Unions, Unfair Labor Practices and Strikes

Yes. Article 253 [243] of the Labor Code gives persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises, and in religious, charitable, medical or educational institutions, the right to self-organization and to form, join or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining. The Labor Code defines a labor organization this way:

A union that is registered with DOLE is a "legitimate labor organization". Only a legitimate labor organization has the right to strike under [Article 278 [263]](/law/labor-code/article-278).

An unfair labor practice (ULP) is an act that the Labor Code lists because it attacks the workers' right to self-organization and to collective bargaining. [Article 259 [248]](/law/labor-code/article-259) lists nine ULPs of employers. It opens:

The other items include requiring a worker not to join a union or to leave one as a condition of employment, contracting out union members' work to weaken the union, discriminating to encourage or discourage union membership, punishing an employee for testifying, refusing to bargain collectively and violating the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Unions can commit ULPs too: Article 260 [249] lists them, such as restraining or coercing employees in their right to self-organization.

Not every CBA violation is a ULP. Under Article 274 [261], only gross violations, meaning a flagrant or malicious refusal to comply with the economic provisions of the CBA, are treated as ULP; the rest are grievances. Management decisions made in good faith that apply to everyone are also not ULP just because union members are affected, as the Supreme Court held about a new lunch break schedule in Sime Darby Pilipinas v. NLRC (1998). In Standard Chartered Bank Employees Union v. Confesor (2004), the Court required substantial evidence for a ULP claim.

See Unfair labor practice: examples and the glossary entry unfair labor practice.

No. Item (f) of Article 259 [248] makes it a ULP to dismiss or discriminate against an employee for having given or being about to give testimony under the Labor Code. Article 118 adds that an employer may not cut pay, fire or discriminate against an employee who filed a complaint or testified in a wage case. Whether an act was really retaliation is decided on the evidence. See Can your employer punish you for a labor complaint?

A strike is a temporary stoppage of work by employees acting together because of a labor dispute. The definition is in Article 219 [212]:

Under [Article 278 [263]](/law/labor-code/article-278), a strike is allowed for a bargaining deadlock or an unfair labor practice, never for disputes between unions or inside a union. The steps are:

In Phimco Industries v. Phimco Industries Labor Association (2010), the Supreme Court said these requirements are mandatory and that skipping them makes the strike illegal. The Court added that a strike that follows every step may still be held illegal because of the means used, as when picketers block entry to and exit from the premises. See When is a strike legal? and strike.

A lockout is the employer's side of a strike. Article 219 [212] defines it:

The same rules on notice and cooling-off apply to an employer that wants to declare a lockout, and the lockout must be approved by a majority of the board of directors or of the partners by secret ballot. Article 279 [264] gives a worker dismissed because of an unlawful lockout the right to reinstatement with full backwages.

Article 279 [264], as stored in the renumbered Labor Code, sets the line:

The same article forbids a strike after the dispute has been taken over by the Secretary of Labor and Employment or submitted to arbitration. Under Article 278 263, when a dispute causes or is likely to cause a strike in an industry indispensable to the national interest, the Secretary may assume jurisdiction or certify the dispute to the NLRC. The strike is then automatically stopped, and striking workers must return to work under the same terms as before.

When a law or wage order raises the pay of lower positions so much that the gap with higher positions disappears or almost disappears, Article 124 calls it a wage distortion. Where there is a union and a CBA, the employer and the union negotiate a correction, then use the grievance procedure and voluntary arbitration. The dispute does not delay the wage increase itself. In Prubankers Association v. Prudential Bank (1999), the Supreme Court set out the four elements of wage distortion. See Wage distortion.

• Labor Arbiter (NLRC). Under [Article 224 [217]](/law/labor-code/article-224), Labor Arbiters decide unfair labor practice cases and cases on the legality of strikes and lockouts, among others. Their decisions are appealed to the NLRC under [Article 229 [223]](/law/labor-code/article-229). See How to appeal a Labor Arbiter decision.
• Grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration. Disputes on the meaning or implementation of a CBA or of company personnel policies are referred there under Article 224 217.
• National Conciliation and Mediation Board. Under the 2010 SEnA rules, notices of strike or lockout go to the Board, not to the SEnA desk.
• Conciliation first. Most other labor issues go through mandatory conciliation-mediation under [Article 234 [228]](/law/labor-code/article-234) before a case is endorsed to the office with jurisdiction. See How to file a labor complaint.

The structure of Book Five and the other books of the Labor Code is in the table of Labor Code books and article ranges. For the rights of individual employees, such as dismissal and leaves, see Employee rights in the Philippines.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Edna and her co-workers form a union. A week later, their supervisor tells them that anyone who stays in the union will not be regularized. Requiring workers to leave a union as a condition of employment is an unfair labor practice under Article 259 248, and the threat can also fall under item (a).

Rolly's union reaches a deadlock with the company over wages. The union files a notice of strike, waits 30 days while DOLE mediates, holds a secret-ballot vote approved by a majority of its total membership in the bargaining unit, and reports the result seven days before the strike date. If its picketers then block the company gate, the strike may still be held illegal because of the means used, as in Phimco.

Gina joins a lawful strike as a rank-and-file worker and does nothing illegal on the picket line. The company hires a replacement. Under Article 279 [264], her mere participation in a lawful strike is not a ground to dismiss her.

See also the comparison strike vs lockout and the comparison Labor Arbiter vs DOLE Regional Director.

Get help early if you are organizing a union, if your union is preparing a notice of strike, or if you were dismissed or threatened because of union activity or a strike. The steps and deadlines are strict, and the means used during a strike matter as much as the procedure. A lawyer, a union federation or the Public Attorney's Office can help assess a case: see Free legal help in the Philippines.