified on ground of loss of confidence. As a ground for dismissal, the term "trust and confidence" is restricted to managerial employees. We share the view of the Solicitor General that petitioner is not a managerial employee. Before one may be properly considered a managerial employee, all the following conditions must be met: (1) Their primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or sub-division thereof; (2) They customarily and regularly direct the work of two or more employees therein; (3) They have the authority to hire or fire other employees of lower rank; or their suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring and firing and as to the promotion or any other change of status of other employees we given particular weight. TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS V, TAGAYTAY HIGHLANDS EMPLOYEES UNION 395 SCRA 699 HELD: Clearly, based on this provision [Article 245], a labor organization composed of both rank-and-file and supervisory employees is no labor organization at all. It cannot, for any guise or purpose, be a legitimate labor organization. Not being one, an organization which carries a mixture of rank-and-file and supervisory employees cannot posses any of the rights of a legitimate labor organization, including the right to file a petition for certification election for the purpose of collective bargaining. It becomes necessary, therefore, anterior to the granting of an order allowing a certification election, to inquire into the composition of any labor organization whenever the status of the labor organization is challenged on the basis of Article 245 of the Labor Code. TO MAKE ONE A SUPERVISOR, THE POWER TO RECOMMEND MUST NOT BE ROUTINARY OR CLERICAL IN NATURE. IT SHOULD REQUIRE THE USE OF DISCRETIONARY JUDGMENT. 1. Discretionary or judgmental
2. 3.
Independent Effective ALIENS
ART. 269. Prohibition against aliens; exceptions . - All aliens, natural or juridical, as well as foreign organizations are strictly prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in all forms of trade union activities without prejudice to normal contacts between Philippine labor unions and recognized international labor centers: Provided, however, That aliens working in the country with valid permits issued by the Department of Labor and Employment, may exercise the right to self-organization and join or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining: Provided, further, That said aliens are nationals of a country which grants the same or similar rights to Filipino workers. (As amended by Section 29, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989). SECURITY GUARDS MANILA ELECTRIC CO. V. SECRETARY OF LABOR 197 SCRA 275 HELD: While therefore under the old rules, security guards were barred from joining a labor organization of the rank and file, under RA 6715, they may now freely join a labor organization of the rank and file or that of the supervisory union, depending on their rank. By accommodating supervisory employees, the Secretary of Labor must likewise apply the provisions of RA 6715 to security guards by favorably allowing them free access to a labor organization, whether rank and file or supervisory, in recognition of their constitutional right to self-organization. We are aware however of possible consequences in the implementation of the law in allowing security personnel to join labor unions within the company they serve. The law is apt to produce divided loyalties in the faithful performance of their duties. Economic reasons would present the employees concerned with the temptation to subordinate their duties to the allegiance they owe the union of which they are members, aware as they are that it is usually union action that obtains for them increased pecuniary
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benefits. Thus, in the event of a strike declared by their union, security personnel may neglect or outrightly abandon their duties, such as protection of property of their employer and the persons of its officials and employees, the control of access to the employer's premises, and the maintenance of order in the event of emergencies and untoward incidents. It is hoped that the corresponding amendatory and/or suppletory laws be passed by Congress to avoid possible conflict of interest in security personnel. WORKERS WITH NO RIGHT OF SELF-ORGANIZATION MANAGERIAL AND CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEES ART. 212. (m) "Managerial employee" is one who is vested with the powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. Supervisory employees are those who, in the interest of the employer, effectively recommend such managerial actions if the exercise of such authority is not merely routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of independent judgment. All employees not falling within any of the above definitions are considered rank-and-file employees for purposes of this Book. TEST SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION SUPERVISORS AND EXEMPT UNION V. LAGUESMA 15 AUGUST 1997 HELD: Not every position labeled by management as confidential automatically becomes disqualified from union membership. Legal definition must be applied. In unionization context, confidential employees are limited to those who: 1. Assist or act in a confidential capacity 2. To persons who formulate, determine, and effectuate cumulative,
And both must be met if an employee is to be considered a confidential employeethat is, the confidential relationship must exist between the employee and his supervisor, and the supervisor must handle the prescribed responsibilities relating to the union. PROHIBITION AND RATIONALE The powers of the position and not the title make the positionholder the manager or a supervisor METROLAB INDUSTRIES V. ROLDAN-CONFESSOR 254 SCRA 182 The Secretary, in deciding the dispute between the union and employer, held that executive secretaries are included in the bargaining unit composed of rank-and-file employees.
HELD: Although Article 245 of the Labor Code limits the ineligibility to join, form and assist any labor organization to managerial employees, jurisprudence has extended this prohibition to confidential employees or those who by reason of their positions or nature of work are required to assist or act in a fiduciary manner to managerial employees and hence, are likewise privy to sensitive and highly confidential records. The rationale for this inhibition has been stated to be, because if these managerial employees would belong to or be affiliated with a Union, the latter might not be assured of their loyalty to the Union in view of evident conflict of interests. The union can also become company-dominated with the presence of managerial employees in Union membership. It may likewise be the source of undue advantage wherein these employees may act as spies for either party to a collective bargaining activity. Furthermore, in the collective bargaining process, managerial employees are supposed to be on the side of the employer, to act as its representatives, and to see to it that its interest are well protected. The employer is not assured of such protection if these employees themselves are union members. Collective bargaining in such a situation can become one-sided. It is the same reason that impelled this Court to consider the position of confidential employees as included in the disqualification found in Art. 245 as if the disqualification of confidential employees were written in the provision. If confidential employees could unionize in order to
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bargain for advantages for themselves, then they could be governed by their own motives rather than the interest of the employers. Moreover, unionization of confidential employees for the purpose of collective bargaining would mean the extension of the law to persons or individuals who are supposed to act "in the interest of the employers. It is not farfetched that in the course of collective bargaining, they might jeopardize that interest which they are duty-bound to protect WORKER/MEMBER OF COOPERATIVE An employee of a cooperative who is also a member and co-owner cannot invoke the right to collective bargaining, for certainly an owner cannot bargain with himself and his co-owners However, in so far as it involves cooperatives with employees or members thereof, such employees are entitled to collective bargaining negotiations and such rights which are enshrined in the Constitution and existing laws But even as regards employees who are members of the cooperative, their incapacity to bargain doesnt stop them from forming their organization which isnt a union
Contrary to respondents' claim, the fact that the members-employees of petitioner do not participate in the actual management of the cooperative does not make them eligible to form, assist or join a labor organization for the purpose of collective bargaining with petitioner. The Court's ruling in the Davao City case that members of cooperative cannot join a labor union for purposes of collective bargaining was based on the fact that as members of the cooperative they are co-owners thereof. As such, they cannot invoke the right to collective bargaining for "certainly an owner cannot bargain with himself or his co-owners." [Cooperative Rural Bank of Davao City, Inc. v. Ferrer-Calleja, et al., supra]. It is the fact of ownership of the cooperative, and not involvement in the management thereof, which disqualifies a member from joining any labor organization within the cooperative. Thus, irrespective of the degree of their participation in the actual management of the cooperative, all members thereof cannot form, assist or join a labor organization for the purpose of collective bargaining. IF MEMBERS/CO-OWNERS OF A COOPERATIVE ARE PROHIBITED FROM JOINING AND FORMING LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, THEN IT FOLLOWS THAT STOCKHOLDERS/EMPLOYEES OF A CORPORATION MAY LIKEWISE BE PROHIBITED FROM FORMING OR JOINING LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. TRUE OR FALSE? False, while cooperatives may exercise some of the rights and privileges given to ordinary corporations provided under existing laws, such cooperatives enjoy other privileges not granted to the latter. Similarly, members of cooperatives have rights and obligations different from those of stockholders of ordinary corporations. It was precisely because of the special nature of cooperatives, that the Court held in the Davao City case that members-employees thereof cannot form or join a labor union for purposes of collective bargaining. Following the abovementioned rationale, it was held in Rural Bank of Davao City, 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. As above stated, irrespective of the number of shares owned by each member they are entitled to cast one vote each in deciding upon the affairs of the cooperative. Their share capital earn limited interest. They enjoy special privileges as-exemption from income tax and sales taxes, preferential right to supply their
BENGUET ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE V. CALLEJA 180 SCRA 740 HELD: The issue of whether or not employees of a cooperative are qualified to form or join a labor organization for purposes of collective bargaining has already been resolved and clarified in the case of Cooperative Rural Bank of Davao City, Inc. vs. Ferrer Calleja, et al. [G.R. No. 7795, September 26,1988] and reiterated in the cases of Batangas-Electric Cooperative Labor Union v. Young, et al. [G.R. Nos. 62386, 70880 and 74560 November 9, 1988] and San Jose City Electric Service Cooperative, Inc. v. Ministry of Labor and Employment, et al. [G.R. No. 77231, May 31, 1989] wherein the Court had stated that the right to collective bargaining is not available to an employee of a cooperative who at the same time is a member and coowner thereof. With respect, however, to employees who are neither members nor co-owners of the cooperative they are entitled to exercise the rights to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiation as mandated by the 1987 Constitution and applicable statutes.
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products to State agencies and even exemption from the minimum wage laws. An employee therefore of such a cooperative who is a member and co-owner thereof cannot invoke the right to collective bargaining for certainly an owner cannot bargain with himself or his coowners. NON-EMPLOYEES
PARTY PROTECTED MACTAN WORKERS UNION V. ABOITIZ 45 SCRA 577 HELD: It is quite understandable that labor unions in their campaign for membership, for acquiring ascendancy in any shop, plant, or industry would do what lies in their power to put down competing groups. The struggle is likely to be marked with bitterness, no quarter being given or expected on the part of either side. Nevertheless, it is not to be forgotten that what is entitled to constitutional protection is labor, or more specifically the working men and women, not labor organizations. The latter are merely the instrumentalities through which their welfare may be promoted and fostered. That is the raison d'etre of labor unions. The utmost care should be taken then, lest in displaying an unyielding, intransigent attitude on behalf of their members, injustice be committed against opposing labor organizations. In the final analysis, they alone are not the sole victims, but the labor movement itself, which may well be the recipient of a crippling blow. Moreover, while it is equally understandable that their counsel would take advantage of every legal doctrine deemed applicable or conjure up any defense that could serve their cause, still, as officers of the court, there should be an awareness that resort to such a technique does result in clogged dockets, without the least justification especially so if there be insistence on flimsy and insubstantial contentions just to give some semblance of plausibility to their pleadings. Certainly, technical virtuosity, or what passes for it, is no substitute for an earnest and sincere desire to assure that there be justice according to law. That is a creed to which all members of the legal profession, labor lawyers not excluded, should do their best to live by. NON-ABRIDGMENT OF RIGHT ART. 246. Non-abridgment of right to self-organization. - It shall be unlawful for any person to restrain, coerce, discriminate against or unduly interfere with employees and workers in their exercise of the right to selforganization. Such right shall include the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations for the purpose of collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in lawful concerted
ART. 243. Coverage and employees right to self-organization. - All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable, medical, or educational institutions, whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, selfemployed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980). REPUBLIC PLANTERS BANK V. LAGUESMA 264 SCRA 637 HELD: The more applicable case is Singer Sewing Machine Company vs. Drilon, et al., where we ruled that if the union members are not employees, no right to organize for purposes of bargaining, nor to be certified as bargaining agent can be recognized. Since the persons involved are not employees of the company, we held that they are not entitled to the constitutional right to join or form a labor organization for purposes of collective bargaining. The question of whether employer-employee relationship exists is a primordial consideration before extending labor benefits under the workmen's compensation, social security, medicare, termination pay and labor relations law. It is important in the determination of who shall be included in the proposed bargaining unit because, it is the sine qua non, the fundamental and essential condition that a bargaining unit be composed of employees. Failure to establish this juridical relationship between the union members and the employer affects the legality of the union itself. It means the ineligibility of the union members to present a petition for certification election as well as to vote therein.
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activities for the same purpose for their mutual aid and protection, subject to the provisions of Article 264 of this Code. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 70, May 1, 1980). ART. 248. Unfair labor practices of employers. - It shall be unlawful for an employer to commit any of the following unfair labor practice: (a) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization; (b) To require as a condition of employment that a person or an employee shall not join a labor organization or shall withdraw from one to which he belongs; (c) To contract out services or functions being performed by union members when such will interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights to self-organization; (d) To initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization, including the giving of financial or other support to it or its organizers or supporters; (e) To discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment in order to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. Nothing in this Code or in any other law shall stop the parties from requiring membership in a recognized collective bargaining agent as a condition for employment, except those employees who are already members of another union at the time of the signing of the collective bargaining agreement. Employees of an appropriate bargaining unit who are not members of the recognized collective bargaining agent may be assessed a reasonable fee equivalent to the dues and other fees paid by members of the recognized collective bargaining agent, if such non-union members accept the benefits under the collective bargaining agreement: Provided, that the individual authorization required under Article 242, paragraph (o) of this Code shall not apply to the non-members of the recognized collective bargaining agent;
(f) To dismiss, discharge or otherwise prejudice or discriminate against an employee for having given or being about to give testimony under this Code; (g) To violate the duty to bargain collectively as prescribed by this Code; (h) To pay negotiation or attorneys fees to the union or its officers or agents as part of the settlement of any issue in collective bargaining or any other dispute; or (i) To violate a collective bargaining agreement. The provisions of the preceding paragraph notwithstanding, only the officers and agents of corporations, associations or partnerships who have actually participated in, authorized or ratified unfair labor practices shall be held criminally liable. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981). ART. 249. Unfair labor practices of labor organizations. - It shall be unfair labor practice for a labor organization, its officers, agents or representatives: (a) To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to selforganization. However, a labor organization shall have the right to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of membership; (b) To cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an employee, including discrimination against an employee with respect to whom membership in such organization has been denied or to terminate an employee on any ground other than the usual terms and conditions under which membership or continuation of membership is made available to other members; (c) To violate the duty, or refuse to bargain collectively with the employer, provided it is the representative of the employees; (d) To cause or attempt to cause an employer to pay or deliver or agree to pay or deliver any money or other things of value, in the nature of an
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exaction, for services which are not performed or not to be performed, including the demand for fee for union negotiations; (e) To ask for or accept negotiation or attorneys fees from employers as part of the settlement of any issue in collective bargaining or any other dispute; or (f) To violate a collective bargaining agreement. The provisions of the preceding paragraph notwithstanding, only the officers, members of governing boards, representatives or agents or members of labor associations or organizations who have actually participated in, authorized or ratified unfair labor practices shall be held criminally liable. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981). LABOR ORGANIZATIONS POLICY ART. 211. (b) To promote free trade unionism as an instrument for the enhancement of democracy and the promotion of social justice and development; (c) To foster the free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement; (d) To promote the enlightenment of workers concerning their rights and obligations as union members and as employees; LABOR ORGANIZATIONS: UNIONS ART. 212. (g) "Labor organization" means any union or association of employees which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment.
(h) "Legitimate labor organization" means any labor organization duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or local thereof. AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION V. CIR 76 SCRA 274 The case involves the dispute between two groups within the associationon whether it is the Gaston group or Gomez group which is the rightful group of officers of the association.
HELD: One cannot likewise subcribe to the restrictive interpretation made by the court below of the term "labor organization," which Section 2(e) of R.A. 875 defines as any union or association of employees which exist, in whole or in part, for the purpose of the collective bargaining or dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment." The absence of the condition which the court below would attach to the statutory concept of a labor organization, as being limited to the employees of particular employer, is quite evident from the law. The emphasis of Industrial Peace Act is clearly on the pourposes for which a union or association of employees established rather than that membership therein should be limited only to the employees of a particular employer. Trite to say, under Section 2(h) of R.A 875 "representative" is define as including "a legitimate labor organization or any officer or agent of such organization, whether or not employed by the employer or employeewhom he represents." It cannot be overemphasized likewise that labor dispute can exist "regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. There is, furthermore, nothing in the constitution and by-laws of ALPAP which indubitably restricts membership therein to PAL pilots alone. 1 Although according to ALPAP (Gomez there has never been an instance when a non-PAL pilot became a member of ALPAP, the complete lack of any such precondition for ALPAP membership cannot but be interpreted as an unmistakable authority for the association to accept pilots into its fold though they may not be under PAL's employ. SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION V. SAN MIGUEL
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533 SCRA 125 Petitioner is the incumbent bargaining agent of rank-and-file employees of SMCs three divisions. The respondent has been issued a charter as a labor union. Respondent sought to be certified as the bargaining agent of the same type of employees like those of petitioner. Petitioner filed for the cancellation of registration and listing as labor organization of respondent. Among other allegations, petitioner alleged that respondent is a trade union and not a legitimate labor organization.
Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) as Seamen's Association of the Philippines (SAPI). It is the registration of the organization with the BLR and not with the SEC which made it a legitimate labor organization with rights and privileges granted under the Labor Code. UNION FUNCTION AND RATIONALE UNITED SEAMANS UNION V. DAVAO SHIPOWNERS ASSN. 20 SCRA 1226 HELD: A labor organization is wholesome if it serves its legitimate purpose of promoting the interests of labor without unnecessary labor disputes. That is why it is given personality and recognition in concluding collective bargaining agreements. But if it is made use of as a subterfuge, or as a means to subvert valid commitments, it defeats its own purpose, for it tends to undermine the harmonious relations between management and labor. The situation does not deserve any approving sanction from the Court. GUIJARNO V. CIR 52 SCRA 307 HELD: The obligation was categorically imposed on the State, under the 1935 Constitution, to "afford protection to labor, especially to working women and minors..." That is to carry out the purpose implicit in one of the five declared principles, namely, the promotion of social justice "to insure the well-being and economic security of all the people" It is then the individual employee, as a separate, finite human being, with his problems and his needs, who must be attended to. He is the beneficiary of the concern thus made manifest by the fundamental law. The present Constitution is even more explicit on the matter. The principle that the State shall promote social justice is categorically based on the concept of insuring "the dignity, welfare, and security of all the people." Insofar as the provision on the State affording protection to labor is concerned, it is further required to "promote full employment and equality in employment, ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race, or creed, and regulate the relations between workers and employers. The State shall assure the rights of workers to self-organization, collective bargaining,
HELD: A legitimate labor organization is defined as "any labor organization duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or local thereof." The mandate of the Labor Code is to ensure strict compliance with the requirements on registration because a legitimate labor organization is entitled to specific rights under the Labor Code, and are involved in activities directly affecting matters of public interest. Registration requirements are intended to afford a measure of protection to unsuspecting employees who may be lured into joining unscrupulous or fly-by-night unions whose sole purpose is to control union funds or use the labor organization for illegitimate ends. Legitimate labor organizations have exclusive rights under the law which cannot be exercised by non-legitimate unions, one of which is the right to be certified as the exclusive representative of all the employees in an appropriate collective bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining. The acquisition of rights by any union or labor organization, particularly the right to file a petition for certification election, first and foremost, depends on whether or not the labor organization has attained the status of a legitimate labor organization. CEBU SEAMANS ASSOCIATION V. FERRER-CALLEJA 212 SCRA 50 HELD: As stated in the findings of fact in the questioned resolution of Director Pura Ferrer-Calleja, on October 23, 1950, a group of deck officers organized the Cebu Seamen's Association, Inc., (CSAI), a non-stock corporation and registered it with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The same group registered the organization with the
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security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of work." Where does that leave a labor union, it may be asked. Correctly understood, it is nothing but the means of assuring that such fundamental objectives would be achieved. It is the instrumentality through which an individual laborer who is helpless as against a powerful employer may, through concerted effort and activity, achieve the goal of economic well-being. That is the philosophy underlying the Industrial Peace Act. For, rightly has it been said that workers unorganized are weak; workers organized are strong. Necessarily then, they join labor unions. To further increase the effectiveness of such organizations, a closed-shop has been allowed. It could happen, though, that such a stipulation which assures further weight to a labor union at the bargaining table could be utilized against minority groups or individual members thereof. There are indications that such a deplorable situation did so manifest itself here. Respondent Court, it would appear, was not sufficiently alert to such a danger. What is worse, it paid no heed to the controlling doctrine which is merely a recognition of a basic fact in life, namely, that power in a collectivity could be the means of crushing opposition and stifling the voices of those who are in dissent. The right to join others of like persuasion is indeed valuable. An individual by himself may feel inadequate to meet the exigencies of life or even to express his personality without the right to association being vitalized. It could happen though that whatever group may be in control of the organization may simply ignore his most-cherished desires and treat him as if he counts for naught. The antagonism between him and the group becomes marked. Dissatisfaction if given expression may be labeled disloyalty. In the labor field, the union under such circumstances may no longer be a haven of refuge, but indeed as much of a potential foe as management itself. Precisely with the Anakan doctrine, such an undesirable eventuality has been sought to be minimized, if not entirely avoided. There is no justification then, both as a matter of precedent and as a matter of principle, for the decision reached by respondent Court. LABOR UNION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION UNION REGISTRATION AND PROCEDURE REQUIREMENTS ART. 234. Requirements of registration. - A federation, national union or industry or trade union center or an independent union shall acquire
legal personality and shall be entitled to the rights and privileges granted by law to legitimate labor organizations upon issuance of the certificate of registration based on the following requirements: (a) Fifty pesos (P50.00) registration fee; (b) The names of its officers, their addresses, the principal address of the labor organization, the minutes of the organizational meetings and the list of the workers who participated in such meetings; (c) In case the applicant is an independent union, the names of all its members comprising at least twenty percent (20%) of all the employees in the bargaining unit where it seeks to operate; (d) If the applicant union has been in existence for one or more years, copies of its annual financial reports; and (e) Four copies of the constitution and by-laws of the applicant union, minutes of its adoption or ratification, and the list of the members who participated in it. ART. 234-A. Chartering and Creation of a Local Chapter. - A duly registered federation or national union may directly create a local chapter by issuing a charter certificate indicating the establishment of the local chapter. The chapter shall acquire legal personality only for purposes of filing a petition for certification election from the date it was issued a charter certificate. The chapter shall be entitled to all other rights and privileges of a legitimate labor organization only upon the submission of the following documents in addition to its charter certificate: (a) The names of the chapter's officers, their addresses, and the principal office of the chapter; and (b) The chapter's constitution and by-laws: Provided, That where the chapter's constitution and by-laws are the same as that of the federation or the national union, this fact shall be indicated accordingly.
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The additional supporting requirements shall be certified under oath by the secretary or treasurer of the chapter and attested by its president. ART. 235. Action on application. - The Bureau shall act on all applications for registration within thirty (30) days from filing. All requisite documents and papers shall be certified under oath by the secretary or the treasurer of the organization, as the case may be, and attested to by its president. SAN MIGUEL CORP., ETC. V. SAN MIGUEL Supra Petitioner posits that respondent is required to submit a list of members comprising at least 20% of the employees in the bargaining unit before it may acquire legitimacy, citing Article 234(c) of the Labor Code which stipulates that any applicant labor organization, association or group of unions or workers shall acquire legal personality and shall be entitled to the rights and privileges granted by law to legitimate labor organizations upon issuance of the certificate of registration based on the following requirements: a. Fifty pesos (P50.00) registration fee; b. The names of its officers, their addresses, the principal address of the labor organization, the minutes of the organizational meetings and the list of the workers who participated in such meetings; c. The names of all its members comprising at least twenty percent (20%) of all the employees in the bargaining unit where it seeks to operate; d. If the applicant union has been in existence for one or more years, copies of its annual financial reports; and e. Four (4) copies of the constitution and by-laws of the applicant union, minutes of its adoption or ratification and the list of the members who participated in it. Petitioner also insists that the 20% requirement for registration of respondent must be based not on the number of employees of a single division, but in all three divisions of the company in all the offices and plants of SMC since they are all part of one bargaining unit.
HELD: This Court deems it proper to apply the Latin maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius. Under this maxim of statutory interpretation, the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another. When certain persons or things are specified in a law, contract, or will, an intention to exclude all others from its operation may be inferred. If a statute specifies one exception to a general rule or assumes to specify the effects of a certain provision, other exceptions or effects are excluded. Where the terms are expressly limited to certain matters, it may not, by interpretation or construction, be extended to other matters. Such is the case here. If its intent were otherwise, the law could have so easily and conveniently included "trade union centers" in identifying the labor organizations allowed to charter a chapter or local. Anything that is not included in the enumeration is excluded therefrom, and a meaning that does not appear nor is intended or reflected in the very language of the statute cannot be placed therein. The rule is restrictive in the sense that it proceeds from the premise that the legislating body would not have made specific enumerations in a statute if it had the intention not to restrict its meaning and confine its terms to those expressly mentioned. Expressium facit cessare tacitum. What is expressed puts an end to what is implied. Casus omissus pro omisso habendus est. A person, object or thing omitted must have been omitted intentionally. Therefore, since under the pertinent status and applicable implementing rules, the power granted to labor organizations to directly create a chapter or local through chartering is given to a federation or national union, then a trade union center is without authority to charter directly. COASTAL SUBIC BAY TERMINAL V. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT SECRETARY 507 SCRA 300 HELD: Under the rules implementing the Labor Code, a chartered local union acquires legal personality through the charter certificate issued by a duly registered federation or national union, and reported to the Regional Office in accordance with the rules implementing the Labor Code. A local union does not owe its existence to the federation with which it is affiliated. It is a separate and distinct voluntary association owing its creation to the will of
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its members. Mere affiliation does not divest the local union of its own personality, neither does it give the mother federation the license to act independently of the local union. It only gives rise to a contract of agency, where the former acts in representation of the latter. Hence, local unions are considered principals while the federation is deemed to be merely their agent. As such principals, the unions are entitled to exercise the rights and privileges of a legitimate labor organization, including the right to seek certification as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent in the appropriate
Implementing Rules, which we again quote as follows: "(c) The local or chapter of a labor federation or national union shall have and maintain a constitution and by-laws, set of officers and books of accounts. For reporting purposes, the procedure governing the reporting of independently registered unions, federations or national unions shall be observed" (emphasis supplied). Since the "procedure governing the reporting of independently registered unions" refers to the certification and attestation requirements contained in Article 235, paragraph 2, it follows that the constitution and by-laws, set of officers and books of accounts submitted by the local and chapter must likewise comply with these requirements. The same rationale for requiring the submission of duly subscribed documents upon union registration exists in the case of union affiliation. Moreover, there is greater reason to exact compliance with the certification and attestation requirements because, as previously mentioned, several requirements applicable to independent union registration are no longer required in the case of the formation of a local or chapter. The policy of the law in conferring greater bargaining power upon labor unions must be balanced with the policy of providing preventive measures against the commission of fraud. CONSTITUTION; BY-LAWS UST FACULTY UNION V. BITONIO Supra HELD: The point to be stressed is that the union's CBL is the fundamental law that governs the relationship between and among the members of the union. It is where the rights, duties and obligations, powers, functions and authority of the officers as well as the members are defined. It is the organic law that determines the validity of acts done by any officer or member of the union. Without respect for the CBL, a union as a democratic institution degenerates into nothing more than a group of individuals governed by mob rule. SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION V. MANDAUE 467 SCRA 107 HELD:
employer unit.
RATIONALE PHOENIX IRON AND STEEL CORP. V. SEC. OF LABOR 244 SCRA 173 HELD: In the case of union registration, the rationale for requiring that the submitted documents and papers be certified under oath by the secretary or treasurer, as the case may be, and attested to by the president is apparent. The submission of the required documents (and payment of P50.00 registration fee) becomes the Bureau's basis for approval of the application for registration. Upon approval, the labor union acquires legal personality and is entitled to all the rights and privileges granted by the law to a legitimate labor organization. The employer naturally needs assurance that the union it is dealing with is a bona-fide organization, one which has not submitted false statements or misrepresentations to the Bureau. The inclusion of the certification and attestation requirements will in a marked degree allay these apprehensions of management. Not only is the issuance of any false statement and misrepresentation a ground for cancellation of registration (see Article 239 (a), (c) and (d)); it is also a ground for a criminal charge of perjury. The certification and attestation requirements are preventive measures against the commission of fraud. They likewise afford a measure of protection to unsuspecting employees who may be lured into joining unscrupulous or fly-by-night unions whose sole purpose is to control union funds or to use the union for dubious ends. In the case of union affiliation with a federation, the documentary requirements are found in Rule II, Section 3 (e), Book V of the
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By-laws has traditionally been defined as regulations, ordinances, rules or laws adopted by an association or corporation or the like for its internal governance, including rules for routine matters such as calling meetings and the like. The importance of by-laws to a labor organization cannot be gainsaid. Without such provisions governing the internal governance of the organization, such as rules on meetings and quorum requirements, there would be no apparent basis on how the union could operate. Without a set of by-laws which provides how the local/chapter arrives at its decisions or otherwise wields its attributes of legal personality, then every action of the local/chapter may be put into legal controversy. However, if those key by-law provisions on matters such as quorum requirements, meetings, or on the internal governance of the local/chapter are themselves already provided for in the constitution, then it would be feasible to overlook the requirement for by-laws. Indeed in such an event, to insist on the submission of a separate document denominated as ByLaws would be an undue technicality, as well as a redundancy. An examination of respondents constitution reveals it sufficiently comprehensive in establishing the necessary rules for its operation. Article IV establishes the requisites for membership in the local/chapter. Articles V and VI name the various officers and what their respective functions are. The procedure for election of these officers, including the necessary vote requirements, is provided for in Article IX, while Article XV delineates the procedure for the impeachment of these officers. Article VII establishes the standing committees of the local/chapter and how their members are appointed. Article VIII lays down the rules for meetings of the union, including the notice and quorum requirements thereof. Article X enumerates with particularity the rules for union dues, special assessments, fines, and other payments. Article XII provides the general rule for quorum in meetings of the Board of Directors and of the members of the local/chapter, and cites the applicability of the Roberts Rules of Order[43] in its meetings. And finally, Article XVI governs and institutes the requisites for the amendment of the constitution. Indeed, it is difficult to see in this case what a set of by-laws separate from the constitution for respondent could provide that is not already provided for by the Constitution. These premises considered, there is clearly no need for a separate set of by-laws to be submitted by respondent.
EFFECT ON CONSTITUTION: STATUTORY GUARANTEE OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION PHIL. ASSOCIATION OF FREE LABOR UNIONS V. SEC. OF LABOR 27 SCRA 40 HELD: The theory to the effect that Section 23 of Republic Act No. 875 unduly curtails the freedom of assembly and association guaranteed in the Bill of Rights is devoid of factual basis. The registration prescribed in paragraph (b) of said section is not a limitation to the right of assembly or association, which may be exercised with or without said registration. The latter is merely a condition sine qua non for the acquisition of legal personality by labor organizations, associations or unions and the possession of the "rights and privileges granted by law to legitimate labor organizations". The Constitution does not guarantee these rights and privileges, much less said personality, which are mere statutory creations, for the possession and exercise of which registration is required to protect both labor and the public against abuses, fraud, or impostors who pose as organizers, although not truly accredited agents of the union they purport to represent. Such requirement is a valid exercise of the police power, because the activities in which labor organizations, associations and union of workers are engaged affect public interest, which should be protected. Furthermore, the obligation to submit financial statements, as a condition for the non-cancellation of a certificate of registration, is a reasonable regulation for the benefit of the members of the organization, considering that the same generally solicits funds or membership, as well as oftentimes collects, on behalf of its members, huge amounts of money due to them or to the organization. QUESTION OF LEGITIMACY SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION EMPLOYEES UNION V. SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION Supra HELD: A legitimate labor organization is defined as any labor organization duly registered with the Department of Labor and Employment and includes any branch or local thereof. The mandate of the Labor Code is to ensure
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strict compliance with the requirements of registration because a legitimate labor organization is entitled to specific rights under the Code and are involved in activities directly affecting matters of public interest. Registration requirements are intended to afford a measure of protection to unsuspecting employees who may be lured into joining unscrupulous or fly-by-night unions whose sole purpose is to control union funds or use the labor organization for illegitimate ends. Legitimate labor organizations have exclusive rights under the law which cannot be exercised by nonlegitimate unions, one of which is the right to be certified as the exclusive representative of all the employees in an appropriate collective bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining. ACTION OR DENIAL OF APPLICATION AND REMEDY ART. 235. Action on application. - The Bureau shall act on all applications for registration within thirty (30) days from filing. All requisite documents and papers shall be certified under oath by the secretary or the treasurer of the organization, as the case may be, and attested to by its president. ART. 236. Denial of registration; appeal. - The decision of the Labor Relations Division in the regional office denying registration may be appealed by the applicant union to the Bureau within ten (10) days from receipt of notice thereof. UMALI V. LOVINA 86 PHIL 313 HELD: Mandamus will lie against the Secretary of Labor when there is no lawful reason for him to refuse the registration of the application for the petitioners union and permission to operate as a legitimate labor organization, it being the duty of the respondent to register the application and issue the permit upon payment of the required fee, as provided for by law, the investigation to be conducted by him, as required by law, having been conducted and completed, as may be inferred from his official statements in connection therewith. *duty is ministerial, mandamus will lie
SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION (MANDAUE PACKAGING) V. MANDAUE PACKING PRODUCTS PLANTS 467 SCRA 107 HELD: When a local/chapter applies for registration, matters raised against the personality of the federation or national union itself should not be acted upon by the Bureau or Regional office, owing to the preclusion of collateral attack. Instead, the proper matter for evaluation by the Bureau or Regional Office should be limited to whether the local/chapter is indeed a duly created affiliate of the national union or federation. RIGHTS OF LEGITIMATE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS ACEDERA V. INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER SERVICES 395 SCRA 103 HELD: A labor union is one such party authorized to represent its members under the Labor Code which provides that a union may act as a representative of its members for the purpose of collective bargaining. CORNISTA-DOMINGO V. NLRC 504 SCRA 659 HELD: A labor unions function is to represent its members and it can, therefore, file an action or enter into compromise agreements on behalf of its members. EFFECTS OF NON-REGISTRATION PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY V. SECRETARY OF LABOR 242 SCRA 99 Whether books of account form part of the mandatory documentary requirements for registration of a newly organized union affiliated with a federation, or a local or chapter of such a federation, as a legitimate labor organization?
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HELD: Books of account are one of the mandatory requirements for registration of a newly organized union affiliated with a federation. And the nonsubmission of such is a ground to oppose a certification election. It has to be noted that the controlling intention is to minimize the fraud and diversion in the course of subsequent formation and growth of the union fund. These requirements an exercise of the overriding police power of the State, designed for the protection of workers against potential abuse by unions and federations that recruit them. CANCELLATION OF UNION CERTIFICATE REGISTRATION ART. 238. Cancellation of registration, appeal. The certificate of registration of any legitimate labor organization, whether national or local, may be cancelled by the Bureau, after due hearing, only on the grounds specified in Article 239. ART. 238-A. Effect of petition for cancellation of registration. A petition for cancellation of union registration shall not suspend the proceedings on certification election nor shall it prevent the filing of a petition for certification election. In case of cancellation, nothing herein shall restrict the right of the union to seek just and equitable remedies in the appopriate courts. ART. 239. Grounds for cancellation of union registration. - The following shall constitute grounds for cancellation of union registration: (a) Misrepresentation, false statement or fraud in connection with the adoption or ratification of the constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto, the minutes of ratification and the list of members who took part in the ratification; (b) Failure to submit the documents mentioned in the preceding paragraph within thirty (30) days from adoption or ratification of the constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto; (c) Misrepresentation, false statements or fraud in connection with the election of officers, minutes of the election of officers, the list of voters, or
failure to submit these documents together with the list of the newly elected/appointed officers and their postal addresses within thirty (30) days from election;chan robles virtual law library (d) Failure to submit the annual financial report to the Bureau within thirty (30) days after the closing of every fiscal year and misrepresentation, false entries or fraud in the preparation of the financial report itself; (e) Acting as a labor contractor or engaging in the "cabo" system, or otherwise engaging in any activity prohibited by law; (f) Entering into collective bargaining agreements which provide terms and conditions of employment below minimum standards established by law; (g) Asking for or accepting attorneys fees or negotiation fees from employers; (h) Other than for mandatory activities under this Code, checking off special assessments or any other fees without duly signed individual written authorizations of the members; (i) Failure to submit list of individual members to the Bureau once a year or whenever required by the Bureau; and (j) Failure to comply with requirements under Articles 237 and 238. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF UNION: PROHIBITION AND REGULATION ART. 269. Prohibition against aliens; exceptions. - All aliens, natural or juridical, as well as foreign organizations are strictly prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in all forms of trade union activities without prejudice to normal contacts between Philippine labor unions and recognized international labor centers: Provided, however, That aliens working in the country with valid permits issued by the Department of Labor and Employment, may exercise the right to self-organization and join or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining: Provided, further, That said aliens are nationals of a country which grants the same or similar rights to Filipino workers. (As amended by Section 29, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
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ART. 270. Regulation of foreign assistance. - (a) No foreign individual, organization or entity may give any donations, grants or other forms of assistance, in cash or in kind, directly or indirectly, to any labor organization, group of workers or any auxiliary thereof, such as cooperatives, credit unions and institutions engaged in research, education or communication, in relation to trade union activities, without prior permission by the Secretary of Labor. "Trade union activities" shall mean: (1) organization, formation and administration of labor organization; (2) negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements; (3) all forms of concerted union action; (4) organizing, managing, or assisting union conventions, meetings, rallies, referenda, teach-ins, seminars, conferences and institutes; (5) any form of participation or involvement in representation proceedings, representation elections, consent elections, union elections; and (6) other activities or actions analogous to the foregoing. (b) This prohibition shall equally apply to foreign donations, grants or other forms of assistance, in cash or in kind, given directly or indirectly to any employer or employers organization to support any activity or activities affecting trade unions. (c) The Secretary of Labor shall promulgate rules and regulations to regulate and control the giving and receiving of such donations, grants, or other forms of assistance, including the mandatory reporting of the amounts of the donations or grants, the specific recipients thereof, the projects or activities proposed to be supported, and their duration. ART. 271. Applicability to farm tenants and rural workers. - The provisions of this Title pertaining to foreign organizations and activities shall be deemed applicable likewise to all organizations of farm tenants, rural workers, and the like: Provided, That in appropriate cases, the Secretary of Agrarian
Reform shall exercise the powers and responsibilities vested by this Title in the Secretary of Labor. UNION-MEMBER RELATIONS ART. 241. Rights and conditions of membership in a labor organization. - The following are the rights and conditions of membership in a labor organization: (a) No arbitrary or excessive initiation fees shall be required of the members of a legitimate labor organization nor shall arbitrary, excessive or oppressive fine and forfeiture be imposed; (b) The members shall be entitled to full and detailed reports from their officers and representatives of all financial transactions as provided for in the constitution and by-laws of the organization; (c) The members shall directly elect their officers, including those of the national union or federation, to which they or their union is affiliated, by secret ballot at intervals of five (5) years. No qualification requirements for candidacy to any position shall be imposed other than membership in good standing in subject labor organization. The secretary or any other responsible union officer shall furnish the Secretary of Labor and Employment with a list of the newly-elected officers, together with the appointive officers or agents who are entrusted with the handling of funds, within thirty (30) calendar days after the election of officers or from the occurrence of any change in the list of officers of the labor organization; (As amended by Section 16, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989). (d) The members shall determine by secret ballot, after due deliberation, any question of major policy affecting the entire membership of the organization, unless the nature of the organization or force majeure renders such secret ballot impractical, in which case, the board of directors of the organization may make the decision in behalf of the general membership; (e) No labor organization shall knowingly admit as members or continue in membership any individual who belongs to a subversive organization or who is engaged directly or indirectly in any subversive activity;
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(f) No person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude shall be eligible for election as a union officer or for appointment to any position in the union; (g) No officer, agent or member of a labor organization shall collect any fees, dues, or other contributions in its behalf or make any disbursement of its money or funds unless he is duly authorized pursuant to its constitution and by-laws; (h) Every payment of fees, dues or other contributions by a member shall be evidenced by a receipt signed by the officer or agent making the collection and entered into the record of the organization to be kept and maintained for the purpose; (i) The funds of the organization shall not be applied for any purpose or object other than those expressly provided by its constitution and by-laws or those expressly authorized by written resolution adopted by the majority of the members at a general meeting duly called for the purpose; (j) Every income or revenue of the organization shall be evidenced by a record showing its source, and every expenditure of its funds shall be evidenced by a receipt from the person to whom the payment is made, which shall state the date, place and purpose of such payment. Such record or receipt shall form part of the financial records of the organization. Any action involving the funds of the organization shall prescribe after three (3) years from the date of submission of the annual financial report to the Department of Labor and Employment or from the date the same should have been submitted as required by law, whichever comes earlier: Provided, That this provision shall apply only to a legitimate labor organization which has submitted the financial report requirements under this Code: Provided, further, that failure of any labor organization to comply with the periodic financial reports required by law and such rules and regulations promulgated thereunder six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act shall automatically result in the cancellation of union registration of such labor organization; (As amended by Section 16, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989).
(k) The officers of any labor organization shall not be paid any compensation other than the salaries and expenses due to their positions as specifically provided for in its constitution and by-laws, or in a written resolution duly authorized by a majority of all the members at a general membership meeting duly called for the purpose. The minutes of the meeting and the list of participants and ballots cast shall be subject to inspection by the Secretary of Labor or his duly authorized representatives. Any irregularities in the approval of the resolutions shall be a ground for impeachment or expulsion from the organization; (l) The treasurer of any labor organization and every officer thereof who is responsible for the account of such organization or for the collection, management, disbursement, custody or control of the funds, moneys and other properties of the organization, shall render to the organization and to its members a true and correct account of all moneys received and paid by him since he assumed office or since the last day on which he rendered such account, and of all bonds, securities and other properties of the organization entrusted to his custody or under his control. The rendering of such account shall be made: (1) At least once a year within thirty (30) days after the close of its fiscal year; (2) At such other times as may be required by a resolution of the majority of the members of the organization; and (3) Upon vacating his office. The account shall be duly audited and verified by affidavit and a copy thereof shall be furnished the Secretary of Labor. (m) The books of accounts and other records of the financial activities of any labor organization shall be open to inspection by any officer or member thereof during office hours; (n) No special assessment or other extraordinary fees may be levied upon the members of a labor organization unless authorized by a written resolution of a majority of all the members in a general membership meeting duly called for the purpose. The secretary of the organization shall record the minutes of the meeting including the list of all members present, the votes cast, the purpose of the special assessment or fees and
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the recipient of such assessment or fees. The record shall be attested to by the president. (o) Other than for mandatory activities under the Code, no special assessments, attorneys fees, negotiation fees or any other extraordinary fees may be checked off from any amount due to an employee without an individual written authorization duly signed by the employee. The authorization should specifically state the amount, purpose and beneficiary of the deduction; and (p) It shall be the duty of any labor organization and its officers to inform its members on the provisions of its constitution and by-laws, collective bargaining agreement, the prevailing labor relations system and all their rights and obligations under existing labor laws. For this purpose, registered labor organizations may assess reasonable dues to finance labor relations seminars and other labor education activities. Any violation of the above rights and conditions of membership shall be a ground for cancellation of union registration or expulsion of officers from office, whichever is appropriate. At least thirty percent (30%) of the members of a union or any member or members specially concerned may report such violation to the Bureau. The Bureau shall have the power to hear and decide any reported violation to mete the appropriate penalty. Criminal and civil liabilities arising from violations of above rights and conditions of membership shall continue to be under the jurisdiction of ordinary courts. CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS SAN MIGUEL CORP. EMPLOYEES UNION V. SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION Supra NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP HEIRS OF CRUZ V. CIR 30 SCRA 917
HELD: The union has been evolved as an organization of collective strength for the protection of labor against the unjust executions of capital, but equally important s the requirement of fair dealing between the union and its members, which is fiduciary in nature, and arises out of two factors 1. Degree of dependence of the individual employee on the union organization 2. Corollary to the first, is the comprehensive power vested in the union with respect to the individual. The union may be considered but the agent of its members for the purpose of securing for them fair and just wages and good working conditions, and is subject to the obligation of giving the members as its principals all information relevant to union and labor matters entrusted to it. ISSUES ADMISSION AND DISCIPLINE OF MEMBERS ART. 249. Unfair labor practices of labor organizations. - It shall be unfair labor practice for a labor organization, its officers, agents or representatives: (a) To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to selforganization. However, a labor organization shall have the right to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of membership; xxx ART. 277. Miscellaneous provisions. (c) Any employee, whether employed for a definite period or not, shall, beginning on his first day of service, be considered as an employee for purposes of membership in any labor union. (As amended by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715). UST FACULTY UNION V. BITONIO Supra HELD: To become a union member, an employee must as a rule, not only signify the intent to become one, but also take some positive steps to realize the
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intent. The procedure for union membership is usually embodied in the unions constitution and by-laws. An employee who becomes a union member acquires the rights and concomitant obligations that go with the new status and becomes bound by the unions rules and obligations. SALUNGA V. CIR 21 SCRA 216 Salunga was compelled by his fellow union members to resign. He tendered his resignation but changed his mind. The company was likewise reluctant to accept his resignation. But the union was persistent. In the end, he was retained and he wanted to join the union again, but was denied membership.
discharge, or a union to insist in discharging of an employee without any reasonable ground therefore. Needless to say, if said unions may be compelled to admit new members who have the requisite qualifications, with more reason why the law and the courts exercise coercive power when the employee involved is a long standing union member who owing to the provocations of his fellow union members, was impelled to resign but later on revoked the same. Surely, he may at least invoke the right of those who seek admission for the first time, and cannot arbitrarily be denied readmission. RETENTION OF MEMBERSHIP DISCIPLINE
HELD: Although the State may generally not compel a union to admit any given individual because membership therein may be afforded or deprived as a matter of privilege, the rule is qualified in respect of labor unions holding a monopoly in the supply of labor, either in a given locality or as regards a particular employer with which it has a closed-shop agreement.
VILLAR V. INCIONG 121 SCRA 444 HELD: Under the IRR of the Labor Code, in the case of intra-union disputes, redress must first be sought within the organization itself in accordance with its constitution and by laws. However, this admits of exceptions under varying circumstances. In this case, the local unions constitution and by-laws shouldnt apply in the investigation of charges against the members if the officers who filed the charges are the same individuals, under the by-laws, who will sit as judges. In such a case, it is the mother unions by-laws that shall be applicable. In the same vein, it should be noted that it is lawful for a mother union to investigate members of an affiliated local union under its by-laws and constitution, and if found guilty, may lawfully expel such members.
May not compel a union to admit given individuals (matter of privilege)
Monopoly in the supply of labor
DUE PROCESS RULES ART. 277. Miscellaneous provisions.
Labor unions arent entitled to arbitrarily exclude qualified applicants for membership, and a closed-shop provision is no excuse for the employer to
(b) Subject to the constitutional right of workers to security of tenure and their right to be protected against dismissal except for a just and
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authorized cause and without prejudice to the requirement of notice under Article 283 of this Code, the employer shall furnish the worker whose employment is sought to be terminated a written notice containing a statement of the causes for termination and shall afford the latter ample opportunity to be heard and to defend himself with the assistance of his representative if he so desires in accordance with company rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to guidelines set by the Department of Labor and Employment. Any decision taken by the employer shall be without prejudice to the right of the worker to contest the validity or legality of his dismissal by filing a complaint with the regional branch of the National Labor Relations Commission. The burden of proving that the termination was for a valid or authorized cause shall rest on the employer. The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment may suspend the effects of the termination pending resolution of the dispute in the event of a prima facie finding by the appropriate official of the Department of Labor and Employment before whom such dispute is pending that the termination may cause a serious labor dispute or is in implementation of a mass lay-off. (As amended by Section 33, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989). Art. 279. Security of tenure. In cases of regular employment, the employer shall not terminate the services of an employee except for a just cause or when authorized by this Title. An employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges and to his full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to his other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement. BUGAY V. KAPISANAN NG MGA MANGGAGAWA SA MRR 4 SCRA 487 HELD:
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LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS LAW)

LABOR RELATIONS LAW

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO

ATENEO LAW 2010

LABOR 2 DISINI NOTES (PART 2: LABOR RELATIONS)

MA. ANGELA AGUINALDO