2. Grievance
any question by either the employer or the union
regarding the
1) implementation or interpretation of the CBA or
(i.e. Salary increase per year)
2) implementation or enforcement of company
personnel policies (i.e. disciplinary actions)
or any claim by either party that the other party
is violating any provision of the CBA or company
personnel policies
3. Grievance
If the term grievance is to be applied in a
generic sense, it would mean any dispute or
controversy respecting terms and conditions of
employment which an employee or group of
employees may present to the employer, even
without a CBA.
4. Labor Disputes
any controversy or matter concerning terms or conditions of
employment or the association or representation of persons in
negotiating fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the
terms and conditions of employment, regardless or whether the
disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and
employee as stated in Art 212.
The kinds of labor disputes are
1.compensation 6.bargaining disputes
2.benefits 7.contract administration or
3.working conditions personnel policy disputes
4.organizational right dispute 8.employment tenure
5.representation disputes disputes.
5. Labor Arbitration
Is the reference of a labor dispute to a third
party for determination on the basis of
evidence and arguments presented by such
parties, who are bound to accept the decision
-voluntary arbitration
-compulsory arbitration
7. Compulsory Arbitration
Is the process of settlement of labor disputes by a
government agency which has the authority to
investigate and make an award which is binding
on all the parties.
Compulsory arbitration is done primarily by the
labor arbiters of the NLRC.
8. Grievance Procedure for Employees of
Unorganised Establishments:
Aggrieved Employee
Labor Arbiter
Regional Arbitration Hears & decides the case
Branch
National Labor Relations
Commission Appellate Jurisdiction
Court of Appeals
Supreme Court
9. Article 217:Jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters
and the Commission
a) Except as otherwise provided under this Code.
The labor Arbiters shall have original and
exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide within
thirty (30) calendar days after the submission of
the case by the parties for decision without
extension, even in the absence of stenographic
notes, the following cases involving all workers,
whether agricultural or non-agricultural:
10. GRIEVANCE ARBITRATION IN UNORGANIZED
ESTABLISHMENTS
Cases falling under the original & exclusive
jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter:
1. Unfair labor practice cases
2. Termination disputes
3. If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement,
those cases that workers may file involving
wages, rates of pay, hours of work and other
terms and conditions of employment
4. Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other
forms of damages arising from the employer-
employee relations.
5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264
of this code, including questions involving the
legality of strike and lockouts;
11. Cases falling under the original & exclusive
jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter:
6. Except for claims for Social Security,
Medicare and maternity benefits, all other
claims, arising from employer-employee
relations, including those of persons in
domestic or household service, involving
an amount exceeding five thousand pesos
(5000.00) regardless of whether
accompanied with a claim for
reinstatement.
12. Article 217:Jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters and the
Commission
b) The commission shall have exclusive appellate
jurisdiction over all cases decided by Labor
Arbiters:
c) Cases arising from the interpretation of
collective bargaining agreements and those
arising from the interpretation or enforcement of
company personnel policies shall be disposed
of by the Labor Arbiter by referring the same to
the grievance machinery and voluntary
arbitration as may be provided in said
agreements.
13. OTHER POINTS
The cases the labor arbiter can hear and decide are
employment-related. Employment is the one element
that runs through all the cases and disputes
enumerated in ART 217.
This gives the impression that none but a labor arbiter
can hear and decide the six categories of cases
listed. However, any or all of these cases can, by
agreement of the parties, be presented to and
decided with finality by a voluntary arbitrator or panel
of voluntary arbitrators.
14. Unfair Labor Practice
The essence of unfair labor practice is any act
intended or directed to weaken or defeat the
worker’s right to self-organize or to engage in
unlawful concerted activities and includes the
right to bargain collectively.
Labor Arbiter’s Jurisdiction over
Violation of CBA
Gross violations of the CBA is considered ULP.
However, there is an exception as explained in Art
261. if violation is not gross, it is not ULP.
15. Termination Disputes
The usual bone of contention is the legality of
dismissal. Its resolution depends on the validity of the
cause and the manner of the employee’s dismissal.
In termination dispute, although the labor arbiter has
jurisdiction thereover, in the case of Atlas vs. NLRC, the
supreme court said that where the dispute is just in the
interpretation, implementation or enforcement stage,
it may be referred to the grievance machinery set up
in the CBA, or brought to voluntary arbitration. But
where there was already actual termination, with
alleged violation of the employee rights, it is already
cognizable by the labor arbiter.
16. Reinstatement
Is the restoration of the employee who was unjustly
dismissed to the position from which he was removed
Money Claims
If it is arising from employer-employee relations,
excepting SSS,ECC, PH claims, it is within the
jurisdiction of the labor arbiter
18. Article 260: Grievance Arbitration in
Organized Establishments
The parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement shall
include therein provision that will ensure the mutual
observance of its terms and conditions. They shall establish a
machinery for the adjustment and resolution of grievances
arising from the interpretation or implementation of their
Collective Bargaining Agreement and those arising from the
interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies.
All grievances submitted to the grievance machinery which
are not settled within seven calendar days from the date of its
submission shall automatically be referred to voluntary
arbitration prescribed in the Collective Bargaining
Agreement.
19. Article 260
For this purpose, parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement
shall name and designate in advance a Voluntary Arbitrator or
panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, or include in the agreement a
procedure for the selection of such Voluntary Arbitrators or
panel of Voluntary Arbitrators, preferably from the listing of
qualified Voluntary Arbitrators duly accredited by the Board.
In case the parties fail to select voluntary Arbitrator or panel of
Voluntary Arbitrators, the Board shall designate the voluntary
Arbitrator or panel of voluntary Arbitrators, as may be
necessary, pursuant to the selection procedure agreed upon in
the collective Bargaining Agreement, which shall act with the
same force and effect as if the Arbitrator or panel of
Arbitrators has been selected by the parties as described above.
20. Grievance Machinery
Is part of the continuing process of collective
bargaining. It refers to the mechanism for the
adjustment and resolution of grievances arising from
the interpretation or implementation of a CBA and
those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of
company personnel policies.
Grievance Procedure
Consists of internal rules of procedures such as the
successive steps starting at the level of the
complainant and his immediate supervisors and
ending, when necessary at the level of the top union
and company officials.
21. JURISDICTION OF GRIEVANCE MACHINERY IN CBA
Cases falling under the Grievance Machinery are
all grievances arising from the
–Implementation or interpretation of the
collective bargaining agreement and/or
–Interpretation and enforcement of company
personnel policies
22. Collective Bargaining Agreement
A collective agreement that intends to stabilize
employment relations for a period of time with
results advantageous both to the employees and
the employer
Personnel Policies
Are guiding principles that are broad and long
range terms that express the philosophy or beliefs
of organization's top authority regarding personnel
matters.
Example: promotion policies, transfer policies not
expressed in the CBA, disciplinary actions
23. Purpose of the Grievance Procedure
Since it is a continuous process of collective
bargaining, it intends to promote a friendly
dialogue between employees and employers as a
means to maintaining industrial peace
Grievance machinery under the CBA, is the very
heart of industrial self government
24. Consequence to Non Adherence to The
Grievance Procedure
Refusal or failure to do so is unfair labor
practice, because the grievance
procedure is part of the continuous
process of the CBA.
25. Grievance Machinery Structure & Procedure
The grievance committee shall have representatives
from members of the bargaining unit & the employee,
unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties
In the absence of a specific provision in the CBA or
existing company practice the following shall apply
1.)Employee shall present his grievance or complaint
orally or in writing to the shop steward
2.) Upon receipt thereof, the shop steward shall verify
the facts and determine whether or not the grievance is
valid
26. Grievance Machinery Structure & Procedure
3.)If grievance is valid, the shop steward shall
immediately bring the complaint to the employee's
immediate supervisor. The shop steward, the
supervisor, and the employee shall exert efforts to
settle the grievance.
4.)If no settlement is reached, the grievance shall be
referred to the grievance committee which shall have
ten days to decide the case.
27. Grievance Machinery Structure & Procedure
Where the grievance remains unresolved, either party
may serve notice upon the other of its decision to submit
the issue to voluntary arbitration.
28. Grievance Procedure for Employees
of Organised Establishments:
Aggrieved Employee
Verify facts and determine
Shop Steward whether or not grievance
is valid
Grievance Committee
Parties have freely chosen V.A. as
mode of settlement
Voluntary Arbitration
Court of Appeals
Supreme Court
29. Voluntary Arbitration
Refers to the mode of settling labor management
disputes by which the parties select a competent,
trained and impartial third person who shall decide
on the merits of the case and whose decision is final
and executory.
referral of a dispute to voluntary arbitration is pursuant
to a voluntary arbitration clause in the collective
bargaining agreement.
30. Voluntary Arbitration: A private
judicial system
A contractual proceeding whereby the parties to
any dispute or controversy, in order to
-obtain a speedy and inexpensive final disposition of
the matter involved,
-Select a judge of their own choice who is an
impartial third person
-And by consent submit their controversy to him for a
final and binding resolution
31. Voluntary Arbitration as a Master Procedure
Any and all kinds of labor disputes may be submitted
to, settled, or resolved through voluntary arbitration,
if the parties so desire.
As a master procedure, V.A. takes precedence over
other dispute settlement devices.
Ex. When a labor arbiter is presented with a case
under his “original and exclusive”jurisdiction, the
parties may withdraw it from him, not matter what
stage it may be, if the parties mutually decide to
bring the dispute instead to voluntary arbitration.
32. The primary function of voluntary
arbitrator
1.provide a process for the orderly disposition of
disputes
2.Provide foundation for stable labor-management
relations
Is not a public tribunal imposed upon the parties by a
superior authority which the parties are obliged to
accept.He is rather part of a system of self
government created by and confined to the parties.
33. Who May Be Accredited as Voluntary Arbitrator?
List of accredited voluntary arbitrators of the National
Conciliation and Mediation Board which consists of persons
mostly engaged in full-time work as employees or officials in
the Gov’t or in education, civic and religious institutions,
trade union organizations and private enterprises. Most are
members of the Philippine Association on Voluntary
Arbitration (PAVA).
Following criteria for accreditation
1.A Filipino citizen residing in the Philippines
2.A holder of a Bachelor’s degree in any field of behavioral
or applied sciences or equivalent educational trainings
short of a Bachelor’s degree
34. Who May Be Accredited as Voluntary Arbitrator?
3.At least 5 years experience in labor-management
relations
4.Completion of a training course on voluntary
arbitration conducted by the Board; and
5.A person of good moral character, noted for
impartially, probity, and has not been civilly, criminally
and administratively adjudged guilty of any offense
involving moral turpitude as evidenced by a duly sworn
notice.
35. How Voluntary Arbitrator is Chosen
MUTUAL AGRREEMENT BY THE PARTIES. Chosen by the parties
themselves. Their choice is not limited to the arbitrators
accredited by the NCMB, although Art. 260 says they should
preferably choose the accredited ones.
Choice is usually influenced by the person’s fairness and
knowledgeability of the dynamics, including law, of labor-
management relations.
Parties may choose between the use of temporary and
permanent arbitrator.
•Temporary is selected when dispute is already at hand
•Permanent is one who is selected before dispute arisis
36. Article 261 JURISDICTION OF VOLUNTARY
ARBITRATORS OR PANEL OF VOLUNTARY
ARBITRATORS
The Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators
shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and
decide all unresolved grievances arising from the
interpretation or implementation of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement and those arising from the
interpretation or enforcement of company personnel
policies referred to in the immediately preceding article.
Accordingly, violations of a Collective Bargaining
Agreement, except those which are gross in character,
shall no longer be treated as unfair labor practice and
shall be resolved as grievances under the Collective
Bargaining Agreement. For purposes of this article, gross
violations of Collective Bargaining Agreement shall mean
flagrant and/or malicious refusal to comply with the
economic provisions of such agreement.
37. Article 262
JURISDICTION OVER OTHER LABOR DISPUTES
The Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary
Arbitrators upon agreement of the parties, shall
also hear and decide all other labor disputes
including unfair labor practice and bargaining
deadlocks.
38. Jurisdiction of Voluntary Arbitrator
The cases falling under the exclusive and original
jurisdiction of the Voluntary Arbitrator or panel of
Voluntary Arbitrators
1.)all unresolved grievances arising from the interpretation
or implementation of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement and those
2.)all unresolved grievances arising from the interpretation
or enforcement of company personnel policies
3.)all other labor disputes including unfair labor practice
and bargaining deadlocks, upon agreement of the
parties
39. Jurisdiction of Voluntary Arbitrator
- Violations of the CBA, however if the violations are not
“gross” in character, these are to be treated as ULP.,
which following Art 217 are to be heard and decided
by a labor arbiter.
- Regarding dismissal of employees, as ruled by the
Supreme court in SMC vs. NLRC (3/15/1996), an
employee dismissal dispute may be submitted by the
parties to voluntary arbitration, but in the absence of
such agreement in clear and unequivocal language,
the dispute should be lodged with a labor arbiter.
40. Limitations of Voluntary Arbitrator
- The power and authority of arbitrators in labor dispute
cases is derived from and limited by the terms of the
parties’ agreement. It is the arbitrator’s duty with
respect to the CBA, is to settle disputes arising
thereunder by applying and interpreting that
agreement.