Labor Management Relations

Labor Union - defined as an organization of employees that uses collective action to

advance its members’ interests in regard to wages, benefits, working condition and
other terms and condition of employment.

Philippine Trade Unionism did not begin to take healthy roots and development
until 1901.

Isabelo delos Reyes - Father of Philippine Trade Unionism

- Founder of Union de Litografos e Impressores de Filipinas

RA No. 3844, May 1, 1974 - a decree instituting a labor code and consolidating labor
and social laws to afford protection to labor, promote employment and human
resources development and in sure industrial peace based on social justice.

Three Categories of Employees: Managerial, Supervisory and Rank-and-file.

The Principal distinction between Managerial employees and Supervisory

employess is that the former have the “power to decide” and do managerial acts,
while the latter have the power only “to recommend” managerial acts such as laying
down policy, hiring or dismissal of employees and the like.

Labor organization is established principally for collective bargaining purposes,

while a workers’ association is organized for the mutual aid and protection of its
members but not collective bargaining purposes.

Labor relations - refer to that part of labor law which regulates the relations between
employers and workers.

Labor standards - refers to the part of labor law which prescribes the minimum terms
and conditions of employment which the employer is required to grant to its
employees.

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 employees
concerning terms and conditions of employment.

Legitimate labor organization - any labor organization duly registered with the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
National union or federation - an alliance of a group of unions in one industry in any
area, region, or country.

Exclusive bargaining representative - any labor organization duly recognized or

certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of all employees in the
bargaining unit.

Collective bargaining - is the decision-making process where management and the

union set the terms and conditions of employment and the rules and procedures in the
employee-employer relationship.

Collective bargaining agreement - the end result of collective bargaining.

Labor disputes - refers to questions or controversies regarding terms and conditions

of employment, including the ways by which such terms and conditions are
negotiated, fixed, arranged or modified over and above minimum standards.

Arbitration - represents the final state in the dispute resolution process.

Strike - any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a

result of an industrial or labor dispute.

Lockout - temporary refusal of any employer to furnish work as a result of an

industrial dispute.

Labor arbiter - the hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Commissions and
his decision is appealable to NLRC.

Union security agreement - a contractual agreement, usually part of a collective

bargaining agreement, in which an employer and a trade or labor union agree on the
extent to which union may compel employees to join the union, and/or whether the
employer will collect dues, fees and assessments on behalf of the union.

Types of Labor Disputes

Rights Disputes - involves alleged violation of a right recognized by the law,

CBA, contracts or company policy.
Interest Disputes - economic disputes where issues involved are not mandated
by law and could be negotiated.
 Labor Standards Disputes - include nonpayment or underpayment of wages and
wage-related benefits and violations of health and safety standards.
Labor Relations Disputes - involves employee discipline, unfair labor practice
Welfare and Social Legislation Disputes - refers to claims arising from the
failure of the employer to comply with the social and welfare obligations under the
law.

Different Modes of Settling Labor Disputes

-Negotiation
-Collective Bargaining
-Grievance Machinery
-Mediation
-Conciliation
-Arbitration
-Voluntary Arbitration
-Compulsory Arbitration

Unionism in the Philippines.

Practice of contractualization - the main culprit in the reduction of union

membership on a national scale.
During 1990s, San Miguel Corporation used contractualization to laid-off,
dismissed or put several employees to early retirement to with contractual employees
with lower wages.

Contractualization and Unionism

During the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, there was a sharp slide in

union membership from 3.85 million in 2001 to 1.47 million in 2002.
Another culprit in this decline is the issue of globalization. What came alongside
of globalization was the practice of most companies to focus more on market
efficiency, increase of return of investments, low-cost procedures.
Although there are provisions in the labor code very specific to workers’
protection still there is continues decline of union membership and million of workers
dispatched.
Contractualized labor = less benefits, fragile security and tenure, and lower
overhead and occurrences of high attrition.

Unions’ Contribution and Effects

 To the Employee
- improvement of working rules, protection and increase in job security.
-grievance procedure negotiated by the union.
-better terms and conditions of employment
To the Employer
-lost of power to set wages
-limited power to terminate and discipline employees
-union may provide useful information about the status of employee morale
-cooperation in grievance procedure prevents minor issue growing into
major issue.

Labor Organization in the Philippines

1. Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) - biggest confederation of

labor federation in the Philippines with 1.2 members. Founded on December 14, 1975
by 23 labor federations. Composed of members in all sectors and industries including
government employees.
2. Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) - was born on the very day the late labor leader
Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman was laid to rest (February 2001).
3. Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) - Nation labor center - organized on
November 1996 through National Founding Congress.
4. Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) - labor organization comprised of
militants, socialist and democratic workers and unions.

Employees Right to Self-organization

RIght of employees in the public service. Employee 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 rights to form association for purposes not contrary to law.
Exempted from this Provisions
-Security guards and other personnel employed for the protection and
security.
-Managerial employees
-Non-profit employees of religious, charitable, medical and educatinal
institutions.

Forms of Union Security

Closed shop - employer agrees to hire only union members
Union shop - employer may hire anyone regardless of union membership status.
 Agency shop - employer may hire anyone but non-union employee must pay a
fee.
Open shop - employer may hire anyone and membership is voluntary
Dues checkoff - a contract between employer and union where employer agrees
to collect fees from union members and nonmembers.

Bargaining Impasses/Deadlock

1. Strikes - occur when employees refuse to work to make greater concessions at the
bargaining table.
2. Injunction - employer obtaining a court order to prevent the workers from
engaging strikes.
3. Lockout - employer refuses to furnish work to their workers by getting non-union
members as substitutes.
4. Picketing - the act where they patrol back and forth, carry placards or banners
with statement relating to the dispute.
5. Third party intervention - both parties have to agree to use any of the third party
interventions. Mediation and conciliation, Fact-finding and Arbitration.

Grievance Machinery and Voluntary Arbitration