State Policy
ADVISORY COUNCIL (VAAC) Art. 212: Definitions
E. ADMINISTRATIVE INTERVENTION FOR DISPUTE AVOIDANCE
1. D.O.L.E. CIRCULAR No. 1 Series of 2006
ADMINISTRATIVE INTERVENTION FOR DISPUTE AVOIDANCE
1) Either or both the employer and the certified collective bargaining agent (or the representative of the employees where there is no certified bargaining agent) may voluntarily bring to the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment,
through a REQUEST FOR
INTERVENTION, any potential or ongoing dispute.
A potential or ongoing dispute refers to:
a. a live and active dispute;
b. that may lead to a strike or lockout or to massive labor unrest; and c) is not the subject of any complaint or notice of strike or lockout at the time a request for intervention is made.
2) This recourse is separate from the established dispute resolution modes of mediation, conciliation and arbitration under the Labor Code, and is an alternative to other voluntary modes of dispute resolution such as the voluntary submission of a dispute to the Regional Director for mediation, to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) for preventive mediation, or to the intervention of a regional or local tripartite peace council for the same purpose.
3) All requests shall be in writing and filed with the Office of the Secretary of Labor.
The Request shall state:
a. The name and address of the employer;
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b. The name of the certified bargaining
agent, or the employee
representative duly designated in writing by a majority of the employees where there is no collective bargaining agent;
c. The number of employees affected by the potential or ongoing dispute;
and
d. A brief description of the potential or ongoing dispute.
Upon receipt of the request, the Office of the Secretary shall notify the parties and invite them for conference.
The conference for requests coming from the NCR, Regions III, IV-A or IV-B shall be held at the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment UNLESS the Secretary otherwise directs.
The conference for requests coming from the other regions shall be conducted by the Regional Director for the Secretary.
The Office of the Secretary or the Regional director, in the proper case, shall proceed to intervene after the parties shall have manifested that:
a) They voluntarily submit their potential or ongoing dispute to intervention by the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment;
b) There is no pending notice of strike or lockout or any related complaint in relation with their potential or ongoing dispute;
c) They shall refrain from any strike or lockout or any form of work stoppage or from filing any related complaint while the Secretary's intervention is in effect; and
d) They shall abide by the agreement reached, whose terms may be enforced through the appropriate writs issued by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
5) All agreements settling the dispute shall be in writing and signed by the parties as well as the official who mediated the dispute.
6) The parties and officials or employees of the D.O.L.E. who took part in the intervention proceedings shall not testify in any court or body regarding the disclosures, submissions or positions made by the parties in these proceedings.
7) If the intervention fails, either or both parties may:
a) Avail themselves of the remedies provided under the Labor Code; or
b) Submit their dispute to the Office of the Secretary for voluntary arbitration, which shall be:
o Limited to the issues defined in the parties' submission to voluntary arbitration agreement, and
o Decided on the basis of the parties' position papers and submitted evidence.
8) The Office of the Secretary shall resolve the dispute within 60 days from the parties' submission of the dispute for resolution.
St. Martins Funeral Homes v. NLRC (1998)
Aside from the underlying power of the courts to scrutinize the acts of agencies on questions of law and jurisdiction, from the committee conferences of the legislature, it was clearly shown that there was still an intention to have issues arising from the Labor Code to still be appealable to the Supreme Court.
Thus, since appeals from the NLRC to the SC were eliminated by express provision, the legislative intendment was that the special civil action of certiorari (Rule 65) is the proper vehicle for judicial review of decisions of the NLRC rather than an original action for certiorari (Rule 45).
It must be noted that appeals by certiorari and the original action for certiorari are both modes of judicial review addressed to the appellate courts. A distinction between them, however, is that the special civil action of certiorari is within the concurrent original jurisdiction of SC and the CA, whereas direct appeals by certiorari to the SC would subvert the intention of expanding the CA jurisdiction to transfer some of the burden of review of factual issue from SC to CA.
Therefore, all such petitions should henceforth be initially filed in the Court of Appeals in strict observance of the Doctrine of Hierarchy of Courts as the appropriate forum for the relief desired.
Deltaventures v. Cabato (2000)
RTC, being a co-equal body of the NLRC, has no jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or injunction to enjoin the execution of any decision of the latter.
The broad powers granted to the LA and to the NLRC by the LC can only be interpreted as vesting in them jurisdiction over incidents arising from, in connection with or
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relating to labor disputes to the exclusion of the regular courts.
Thus, subject matter incident of a labor case is a matter beyond the jurisdiction of regional trial courts.
To hold otherwise is to sanction split jurisdiction which is obnoxious to the orderly administration of justice.
Also in this case: By filing its 3rd party claim with the deputy sheriff, petitioner submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the Commission acting through the Labor Arbiter and Jurisdiction once acquired is not lost upon the instance of the parties but continues until the case is terminated.
V. INDUSTRIAL PEACE
Art. 211 (f): Declaration of Policy To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial peace.
Art. 273: Study of Labor-Management Relations
1) The Secretary of Labor shall have the power and duty to inquire into:
a. Existing relations between employers and employees in the Philippines;
b. Growth of associations of employees and the effect of such associations upon employer-employee relations;
c. Extent and results of the methods of collective bargaining in the determination of terms and conditions of employment;
d. Methods tried by employers and associations of employees for maintaining mutually satisfactory relations;
e. Desirable industrial practices which have been developed through collective bargaining and other voluntary arrangements;
f. Possible ways of increasing the usefulness and efficiency of collective bargaining for settling differences;
g. Possibilities for the adoption of practical and effective methods of labor-management cooperation;
h. Any other aspects of employer-employee relations concerning the promotion of harmony and understanding between the parties;
and
i. Relevance of labor laws and labor relations to national development.
j. Causes of industrial unrest.
2) The Secretary of Labor shall also:
a) Take all the necessary steps within his power as may be prescribed by law to alleviate industrial unrest;
and
b) From time to time recommend the enactment of such remedial legislation as in his judgment may be desirable for the maintenance and promotion of industrial peace.
VI. WORKER PARTICIPATION IN DECISION AND POLICY MAKING
1987 Constitution, Art. XIII, sec.3, par. 2:
xxx The workers shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law. Art. 211 (g): Declaration of State Policy:
To ensure the participation of workers in decision and policy-making processes affecting their rights, duties, and welfare.
Art. 255: Exclusive Bargaining Representation and Workers’
Participation in Policy and Decision-Making
1) Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
a) Workers shall have the right, subject to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Labor and Employment may promulgate,
b) To participate in policy and decision-making processes of the establishment where they are employed
c) Insofar as said processes will directly affect their rights, benefits and welfare.
2) For this purpose, workers and employers may form labor-management councils:
PROVIDED, That the representatives of the workers in such labor-management councils shall be elected by at least the majority of all employees in said establishment.
Art. 277 (g): Miscellaneous Provisions
1) The Ministry shall help promote and gradually develop, with the agreement of labor
organizations and employers,
2) Labor-management cooperation programs at appropriate levels of the enterprise
3) Based on shared responsibility and mutual respect
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4) In order to ensure industrial peace and improvement in productivity, working conditions and the quality of working life.
PAL v. NLRC (1993)
The exercise of management prerogatives is not unlimited. It is circumscribed by limitations found in law, a CBA, or the general principles of fair play and justice.
A line must be drawn between management prerogatives regarding business operations per se and those which affect the rights of the employees.
In treating the latter, management should see to it that its employees are at least properly informed of its decisions or modes of action.
Industrial peace cannot be achieved if the employees are denied their just participation in the discussion of matters affecting their rights.
In this case: Company Code of Discipline are not purely business-oriented nor do they concern the management aspect of the business of the company because they clearly have repercussions on the employee's right to security of tenure: the implementation may result in the deprivation of an employee's means of livelihood which is a property right.
And although during the formulation of the Code, Republic Act No. 6715 (Participation of workers in decision and policy-making processes affecting their rights, duties and welfare) had not yet been enacted, the attainment of a harmonious labor-management relationship and the then already existing state policy of enlightening workers concerning their rights as employees demand no less than the observance of transparency in managerial moves affecting employees' rights.
Manila Electric Co. v. Quisumbing (2000)
A line must be drawn between management prerogatives regarding business operations per se and those which affect the rights of the employees.
Hiring of workers is within the employer’s inherent freedom to regulate and is a valid exercise of its management prerogative subject only to special laws and agreements on the matter and the fair standards of justice.
Contracting out of services is an exercise of business judgment or management prerogative.
Management cannot be denied the faculty of promoting efficiency and attaining economy by a study of what units are essential for its operations.
Absent proof that management acted in a malicious or arbitrary manner, the Court will not interfere with the exercise of judgment by an employer.
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