LABOR ORGANIZATION

1. LABOR ORGANIZATION DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Region IV-A Batangas Provincial Office (043) 312-0484

2. LABOR ORGANIZATION • is defined in Art. 212 (g) and in the Implementing Rules as any union or association of employees which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of: 1) collective bargaining or 2) of dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment.

3. Labor Organization • A labor organization may be registered or not. If registered with DOLE, it is called a “legitimate organization” qualified to claim the rights enumerated under Art. 242 and 263 (b) of the Labor Code. But the reverse is not true, that is, a labor organization is not “illegitimate” just because it is unregistered. It is still a lawful organization, but has no legal personality to demand collective bargaining with the employer. It cannot petition for a certification election and cannot hold a legal strike.

4. Classification of Labor Organizations • National Union/Federation –means any labor organization with at least ten locals/chapters or affiliates each of which must be a duly certified or recognized collective bargaining agent. • Industry Union – means any group of legitimate labor organizations operating within an identified industry, organized for collective bargaining or for dealing with employers concerning terms and conditions of employment within an industry, or for participating in the formulation of social and employment policies, standards and programs in such industry, which is duly registered with the Department. • Trade Union Center –means any group of registered national unions or federations organized for the mutual aid and protection of its members, for assisting such members in collective bargaining, or for participating in the formulation of social and employment policies, standards, and programs, which is duly registered with the Department.

5. Classification of labor organizations • Alliance – is an aggregation of unions existing in one line of industry, or in a conglomerate, a group of franchisees, a geographical area, or an industrial center. Different unions or different federations may form an alliance to help one another in the attainment of a particular purpose. Each member union retains its own organization, structure and independence. An alliance, though, cannot represent each member unions in CBA negotiations. • Company Union- is labor organization which, in whole or in part, is a employer-controlled or employer-dominated. Art. 248 (d) prohibits being a company union.

6. Union – refers to any labor organization in the private sector organized for collective bargaining and for other legitimate purposes. • Workers Association – refers to an association of workers organized for the mutual aid and protection of its members or for any legitimate purpose other that collective bargaining.

7. Art. 242. Rights of a Legitimate Labor Organization • To act as the representative of its members for the purpose of collective bargaining. • To be certified as the exclusive representative of all the employees in an appropriate collective bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining. • To be furnished by the employer, upon written request, with the annual audited financial statement, including the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement, after the union has been duly recognized by the employer or certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining representatives of the employees in the bargaining unit, or within sixty (60) calendar days before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, or during the collective bargaining negotiation.

8. Art. 242. Rights of Legitimate Labor Organization • To own property, real or personal, for the use and benefit of the labor organization and its members. • To sue and be sued in its registered names; and • To undertake all other activities designed to benefit the organization and its members, including cooperative, housing welfare and other projects not contrary to law.

9. Rights and Conditions of Membership in a Labor Organization • The rights and conditions of membership laid down in Art. 241 of the Labor Code may be summarized as follows: • Political Right – the member’s right to vote and be voted for, subject to lawful provisions on qualifications and disqualifications. • Deliberative and Decision-Making Right – the member’s right to participate in deliberations on major policy questions and decide them by secret ballot

10. Rights and Conditions of Membership in a Labor Organization • Right over money matters – the member’s right against excessive fees, the right against unauthorized collection of contributions or unauthorized disbursements, the right to require adequate records of income and expenses and the right of access to financial records, the right to vote on officers’ compensation; the right to vote on proposed special assessments and be deducted a special assessment only with the members written authorization.

11. Rights and Conditions of Membership in a Labor Organization • Right to information – the member’s right to be informed about the organization’s constitution and by-laws, the collective bargaining agreement and about labor laws. Although not so denominated, Art. 241 of the Labor Code carries the character of a Bill of Rights of union members. At the same time, the union members, as employees, retain the right to directly present grievances to the employer at any time.

12. Registration of Labor Organization Applications for registration of independent labor unions, chartered locals and workers’ associations shall be filed with the Regional Office where the applicant principally operates. It shall be processed by the Labor Relations Division at the Regional Office in accordance with Section 2-A, 2-C and 2-E of the Implementing Rules of Book V. If the Regional Office denies the application, the denial is appealable to the Bureau and from there to the Court of Appeals (not to the Secretary of Labor) if proper grounds exist.

13. Registration Requirements • Independent Labor Union • the name of the applicant labor union, its principal address, the name of its officers and their respective addresses, approximate number of employees in the bargaining unit where it seeks to operate, with statement that it is not reported as a chartered local of any federation or national union; • the minutes of the organizational meetings (s) and the list of employees who participated in the said meetings(s); • the name of all its members compromising at least 20% of the employees in the bargaining unit; • the annual financial reports if the applicant has been in existence for one or more years, unless it has not collected any amount from the members, in which case a statement to this effect shall be included in the application; and • the applicant’s constitution and by-laws, minutes of its adoption or ratification, and the list of the members who participated in it.

14. Federation or National Union • a statement indicating the name of the applicant labor union, its principal address, the name of its officers and their respective addresses; • the minutes of the organizational meetings (s) and the list of employees who participated in the said meetings(s); • the annual financial reports if the applicant has been in existence for one or more years, unless it has not collected any amount from the members, in which case a statement to this effect shall be included in the application; • the applicant’s constitution and by-laws, minutes of its adoption or ratification, and the list of the members who participated in it; • the resolution of affiliation of at least ten (10) legitimate labor organizations, whether independent unions or chartered locals, each of which must be a duly certified or recognized bargaining agent in the establishment where it seeks to operate; and • the name and addresses of the companies where the affiliates operate and the list of all the members in each company involved.

15. Section 2, paragraph E of Rule III, as amended by D.O. NO. 40-F-03, is hereby amended to read as: Section 2. Requirements for application . E. “A duly-registered federation or national union may directly create a local/chapter by issuing a charter certificate indicating the establishment of the local/chapter. The local/chapter shall acquire legal personality only for purpose of filing a petition for Certificate Election from the date it was issued a Chapter Certificate. The local/chapter shall be entitled to all other rights and privileges of a legitimate labor organization only upon the submission of the following documents in addition to its Charter Certificate: (a) the names of the local/chapter’s officers, their addresses, and the principal office of the local/charter, and (b) the chapter’s constitution and by-laws provided, that where the chapter’s constitution and by-laws are the same as that of the federation or the national union, this fact shall be indicated accordingly. The genuiness and due execution of the supporting requirements shall be certified under oath by the Secretary or Treasurer of the Local/Chapter and attested to by its President.

16. Cancellation of Union Registration • Section 3. Rule XIV – D.O. 40-F-03 Grounds for Cancellation – ANY OF the following MAY constitute AS ground/s for cancellation of registration of labor organizations: (a) misrepresentation, false statement or fraud in connection with the adoption or ratification of the Constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto, the minutes of ratification, the list of members who took part in the ratification; (b) misrepresentation, false statements or fraud in connection with the election of officers, minutes of the election of officers and the list of voters; or (c) voluntary dissolution by the members.

17. A new provision is hereby added as Section 6 under Rule XIV, to read as: Section 6. PROHIBITED GROUNDS FOR CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION. – the inclusion as Union members of employees who are outside the bargaining unit shall not be a ground to cancel the Union registration. The ineligible employees are automatically deemed removed from the list of membership of the Union. The affiliation of the rank-and-file and supervisory unions operating within the same establishment to the same federation or national Union shall not be a ground to cancel the registration of either Union.