You already learned that there is this process of chartering, this is different from have these two separate
arate unions, the two can join one federation, that is
the registration with the BLR where you will have a temporary legal personality,
does it have any rights? Yes! but not the rights enumerated under the code, it
merely has a tentative legal personality, it does not have all those rights
possessed by a full-fledged legitimate labor organization. So what do they
have? Before we answer that we have to take into consideration the
exceptional circumstance by which these labor org comes into being, you
learned in your political law, the definition of powers, basically the fundamental
powers of the stage are lodged in the congress, congress possesses plenary
power to exercise those fundamental powers, and it is congress that delegates
those power to the executive or other administrative agencies, without such
delegation fundamental powers of the state cannot be exercised. the
fundamental powers are :police power, taxation and eminent domain. When a
power is delegated by congress to a particular gov’t agency, that delegate can
exercise this congressional power, but you will also notice, that most if not all
the delegates are government agencies, so in so far as our topic is concerned
you have powers delegated to the DOLE, regional director, BLR that is why this
agencies can issue certificates of registration to a labor organization which now
becomes a LLO as such it is a full-fledged artificial being with all those powers
to sue and be sued, power to own properties, be exempt from taxes, to be the
exclusive bargaining agent. So it is an artificial being, it has a personality
separate and distinct from its members.
Now in chartering, know that it is a federation that it is empowered to create
another artificial being, it creates a local charter sort of a union, if you notice, a
federation is a private entity, unlike the DOLE or LBR, yet it is given that power
which is supposedly exercised by congress and his delegates. So considering
this background, that artificial being create by the federation which is a private
entity necessarily cannot posses all those right and powers given to an LLO. So
if it cannot exercise all the rights and powers, what can it exercise? it only has a
tentative legal personality, a very limited legal personality which can only do
one thing which is to file a petition for certification of election. In order for it to
exercise the other powers, its tentative legal personality, must ripen to a full
fledged legal personality, how does it do that? by complying with the other
requirements. After that, para na siyang independent labor organization or LLO,
but pending all those requirements, melon lang saying TLP, which is limited to
filing a petition for certificate of election
now you will also note that there is this principle of non-commingling of
members, that principle says that the rank and file employees and supervisory
employees cannot join one and the same union, they must join separate
unions, one for the rank and file and one for the supervisory. However once you
allowed. Note that there is no union for managerial unions because managers
are not allowed to join unions, why? because they are supposed to be the alter-
ego of the employer, so how can you bargain, if the main purpose of the union
is to bargain with the employer, if you are part and parcel of the management
how can you bargain with yourself. So what is then the effect if there is a co-
mingling of membership in a union, the effect is automatic exclusion from
membership, there is no need for a positive act to exclude the non-qualified
members. Also class in relation to the grounds of cancelation for registration,
there are only three so much so that membership or mistaken membership in a
particular union is not a ground for cancellation of registration, because it is not
one of the three enumerated in the code. Now also class in the establishment of
union, you need the support of at least 20 percent. What does that mean, it
means that in a particular establishment there can only be 5 unions, that is
under the assumption that there is 20 percent for all union because it cannot be
less than 20%
ULP
Unfair labor practice, now you will know that there are only 3 provision in the
labor code on ULP, to summarize, the first one tells us the concept, definition
and nature of ULP. And the you have the next provision which tells us the
specific acts of ULP that may be committed by the employer and yung pangatlo
it provides the specific act of ULP committed by the labor organizations
committed by its officers or agent. So dun tayo sa unhang provision, so what is
ULP? ULP is any act that tends to weaken or violate the rights of employees.
That act or violation must be connected with the purpose, and what is the
purpose? it is against, it is anti the right to self organization. If they are not
committed either by the employer or LO, even if these acts are one of those
enumerated in the code, if they are not meant to violate the right to self
organization of the employees, then it is not ULP. It may be another type of
violation but not ULP, there must beta violation, a particular act in violation of
the right to self organization, so under the law class, an ULP is a violation of the
employees constitutional rights, civil rights and penal laws meaning to say
criminal in nature, so this is one of the provisions in there labor code where you
have a criminal offense. Ano pa yung iba? Illegal recruitment etc. So, how do
you prosecute the respondent criminally, first you have to file an administrative
complaint for ULP, where do you file? before the person who has jurisdiction
over ULP which is the labor arbiter. Assuming you are able to prove your
complaint, then the labor arbiter will have to make a finding in a decision that
the respondent is guilty of ULP, this decision must attain finality, must become
final and executory, why? Because that is what you need to file a criminal
complaint. So you will now prepare your complaint affidavit and file it with the
prosecutor. In the complaint affidavit, you will recite the events and the the certified bargaining agent or the recognized bargaining agent, you have the
violations and at the same time you will state there that there is a finding by the duty to bargain collectively, but if you are not you are merely an ordinary union
labor arbiter has a finding that the respondent is guilty of ULP and such finding in the company, you do not have a duty and you cannot commit the ULP. and of
has become final and executory which means that you have to attach your course is the violation of the CBA which is gross, gross violation of the CBA
proof that it has already become final and executory, and ano yung proof na which amounts to ULP, it must be a flagrant, patent, intentional violation or non-
yun? Normally it is the certificate of finality of the decision. That will be the compliance with the (economic?) provision of the CBA
basis of the prosecutor to determine whether there is probable cause to file an
information before the court. That is the nature and concept of ULP
Now we go to the specific acts, you will note class that as to the perpetrator or
to who is responsible for ULP, it may be the employer or a labor organization or
any person or employee who is a representative or officer of the labor
organization. Let us say you have an establishment where there is no labor
organization, does that mean to say na there can be no employee in that
organization that can commit ULP. Ano sa tinging niyo? Can there be an officer,
or representatives? Wala kasi walang LO, assuming that the employee commits
the acts can he be guilty of ULP? Let us say, compelling, restraining or
interfering in X company which has no labor organization, you cannot have
ULP. You can be liable for those acts under other infractions but not ULP
especially because we have a principle in StatCon that in criminal law that there
must be a strict construction of penal statutes liberally in favor of the accused.
How about if it is the employer? can the employer commit ULP without LO?
Yes, example is he does not want a union at all, that is ULP already. The
employer cannot compel, restrain or interfere, the employees in their excercise
of their right to self organization, ULP Yan! Because those acts are anti-
unionism. Pagka naman labor organization ka and kasalanan mo lang para
maging ULP are compelling and restraining but not interference because the
officers of the LO can actually interfere with the employees right to self
organization, why is that? when there is an election in in the union, they can
campaign, that is interference but the is allowed, but if you are the employer
that is ULP.
So what else is prohibited, discrimination! if you discriminate an employee and
your purpose is to discourage him from membership in any union or
participating in union activities, that is anti-unionism. That is another form of
ULP. What else? (inaudible). There are other acts of ULP which are connected
to the CBA, like for example, refusal to bargain collectively, that is ULP or
failure to comply with the duty to bargain collectively, note duty to bargain
collectively, because elsewhere in the code there are about two provisions
telling us what is that duty to bargain collectively. Duty to bargain collectively is
a technical term under the labor code. If you are the Labor organization you can
only violate that if you have the duty to bargain collectively, meaning to say are