Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that

regulate working conditions. Collective agreements usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs. The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (generally represented by management, in some countries by an employers' organization) in respect of the terms and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions and grievanceprocedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a collective employment agreement (CEA). Collective Bargaining Agreement - Written, legally enforceable contract for a specified period (usually one year), between the management of an organization and its employees represented by an independent trade union. It sets down and defines conditions of employment (wages, working hours and conditions, overtime payments, holidays, vacations, benefits, etc.) and procedures for dispute resolution. Also called labor agreement, union agreement, or union contract.

Birth of Collective Bargaining (1953-1971) In 1953 and in response to the labor and peasant unrest in the 1940s, the government adopted another set of socio-economic reforms. In the labor relations front, reform took the form of a shift from compulsory arbitration to collective bargaining. Congress enacted Republic Act 875, the Industrial Peace Act of 1953, more popularly known as the Magna Carta of Labor. The Magna Carta gave explicit recognition to the employees right to self-organization for the purpose of collective bargaining. With an expanding industrial sector, hundreds of new unions with their respective collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) were registered in the 1950s and 1960s. RA 875 limited the Court of Industrial Relations to labor disputes in industries considered indispensable to national interest as certified by the President of the Philippines. But despite this limitation, numerous cases were still submitted for compulsory arbitration, resulting again in the clogging of cases in the CIR dockets.

Martial Law Period Upon the declaration of martial law, the old CIR was abolished and was replaced by an adhoc National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). Later, the NLRC was formally instituted, along with the governments reiteration of collective bargaining as the primary mode of dispute settlement. Hence, the official policy statement that DOLE was promoting collective bargaining within the framework of compulsory arbitration. At the same time, the government showed interest in promoting voluntary arbitration with the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 21 (October 14, 1972). One direct offshoot of this was the formation of the Arbitration Association of the Philippines (AAP) in the same year. Later in 1974, the Philippine Academy of Voluntary Professional Arbitrators (PAPA) was organized. PAPA, AAP and the UP Law Center conducted the First Conference on Voluntary Arbitration in 1974. A historic development in 1974 was the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 442, promulgating the Labor Code of the Philippines.

Post Martial Law Era The lifting of Martial Law restored democracy in the nation and strengthened industrial democracy in the labor sector. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines declared voluntary modes of dispute settlement as the preferred mode of settling disputes. Executive order No. 126 reorganized the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and created the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) to oversee the implementation of the constitutional mandate. Executive Order No. 251 amended Executive Order No. 126 and created the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration Advisory Council (TVAAC) to advise NCMB on the promotion of the voluntary arbitration program. Republic Act No. 6715, otherwise known as the Herrera-Veloso Law, or the New Labor Relations Law, amended the Labor Code and declared the following policy thrusts in labor relations: 1. 2. To promote free collective bargaining and negotiations, including voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as modes of settling labor disputes. [Art. 211 (a)] To provide an adequate machinery for the expeditious settlement of labor or industrial peace.