Law Summary
Seal of the NCMB
- Symbolizes national unity and collaboration among social partners in pursuit of industrial peace, productivity, and national development.
Key Definitions
- Branch Director: Head of a regional NCMB branch.
- Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR): Handles appeals on intra/inter-union disputes, plus registration of unions.
- Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA): Negotiated contract on wages, work hours, terms and conditions including grievance and arbitration mechanisms.
- Conciliation: Non-adversarial intervention by neutral conciliator-mediators to facilitate dialogue and calm tensions in labor disputes.
- Conciliator-Mediator: NCMB official who facilitates settlement of labor disputes through conciliation and mediation.
- Deputy Executive Director: Assists Executive Director of NCMB.
- DOLE: Government agency overseeing labor and employment policy.
- Executive Director: Head of NCMB.
- Executive Labor Arbiter (ELA): Head of NLRC Regional Arbitration Branch.
- Grievance Machinery: Internal procedures in CBAs for resolving disputes via voluntary arbitration.
- Improved/Reduced Offer Balloting: Referendums on employer union offers during disputes.
- Intra/Inter-union disputes: Cover internal union affairs and representation disputes respectively.
- Joint DOLE-PNP-PEZA guidelines: Guidelines for police and security conduct during labor disputes.
- Labor Arbiter: NLRC official adjudicating labor disputes.
- Labor or Industrial Disputes: Controversies involving employment terms or representation.
- Labor Standards Laws: Minimum employment terms under Labor Code.
- Labor Union: Registered employee organization.
- Lockout: Employer's temporary work stoppage due to labor dispute.
- Lockout Vote: Restricted to employer board or partnership vote.
- Mediation: Advisory intervention by conciliator-mediator aiming for voluntary settlements.
- NCMB: Agency attached to DOLE for dispute settlement via conciliation and mediation.
- NLRC: Agency adjudicating labor disputes via compulsory arbitration.
- Notice of Lockout/Strike: Formal notifications of intended lockout or strike.
- Picketing: Workers’ right to demonstrate before establishment during disputes.
- Preventive Mediation Case: Proactive NCMB intervention to prevent labor disputes.
- Regional Director: Head of DOLE regional office.
- Regional Inter-Agency Coordinating and Monitoring Committee (RICMC): Inter-agency oversight body on labor disputes.
- Strike: Temporary work stoppage by employees through concerted action.
- Strike Vote: Union members’ secret ballot deciding declaration of strike.
- Supervision: Oversight of balloting processes by NCMB regional branch.
- Unfair Labor Practice Acts (ULP): Prohibited acts by employers or unions.
- Voluntary Arbitration: Parties select an impartial arbitrator whose decision is binding.
- Workplace: Location where employees perform duties.
Procedures on Strike, Lockout, Preventive Mediation Notices and Appearances
- Use prescribed form FM-DOLE-NCMB-01.01(A) for filing requests.
- Required content includes identities of parties, employment data, CBA effectivity, unresolved issues, and prior efforts to settle.
- Filing may be done by union representatives or employer reps in specified instances.
- Filing is with NCMB Regional Branch jurisdictionally covering the workplace.
- Notices must be served to opposing parties via personal service or registered mail.
- NCMB assesses completeness of filings and requires corrections if needed.
- Cooling-off periods: 30 days for bargaining deadlocks, 15 days for unfair labor practices, with exceptions allowing immediate strike in certain union officer dismissal cases.
- Parties must appear personally in conferences and representatives must have authority to bind principals.
Grounds and Issues for Strike/Lockout
- Legitimate grounds: bargaining deadlock, unfair labor practices, or flagrant/malicious violation of economic provisions of CBA.
- Conciliator-Mediator validates issues during initial conference; only validated issues subject to NS/L unless parties agree otherwise.
- Strikeable issues proceed through conciliation/mediation, other voluntary methods or advice to file in alternate forums.
- Non-strikeable issues include inter-union disputes, arbitration-covered cases, political provisions violations, or labor standard violations, which shall be directed to appropriate agencies.
- Notices based on grievances or arbitration subjects can be converted to preventive mediation following NCMB procedures and timelines.
Strike or Lockout Vote and Offer Balloting
- Strike declaration requires majority vote of total union membership; lockout requires majority board/partners vote.
- NCMB regional branch can supervise secret balloting including voter verification and ensuring peaceful order.
- Strike ban period is seven days post receipt of voting results; during this period, improved or reduced offer balloting may be encouraged.
- Improved offer balloting is a referendum on employer counteroffers during imminent or actual strike.
- Reduced offer balloting is similar but for union offers during imminent or actual lockout.
- Conciliator-Mediator conducts pre-balloting conferences to explain mechanics and distinguish from certification elections.
Final Agreement
- Agreements must be drafted clearly and comprehensively to avoid ambiguous interpretations.
- Conciliator-Mediator continues responsibility for monitoring implementation and compliance after agreement.
Modes of Disposition of Conciliation Cases
- Settled Case: agreement reached or case withdrawn or referred to arbitration.
- Treated as Preventive Mediation: NS/L converted to preventive mediation.
- Materialized to Notice of Strike/Lockout: withdrawal of preventive mediation and re-filing as NS/L.
- Assumption of Jurisdiction: cases taken over by DOLE Secretary.
- Certified for Compulsory Arbitration: cases referred by DOLE Secretary to NLRC.
- Actual Strike or Lockout: NS/L that develop into actual strikes or lockouts.
- Technical Assistance: cases involving companies ceased operation.
- Dropped: cases with issues pending before other competent bodies.
Reporting Requirements
- Conciliator-Mediators must regularly submit reports through Branch Directors to NCMB Executive Director.
Regional Inter-Agency Coordination and Monitoring Committee (RICMC)
- Acts as oversight on peace and order related to labor disputes.
- Can be convened at the request of the Conciliator-Mediator via Branch Director.
- Facilitates job preservation, peaceful dispute resolution, open communication, and social accords.
- Core members include DOLE Regional Office, NLRC, NCMB, PNP, AFP, RTWPB.
- Other participants may include POEA, OWWA, OSHC, ECC, PEZA, sectoral agencies, employer groups, security agencies, and LGUs.
Assumption of Jurisdiction
- DOLE Secretary may assume jurisdiction over labor disputes threatening industries vital to national interest following relevant departmental orders or applicable rules.