Art.

260 Grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration

y CBA- law between the parties y Parties shall include in the CBA- provisions ensuring mutual

observance of its terms and conditions y Parties shall establish - machinery for adjustment and resolution of grievances arising from: (a) interpretation or implementation of the CBA and (b) interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies
y Grievances submitted to the GM -> if not settled within 7 days from its

submission shall automatically be referred to voluntary arbitration prescribed in the CBA

y CBA Parties shall:

name and designate a Voluntary Arbitrator (VA) or a panel thereof (2) or include a procedure for the selection of such VA or panel, preferably from the listing of qualified Voluntary Arbitrators duly accredited by the Board
(1) y

If parties failed to select a VA or panel-> Board shall designate the VA or panel pursuant to the selection procedure agreed upon in the CBA, which shall act with the same force and effect as if the Arbitrator or panel of Arbitrators has been selected by the parties

unilaterally formulated rules and policy can neither contradict nor undermine the CBA provisions (terms and conditions)-> subordinate and merely suppletory in case of doubt, all labor legislation and contracts shall be construed in favor of the safety and decent living of laborers proposals mentioned but not in the (CB) contract is not part of the CBA

What are Grievances

y Any question by either the employer or union regarding the

interpretation or application of the CBA or company personnel policies or claim by either parties that the other is violating the same y Generally: any dispute or controversy respecting the terms and conditions of employment which an employee may present to employer even without CBA or union
y Personnel Policies- guiding principles stated in broad, long-range terms

that express the philosophy or beliefs of an organization s top authority regarding personnel matters (ex. efficiency/well-being of employeespersonnel movements, procedures in admin. of wages and benefits)

By-passing GM: ULP

y All grievances are compulsorily subj. to the GM y Art. 260- establish and utilize the mode of GM as an extension of the

parties duty to bargain and violation would amount to ULP

y Grievance Procedure is part of the continuous process of CB- adhered by the parties and refusal or failure to do so is an ULP *heart of industrial self-government and promotes friendly dialogue to maintain industrial peace y Aggrieved employees-> must exhaust all available remedies (grievance

procedure) before going to court *ILLEGAL STRIKE- specific procedure for dealing w/ grievances
*Dismissals for cause- procedure is observed *not ULP when grievance should be initiated by the employee/ his steward and the employer refuses the process of grievance initiated by union

y State Policy: Grievances may be brought directly to VA w/o passing

through the GM especially when GM proved to be ineffective in the past/ when parties failed to include GM provision in their CBA

Structure/Procedure
y Suggested in the Implementing Rules. In the absence of provision- a

Grievance Committee is created w/in 10 days from signing of the CBA. y Committee- at least 2 representatives each from members of the bargaining unit (union) an the employer unless otherwise agreed upon

y Sec. 2: Procedure in handling grievances

(a) employee shall present his grievance/complaint orally/in writing to the SHOP STEWARD who upon receipt shall verify the facts and determine its validity (b) valid grievance-> shop steward will immediately bring the complaint to employee s immediate supervisor and the SS, E, ES shall exert efforts to settle the grievance at their level (c) no settlement-> grievance is referred to the GC and given 10 days to decide
*when issue involves from interpretation/implementation of a provision/ from any memo, circ., assign. issued by the appropriate authority and such cannot be resolved in the level of SS or ES-> GC

Voluntary Arbitration
y Grievance is unresolved-> either party may serve notice to the other of

its decision to submit it to the VA y Notice- issue/s to be arbitrated, copy furnished of the board/ VA/panel named or designated in the CBA y If other party fails to respond w/in 7 days from receipt-> the VA/panel shall commence VA proceedings y 2 primary function of VLA- (1)process for the orderly disposition of disputes and (2) foundation for stable labor-management relations
y VA- contractual proceeding whereby the parties to any

dispute/controversy in order to obtain a speedy and inexpensive final disposition over the matter, select a judge (impartial 3rd person) of their own choice and by consent submit their controversy to him for determination

y Arbitration awards- ideally complied by both parties w/o delay y Compulsory Arbitration

-process of settlement of labor disputes by a govt. agency w/c has the power to investigate and make an award biding to parties -system where parties are compelled by the govt. to forego their right to strike and accept the decision of the arbiter
y VA is a master procedure- resolved w/ finality and takes precedence

over other dispute settlement devices (ex. money claims, bargaining deadlocks, strike/lockout, employment termination, absence of Er-Ee rel.)-basic industrial relations policy- Consti.

Who may be V Arbitrators?

y List of accredited VA of the NCMB are employees in the Govt., education, civic

religious inst., trade union org., private enterprises and members of Phil. Association on Voluntary Arbitration

y Min. Criteria: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Filipino citizen Holder of bachelor s degree in any field of behavioral/applied science/ equivalent educational trainings Least 5 years exp. in labor-mgt. rel. Completion of training course on VA conducted by board Person of good moral char., noted impartiality, probity and no civil, criminal and administrative adjudged guilt of any offense involving moral turpitude

Art. 261 Jurisdiction of Voluntary Arbitrators or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators

y Voluntary Arbitrator or panel shall have original and exclusive

jurisdiction to hear and decide all unresolved grievances arising from: (1) interpretation or implementation of CBA and (2) interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies
y y

Violations of CBA-> shall no longer treated as ULP and be resolved as grievances except those which are gross in character. Gross violations-> flagrant and/or malicious refusal to comply with the economic provisions of CBA

y Commission, Regional Offices and Regional Directors of the

Department of Labor and Employment-> (1) not entertain disputes, grievances or matters under the Voluntary Arbitrators or panel and (2) shall immediately dispose and refer the same to the GM or VA provided in the CBA

Art. 262 Jurisdiction over other labor disputes

y The Voluntary Arbitrator or panel- upon agreement of the parties shall hear and decide all other labor disputes including ULPs and bargaining deadlocks

Arbitrable Disputes
Contract-Negotiation (arbitration of interests) terms of CBA-> submission agreement 2. Contract Interpretation (arbitration of grievances/rights) application/violation of the provisions of contract
1.

VA Jurisdiction
1. Termination Disputes- unequivocal language that

it must be submitted to GM and VA w/o explicit agreement, labor arbiter may decide the case -Art. 260 (parties of CBA) only disputes involving the union and co. shall be referred to GM and VA -Art. 261- unresolved unresolved grievances arising from the interpretation or implementation of the CBA and company personnel policies 2. Policies/Rules/Procedures- disciplinary actions

3. CBA Violations- Art. 261 not ULP, be resolved as grievances except

those which are gross in character -Art. 262 hear and decide all other labor disputes including ULPs and bargaining deadlocks 4. Other cases- wage distortion issues, unresolved grievances on productivity incentive programs RA 6971, dispute over company s drug abuse policy
y

HOW IS VA INITIATED?
1. 2.

Submission- (stipulation/agreement) no previous agreement to arbitrate; entered into when dispute arises and issues are defined Demand/Notice- RA6715 CBA are required to provide GP and VA clause

Art. 262- A Procedures

y The Voluntary Arbitrator or panel shall have the power to:

(1) hold hearings, (2) receive evidences and (3) take whatever action is necessary to resolve the issue or issues of the dispute (inc. efforts to effect a voluntary settlement between parties)
y Attendance:

-> parties- entitled to attend the arbitration proceeding ->3rd party or exclusion of witness from the proceedings- determined by the Voluntary Arbitrator or panel -> hearing may be adjourned for cause or upon agreement
y Award/Decision- mandatory for the Voluntary Arbitrator or panel to

render w/in 20 days from the submission of the dispute to VA unless the parties agree otherwise

y The award/decision:

-> contain the facts and the law on which it is based -> final and executory after 10 days from receipt of copy of the award by the parties
y Motion: Voluntary Arbitrator or panel/Labor Arbiter may issue-

a writ of execution requiring either the sheriff of the Commission or regular courts or any public official whom the parties may designate in the submission agreement to execute the final decision

Article. 262-B Cost of voluntary arbitration and Voluntary Arbitrator s fee

y Parties shall provide a proportionate sharing scheme on the cost of

voluntary arbitration including the Voluntary Arbitrator s fee y Fixing of fee (whether shouldered wholly by the parties or subsidized by the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund) shall take into account: (a) Nature of the case; (b) Time consumed in hearing the case; (c) Professional standing of the Voluntary Arbitrator; (d) Capacity to pay of the parties; and
e) Fees provided for in the Revised Rules of Court.