Labor Relations

Procedure in collective bargaining:

1. Notice with a statement of proposal
2. Reply not later that 10 calendar days
3. Conference (if differences should arise)
   
4. Conciliation meeting at the NCMB, if dispute is not settled. (During the conciliation proceedings, the parties are prohibited from doin any act which may disrupt or impede the early settlement of the disputes)
5. Voluntary arbitration

Collective bargaining - negotiations looking forward to a collective agreement. It includes four processes:

1. negotiation between representative of the management and the union regarding terms of employment
2. the execution f a written contract (CBA)
3. negotiation of any question arising as to the interpretation or application of the contract
4. negotiation over the terms of the new contract

Collective bargaining agreement (CBA) - a contract executed upon the request of either the employer or the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees incorporating the agreement reached after negotiations with respect to the terms of employment, including proposals for agjusting any grievances or questions under such agreement

A CBA is more than a contract; it is a generalized code to govern a myriad of cases; it covers the whole employment relationship and prescribes the rights and duties of the parties. It is a system of industrial self-governemnt with the grievance machinery at the very heart of the system.

Jurisdictional preconditions of collective bargaining:

1. possession of the status of majority representation of the employees' representation; through voluntary rcognition, certification election, or consent election
2. proof of majority representation
3. demand to bargain

Bargainig unit - a group of employees sharing mutual interests within a given employer unit, comprised of all, or less than all of the entire body of employees in the employer unit or any specific occupational or geographical grouping within such employer unit

In determining the appropriate bargaining unit, the test of grouping is mutuality or commonality of interest. The basic test of a bargaining unit's acceptability (or appropriateness) is whether it will best assure to all employees the exercise of their collective bargaining rights.

Distinctions between CBU and Union:

1. In a certification election, the voters are the CBU, whether union or non-union members
2. In CBA ratification, the voters are the members of the CBU, not just the union members
3. In strike voting, the voters are the member of the union, not all of the unit.

Voluntary Recognition; requisites:

1. The establishment is unorganized. An unorganized establishment refers to one where no union has yuet been duly recognized or certified as the bargaining representative.
2. Only one union is asking for recognition.
3. The union voluntarily recognized should be the majority union as indicated by the fact that members of the bargaining unit did not object to the projected recognition

Voluntary Recognition; procedure:

1. Within 30 days from recognition, employer and union shall submit a Notice of Voluntary Recognition to the Regional Office which issued the recognized labor union's Certificate of Registration of Certificate of a Chartered Local
2. Submission of requirements which must all be certified under oath both by the representative of the employer and president of the recognized labor union
3. Within 10 days from receipt of the notice, if such is sufficient in form, number and substance, the Labor Relations Division of the Regional Office shall record the fact of voluntary recognition in its roster of legitimate labor unions and notify thelabor union concerned.
4. From the time of recording of voluntary recognition, the recognized labor union shall enjoy the rights, privileges, and obligation sof an existing bargaining agent of all the employees in a bargaining unit.

***12-month bar: The employer and the union should conclude a CBA within one (1) year from the voluntary recognition, otherwise, the recognition will lapse and a rival union may petition for a certification election.

Certification Election - the process of determining through secret ballot the sole and exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit, for purposes of collective bargaining or negotiation; it is properly called certification election because it serves as the officieal, reliable and democratice basis for the Bureau to determine and certify the union that shall be the exclusive representative of the employees (in the bargaining unit) for the purpose of bargaining with the employer. A certification election is a process ordered and supervised by DOLE, of determining, through secret ballot, whether or not an majority of employees with to be represented by a labor organization and, in the affirmative case, by which particular labor organization.

Certification Election; Procedure:

1. Filing of Petition for Certification Election at the Regional Office which issued the pertitioning union's Certificate of Registration or Certificate of Creation of a Chartered Local. The proper time to file a PCE depends on whether the CBU has a CBA or not. If it has no CBA, the Petition may be filed anytime outside the 12-month bar. If it has a CBA, it can be filed only within the last 60 days of the 5th year of the CBA (or within the freedom period)
2. Preliminary Conference
3. Hearings and submission of pleadings
4. Order denying or granting the Petition
5. Appeal to the Secretary of Labor and Employment (SOLE). If Petition is granted in an UNORGANIZED establishment, NO APPEAL is allowed. In all other cases, appeal may be had, within 10 days from notice of the Order.
6. Reply to the Appeal within 10 days from the receipt of the Memorandum on Appeal
7. Decision of the SOLE which shall become final and executory after 10 days from receipt of the parties.

Conducting the Certification Election:

1. Raffle of the case to an Election Office who shall have control of the pre-election conference and election proceedings
2. Pre-election conference
3. Certification Election
4. Canvassing of votes
5. Proclamation and Certification

Notes:
*PCE requires that it should be supported by a written consent of at least 25% of all the employees in a bargaining unit.
*The labor union reeiving the majority of the valid votes cast shall be certified as the exclusive bargaining agent of such bargaining unit.
* To have a valid election, at least a majority of all eligible voters in the unit must have cast their votes.

Run-off Election; requisites:

1. A valid election took place
2. The election presented at least 3 choices
3. Not one of the unions obtained the majority of valid votes
4. The total number of votes for all the unions is at least 50% of the valid votes cast
5. There is no unresolved challenge of voter or election protest

Consent Election

• The purpose of consent election is the same as that of a certification election, namely: to find out which union should serve as the bargaining agent.
• The difference is that a certification election is ordered by the Department while a consent election is voluntarily agreed upon by the parties.

Bargaining in bad faith

1. Surface bargaining - going through the motions of negotiating without any legal intent to reach an agreement
2. Shifting bargaining positions - repeated shifts in position and attitude on the part of an employer whenever a tentative agreement is reached
3. Blue-Sky bargaining - making exaggerated or unreasonable proposals
4. Boulwarism - take-it or leave-it bargaining