Collective bargaining refers to the process where labor and management negotiate terms of employment, including wages, hours, and working conditions. A collective bargaining agreement is a written contract between a union and employer that sets these terms for a period of 5 years. Advantages of collective bargaining include increased bargaining power for workers, improved working conditions, and a binding agreement between the parties. The Labor Code of the Philippines outlines the duty to bargain collectively and procedures for negotiation, mediation, and ratification of agreements. Strikes and lockouts are negotiation techniques that can be used, with certain restrictions.

1. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AGREEMENTS
Marcelo Augusto A. Cosgayon
Doctorate in Public Administration

2. Refers to the process where labor and management
agree to fix and administer terms and conditions of
employment, that must not be below the minimum
standards fixed by law, and set a mechanism for
resolving their grievances.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

3. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AGREEMENT
Refers to an agreement in writing between an
employer and a union, setting forth the terms and
conditions of employment or containing provisions in
regard to rates of pay, hours of work, or other
working conditions of employees, for a term of five
(5) years, and which shall be renegotiated not later
than three (3) years after its execution

4. ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Collective bargaining has several advantages,
among which are:
1. Strength in numbers
2. Improvement of working conditions
3. Encourages cooperation
4. Enforces consistency
5. Binding result

5. ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Strength in numbers
Collective bargaining allows workers to band together into a
larger group, resulting in a louder voice that can provide every
worker with a mutually beneficial outcome.
Where the employment of a single worker may be terminated
without significant impact on the operations of a company, the
loss of several workers will hamper operations.

6. ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Improvement of working conditions
Although collective bargaining will not always result in
higher pay, it can improve working conditions in other
ways, such as improvements in the quality of worker
benefits, safety and working conditions, and other non
monetary benefits

7. ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Encourages cooperation
Collective bargaining includes not only obligations on the
part of the employer but also those on the part of labor.
Both sides are compelled to negotiate with each other for
the benefit of both

8. ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Enforces consistency
Collective bargaining sets forth mechanisms and rules for
the termination of the employment of workers, providing
them with security of tenure

9. ADVANTAGES OF COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING
Binding result
Collective bargaining agreements are binding agreements
between labor and management, a legal standard that can
be enforced by either party

10. DUTY TO BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY
Article 251 of the Labor Code obliges the employer and the
representatives of the employees to bargain collectively, in
the absence of an existing collective bargaining agreement

11. DUTY TO BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY
Article 253 of the Labor Code enjoins both the employer
and the labor union not to terminate or modify the
agreement during its lifetime.
Either party may serve a written notice to terminate or
modify the agreement at least sixty (60) days prior to its
expiration date, during which time, both parties are obliged
to keep the status quo or until a new agreement is reached

12. PROCEDURE
Article 250 of Presidential Decree no. 442, otherwise
known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, provides for
the procedure in collective bargaining. It can be broken
down into three (3) phases:
1. Notice and Reply
2. Conference and Conciliation
3. Settlement and Agreement

13. PROCEDURE
Notice and Reply
A written notice is sent by the party wishing to negotiate a
collective bargaining agreement, to which the other party
must make a reply within ten (10) days from receipt thereof

14. PROCEDURE
Conference and Conciliation
If the parties can not agree on the terms and conditions of the
agreement, either party may request for a conference, that shall
begin not later than 10 days from request.
If no settlement is reached during the conference, upon request of
either party or motu propio, the National Conciliation and Mediation
Board shall intervene and call the parties to a Conciliation Meeting

15. PROCEDURE
Settlement and Ratification
Once both parties reach a settlement, the agreement shall be
ratified by the majority of the workers in the bargaining unit.
This agreement shall be binding on both parties for a period of five
(5) years from date of execution

16. NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES AND
ISSUES
Under Title VIII of the Labor Code, both management and
labor may avail of several measures to gain the upper
hand during negotiations for a collective bargaining
agreement, such as:
1. Strikes and Picketing
2. Lockouts

17. NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES AND
ISSUES
Strikes and Lockouts can not be availed of in the
following instances:
1. Inter-union and Intra-Union Disputes
2. During the 15 day cooling off period
3. Failure to first bargain collectively or without prior notice

18. NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES AND
ISSUES
Strikes and Picketing
A Strike is a refusal to work organized by a body of employees as a
form of protest, typically in an attempt to gain a concession or
concessions from their employer.
Picketing is an act whereby a person or group of people standing
outside a place of work or other venue, protesting something or
trying to persuade others not to enter during a strike.

19. NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES AND
ISSUES
Lockout
A Lockout is the exclusion of employees by their employer from
their place of work until certain terms are agreed to.