LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

processes affecting their rights, duties

and welfare.

Labor Relations
Part I- Basic Concepts

Difference between Labstan and Labrel

Labor Standards refers to the minimum
terms and conditions of employment which
employees are legally entitled to and
employers must comply with.
Labor Relations refers to the interactions
between employer and employees or their
representatives
and the mechanism by which the standards
and
other terms and conditions of
employment are negotiated, adjusted and
enforced.
What are the policy objectives of labor
relations law?
ART. 211. Declaration of Policy.

B. To encourage a truly democratic method

of regulating the relations between the
employers and employees by means of
agreements freely entered into through
collective
bargaining,
no
court
or
administrative agency or official shall have
the power to set or fix wages, rates of pay,
hours of work or other terms and conditions
of employment, except as otherwise
provided under this Code. (As amended by
Section 3, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21,
1989).
C. RULE II Sec. 1 of the IRR: The policy of the
State is to promote free and responsible
exercise of the right to self-organization
through the establishment of a simplified
mechanism for speedy registration of a labor
organization and workers associations,
determination of representation status, and
resolution of inter or intra union and other
related disputes.
PRESENT LABOR RELATIONS POLICY

A. It is the policy of the State:

(a) To promote and emphasize the
primacy of free collective bargaining
and negotiations, including voluntary
arbitration, mediation and conciliation,
as modes of settling labor or industrial
disputes;

METHODS OF DISPUTE
ARTICLE 211 (a)(b)

(b) To promote free trade unionism as

an instrument for the enhancement of
democracy and the promotion of social
justice and development;
(c) To foster the free and voluntary
organization of a strong and united
labor movement;

SETTLEMENT,

To promote and emphasize the

primacy of free collective bargaining
and negotiations, including voluntary
arbitration,
mediation
and
conciliation, as modes of settling labor
or industrial disputes

To promote free trade unionism as an

instrument for the enhancement of
democracy and the promotion of
social justice and development

RATIONALE FOR VOLUNTARY DISPUTE

SETTLEMENT

(d) To promote the enlightenment of

workers concerning their rights and
obligations as union members and as
employees;
(e)
To
provide
an
adequate
administrative machinery for the
expeditious settlement of labor or
industrial disputes;
(f) To ensure a stable but dynamic and
just industrial peace; and
(g) To ensure the participation of
workers in decision and policy-making
Page 1 of 10

Labor relations are characterized by

its inter-party nature. It is due to this
inter-party nature that voluntary
settlement is preferred.

Labor relations encourage a truly

democratic method of regulating the
relations between the employers and
employees by means of agreements
freely entered into through collective
bargaining

LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

Free agreement among the parties is

the general rule while government
intervention is the exception.

Note: there is symmetry in the law with

respect to Article 211A(a) with respect to
B(b)
The government labor relations policy is
declared in Art. 211 which is a focused
elaboration of the basic labor policy
announced in Art.3 which, in turn, echoes the
constitutional mandates. The policy intends
to
attain
social
justice
through
industrial peace and progress. The latter
is founded on employee participation and
collective interactions between employer and
employees. In Management parlance, the
input is the parties rights and duties, the
process is workers organization and
collective bargaining, and the output is
industrial peace and progress towards social
justice as the end goal.
WHY WORKERS ORGANIZE

Self-help
through
economic
action
necessarily
requires
increasing
the
bargaining power of employees; hence one
of the basic purposes of a labor union is to
eliminate competition among employees in
the labor market. Three other human desires
should be noted among the forces that led
workers to organize:
(1) One is the desire for job security.
(2) Employees wished to substitute what we
should term the rule of law for the arbitrary
and often capricious exercise of power by the
boss.
(3) Finally, unions helped to give employees
a sense of participation in the business
enterprises of which they are parta
function of labor unions which became
important as organizations spread into mass
production industries.

Article 3, Section 8. The right of the

people, including those employed in the
public and private sectors, to form unions,
associations, or societies for purposes not
contrary to law shall not be abridged.
Article 13, Section 3. The State shall afford
full protection to labor, local and overseas,
organized and unorganized, and promote full
employment and equality of employment
opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to
self-organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations,
and
peaceful
concerted
activities, including the right to strike in
accordance with law. They shall be entitled
to security of tenure, humane conditions of
work, and a living wage. They shall also
participate in policy and decision-making
processes affecting their rights and benefits
as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of
shared responsibility between workers and
employers and the preferential use of
voluntary modes in settling disputes,
including conciliation, and shall enforce their
mutual compliance therewith to foster
industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations
between workers and employers, recognizing
the right of labor to its just share in the fruits
of production and the right of enterprises to
reasonable returns to investments, and to
expansion and growth.
WHAT DOES THE ABOVEMENTIONED
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
SPELL OUT?
The State shall:
1. Afford full protection to labor
a. Local and overseas
b. Organized and unorganized

The union is the recognized instrumentality

and mouthpiece of the laborers.
CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS
Article 2, Section 18. The State affirms
labor as a primary social economic force. It
shall protect the rights of workers and
promote their welfare.
Page 2 of 10

2. Promote full employment and

equality of employment opportunities
for all
3. It shall guarantee the rights of ALL
workers to the following:
a. Labor Relations
i. Self-organization
ii. Collective bargaining
and negotiations
iii. Peaceful concerted
activities, including the

LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

right
to
strike
in
accordance with law
b. Labor Standards
i. Security of tenure
ii. Humane conditions of
work
iii. Living wage
c. Others
i. Participation in policy
and
decision
making
processes affecting
their rights and benefits
as
may
be
provided by law
4. Promote the principle of shared
responsibility between workers and
employers
5. Promote the preferential use of
voluntary modes in settling disputes,
including
conciliation,
and
shall
enforce their mutual compliance
therewith to foster industrial peace
6. Regulate the relations between
workers and employers, recognizing
the right of labor to its just share in
the fruits of production and the right of
enterprises to reasonable returns of
investments, and to expansion and
growth
DEFINITIONS
Art. 212. Definitions.
1. "Commission" means the National
Labor Relations Commission or any
of its divisions, as the case may be,
as provided under this Code.
2. "Bureau" means the Bureau of
Labor Relations and/or the Labor
Relations Divisions in the regional
offices
established
under
Presidential Decree No. 1, in the
Department
of
Labor.
3. "Board"
means
the
National
Conciliation and Mediation Board
established under Executive Order
No.
126.
4. "Council" means the
Voluntary
Arbitration
Council
established
Executive Order No.
amended.

Tripartite
Advisory
under
126, as

term shall not include any labor

organization or any of its officers or
agents except when acting as
employer.
6. "Employee" includes any person in
the employ of an employer. The
term shall not be limited to the
employees
of
a
particular
employer, unless the Code so
explicitly states. It shall include any
individual whose work has ceased
as a result of or in connection with
any current labor dispute or
because of any unfair labor
practice if he has not obtained any
other substantially equivalent and
regular
employment.
7. "Labor organization" means any
union or association of employees
which exists in whole or in part for
the
purpose
of
collective
bargaining or of dealing with
employers concerning terms and
conditions
of
employment.
8. "Legitimate labor organization"
means any labor organization duly
registered with the Department of
Labor
and
Employment,
and
includes any branch or local
thereof.
9. "Company union" means any
labor
organization
whose
formation,
function
or
administration has been assisted
by any act defined as unfair labor
practice
by
this
Code.
10."Bargaining representative" means
a legitimate labor organization
whether or not employed by the
employer.
11."Unfair labor practice" means any
unfair labor practice as expressly
defined
by
the
Code.
12."Labor
dispute"
includes
any
controversy or matter concerning
terms
and
conditions
of
employment or the association or
representation
of
persons
in
negotiating, fixing, maintaining,
changing or arranging the terms
and conditions of employment,
regardless
of
whether
the
disputants stand in the proximate
relation of employer and employee.

5. "Employer" includes any person

acting in the interest of an
employer, directly or indirectly. The
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LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

13."Managerial employee" is one

who is vested with the powers or
prerogatives to lay down and
execute
management
policies
and/or to hire, transfer, suspend,
lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or
discipline employees. Supervisory
employees are those who, in the
interest of the employer, effectively
recommend
such
managerial
actions if the exercise of such
authority is not merely routinary or
clerical in nature but requires the
use of independent judgment. All
employees not falling within any of
the
above
definitions
are
considered
rank-and-file
employees for purposes of this
Book.
14."Voluntary Arbitrator" means any
person accredited by the Board as
such or any person named or
designated
in
the
Collective
Bargaining Agreement by the
parties to act as their Voluntary
Arbitrator, or one chosen with or
without the assistance of the
National Conciliation and Mediation
Board, pursuant to a selection
procedure agreed upon in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement,
or any official that may be
authorized by the Secretary of
Labor and Employment to act as
Voluntary Arbitrator upon the
written request and agreement of
the parties to a labor dispute.

coercion, threats, or intimidation

any peaceful picketing affecting
wages, hours or conditions of work
or in the exercise of the right of
self-organization
or
collective
bargaining.
19."Strike
area"
means
the
establishment,
warehouses,
depots, plants or offices, including
the sites or premises used as
runaway shops, of the employer
struck against, as well as the
immediate vicinity actually used by
picketing strikers in moving to and
fro before all points of entrance to
and
exit
from
said
establishment. (As amended by
Section 4, Republic Act No. 6715,
March 21, 1989)
ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER AN EMPLOYEREMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
For law on Labor Relations to apply, there
must be an employer-employee relationship.
In determining the existence of an employeremployee relationship, the elements that are
generally considered are the following :
o
o
o
o

15."Strike" means any temporary

stoppage of work by the concerted
action of employees as a result of
an industrial or labor dispute.
16."Lockout" means any temporary
refusal of an employer to furnish
work as a result of an industrial or
labor
dispute.
17."Internal union dispute" includes all
disputes or grievances arising from
any violation of or disagreement
over
any
provision
of
the
constitution and by laws of a union,
including any violation of the rights
and
conditions
of
union
membership provided for in this
Code.
18."Strike-breaker" means any person
who
obstructs,
impedes,
or
interferes with by force, violence,

(a)
the
selection
and
engagement of the employee;
(b) the payment of wages;
(c) the power of dismissal; and
(d) the employer's power to
control the employee with
respect to the means and
methods by which the work is
to be accomplished. It is the socalled 'control test' that is the
most important element

The power to control refers to the

existence of the power and not
necessarily to the actual exercise thereof,
nor is it essential for the employer to
actually supervise the performance of
duties of the employee. It is enough that
the employer has the right to wield that
power. (Dy Khe Beng vs International
Labor and Marine Union of the Philippines
et al; Corporal, et al. vs NLR; Lerio vs
Genovia)
It is the law that defines and governs an
employment relationship, whose terms are
not restricted to those fixed in the written

Page 4 of 10

LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

contract, for other factors, like the nature of

the work the employee has been called upon
to perform, are also considered. (Legend
Hotel vs Hernani S. Realuyo)
Therefore,
notwithstanding
that
the
employees
are
called
independent
contractors, or industrial partners, or perpiece or pakyaw workers, when the
employees
means
and
methods
in
accomplishing the work is under the control
of the employer, they are still employees and
law on labor relations may henceforth be
applied.

considered
the
most
significant
determinant of the existence of an
employer-employee relationship. This
is the so-called control test, and is
premised on whether the person for
whom the services are performed
reserves the right to control both the
end achieved and the manner and
means used to achieve that end.
Per-piece workers
Dy Khe Beng vs International Labor and
Marine Union of the Philippines et al

Cases

Evidence showed that the work of

Solano and Tudla was continuous
except in the event of illness, although
their services were compensated on
piece basis. The control test calls for
the existence of the right to control
the manner of doing the work, not the
actual exercise of the right considering
that Dy Keh Beng is engaged in the
manufacture of baskets known as
kaing, those working under Dy
would be subject to Dys specifications
such as the size and quality of the
kaing. And since the laborers are
done at Dys establishments, it could
be inferred that Dy could easily
exercise control upon them.

Independent Contractors
LVN vs Phil Musicians Guild
Notwithstanding that the employees
are called independent contractors',
the Board will hold them to be
employees under the Act where the
extent of the employer's control over
them indicates that the relationship is
in reality one of employment.
The right of control of the film
company over the musicians is shown
(1) by calling the musicians through
'call slips' in 'the name of the
company; (2) by arranging schedules
in its studio for recording sessions; (3)
by furnishing transportation and meals
to musicians; and(4) by supervising
and directing in detail, through the
motion
picture
director,
the
performance of the musicians before
the camera, in order to suit the music
they are playing to the picture which is
being flashed on the screen.

Payment by piece is just a method of

compensation and does not define the
essence of the relation.
Commission workers
ENCYCLOPEDIA vs. NLRC and Limjoco
1996
case

Legend Hotel vs Hernani S. Realuyo

It is the law that defines and governs
an employment relationship, whose
terms are not restricted to those fixed
in the written contract, for other
factors, like the nature of the work the
employee has been called upon to
perform, are also considered.
The power of the employer to control
the work of the employee is
Page 5 of 10

The fact that petitioner issued

memoranda to private respondents
and to other division sales managers
did not prove that petitioner had
actual control over them. The different
memoranda were merely guidelines on
company policies which the sales
managers follow and impose on their
respective agents. It should be noted
that in petitioner's business of selling
encyclopedias
and
books,
the
marketing of these products was done

LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

through dealership agreements. The

sales
operations
were
primarily
conducted by independent authorized
agents who did not receive regular
compensations but only commissions
based on the sales of the products.

they undertake cutting hair and

manicuring nails, on their own as their
responsibility, and in their own
manner and method. The services of
the petitioners were engaged by the
respondent company to attend to the
needs of its customers in its barber
shop.
More
importantly,
the
petitioners, individually or collectively,
did not have a substantial capital or
investment in the form of tools,
equipment, work premises and other
materials which are necessary in the
conduct of the business of the
respondent company.

RJL Martinez Fishing vs NLRC (work is

intermittent but were instructed to wait)
The continuity of employment is not
the determining factor, but rather
whether the work of the laborer is part
of the regular business or occupation
of the employee.
Although it may be that private
respondents
alternated
their
employment on different vessels when
they were not assigned to petitioners'
boats, that did not affect their
employee status.

Sy vs. CA and Sahot (again, won barbers are

employees)
Private respondent, for his part, denies
that he was ever an industrial partner of
petitioners. There was no written
agreement, no proof that he received a
share in petitioners profits, nor was there
anything to show he had any participation
with respect to the running of the
business. Article 1767 of the Civil Code
states that in a contract of partnership
two or more persons bind themselves to
contribute money, property or industry to
a common fund, with the intention of
dividing
the
profits
among
themselves. Not
one
of
these
circumstances is present in this case. No
written agreement exists to prove the
partnership between the parties. Private
respondent did not contribute money,
property or industry for the purpose of
engaging in the supposed business. There
is no proof that he was receiving a share
in the profits as a matter of course,
during the period when the trucking
business was under operation. Neither is
there any proof that he had actively
participated
in
the
management,
administration and adoption of policies of
the business. Thus, private respondent
was not an industrial partner but an
employee of petitioner.

The evidence also establishes that

petitioners had a fleet of fishing
vessels with about 65 ship captains,
and
as
private
respondents
contended, when they finished with
one vessel,they finished with one
vessel, they were instructed to wait for
the next.
Feati University vs Bautista (won
professors of private schools are employees)
Even if university professors are
considered independent contractors,
still they would be covered by Rep. Act
No. 875
Professors, instructors or teachers of
private educational institutions who
teach to earn a living are entitled to
the protection of our labor laws and
one such law is Republic Act No. 875.
Corporal, et al. vs NLRC (won barbers are
employees)
The Labor Arbiter's findings that the
parties were engaged in a joint
venture is unsupported by any
documentary evidence.
Petitioners are not "independent
contractors". They did not carry on an
independent business. Neither did

CESAR C. LIRIO,vs. WILMER D. GENOVIA

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LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

Respondent Lirio's so-called existence

of a partnership agreement was not
substantiated
and
his
assertion
thereto, in the face of complainant's
evidence, constitute but a self-serving
assertion, without probative value, a
mere invention to justify the illegal
dismissal.

However, respondents argue that the

all-important element of control is
lacking in this case, making petitioner
an independent contractor and not an
employee of respondents.
The SC however held that the
foregoing
stipulations
hardly
demonstrate control over the means
and methods by which petitioner
performs his work as a referee
officiating a PBA basketball game. The
contractual stipulations do not pertain
to, much less dictate, how and when
petitioner will blow the whistle and
make calls. On the contrary, they
merely serve as rules of conduct or
guidelines in order to maintain the
integrity of the professional basketball
league.

LOCSIN and TOMAQUIN vs. PLDT (when

Security agency agreement expires, and the
employees who remained in the premise and
still under the control of the company are
considered employees of that company)
The only issue in this case is whether
petitioners became employees of
respondent after the Agreement
between SSCP and respondent was
terminated.
This must
affirmative.

be

answered

in

Once in the playing court, the referees

exercise
their
own
independent
judgment, based on the rules of the
game, as to when and how a call or
decision is to be made. The very
nature of petitioners job of officiating
a
professional
basketball
game
undoubtedly calls for freedom of
control by respondents.

the

Notably, respondent does not deny the

fact that petitioners remained in the
premises of their offices even after the
Agreement was terminated. And it is
this fact that must be explained.
Evidently, respondent having the
power of control over petitioners must
be
considered
as
petitioners
employerfrom the termination of the
Agreement onwardsas this was the
only time that any evidence of control
was exhibited by respondent over
petitioners.

Cases where there were no employeremployee relationship:

BERNARTE
MARTINEZ
contractors)

vs.
PBA,
EALA,
and
(referees are
independent

PBA admits repeatedly engaging

petitioners services, as shown in the
retainer contracts. PBA pays petitioner
a retainer fee, exclusive of per diem or
allowances, as stipulated in the
retainer contract. PBA can terminate
the retainer contract for petitioners
violation of its terms and conditions.

JAVIER VS. FLY ACE CORP. (this is the

itanong mo sa anak mo case where it is
principled that in proving er-ee relationship,
substantial evidence is necessary; selfserving statements are not substantial)

NLRC allows a relaxation of the rules of

procedure and evidence in labor cases, this
rule of liberality does not mean a complete
dispensation of proof. Labor officials are
enjoined to use reasonable means to
ascertain the facts speedily and objectively
with little regard to technicalities or
formalities but nowhere in the rules are they
provided a license to completely discount
evidence, or the lack of it.
"No particular form of evidence is
required to prove the existence of such
employer-employee
relationship.
Any
competent and relevant evidence to
prove
the
relationship
may
be
admitted. Hence, while no particular form
of evidence is required, a finding that
such relationship exists must still rest on
some substantial evidence.

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LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

By way of evidence on this point, all that

Javier presented were his self-serving This refers to his new job which should be
similar to his work at the time of his
statements purportedly showing his activities
dismissal. This holds true even if the
as an employee of Fly Ace.
employee receives higher salary.
Javier failed to pass the substantiality
requirement to support his claim.
In said document, all Valenzuela attested
to was that he would frequently see Javier
at the workplace where the latter was
also hired as stevedore.34 Certainly, in
gauging the evidence presented by Javier,
the Court cannot ignore the inescapable
conclusion that his mere presence at the
workplace
falls
short
in
proving
employment therein.

WHO ARE EMPLOYEES?

The term employee:
(1) shall include any employee
(2) and shall not be limited to the employee
of any particular employer, unless the Act so
explicitly states otherwise
(3) and shall include any individual
(a) whose work has ceased as a result
of, or in connection with any current labor
dispute
(b) and who has not obtained any
other substantially equivalent and regular
employment.

It does not refer to the amount of

compensation which such employee receives
from his new employer
WHO ARE EMPLOYERS
Employer refers to any person or entity
who employs the services of others, one for
whom employees work and who pays their
wages or salaries. An employer includes any
person directly or indirectly acting in the
interest of an employer.
It shall also refer to the enterprise where a
labor organization operates or seeks to
operate. An employer may be brought into
bargaining and economic relationship with
persons not in his actual employ; such
persons are given the status and tights of
employees in relation to him, in order to
accord to them the protection of the Act.
Thus, The nature of a labor dispute does
not require that the disputants should stand
in the proximate relation of employer and
employee, with consequent protection of
concerted activities carried out by many
persons belonging to several employers.
CASES
Feati University vs Bautista

Employee refers to any person working for

an employer. It includes one whose work has
ceased in connection with any current labor
dispute or because of any unfair labor
practice and one who has been dismissed
from work but the legality of the dismissal is
being contested in a forum of appropriate
jurisdiction.
One whose work has ceased...
Cessation of work due to strike or lockout, or
to dismissal or suspensions constituting
unfair labor practices, does not in itself affect
the employee status, in the sense that the
rights and benefits of the employee are
protected as though there had been no
interruption of service, effective upon actual
return to work.
Substantially
employment

equivalent

and

regular
Page 8 of 10

The term employer include any person

acting in the interest of an employer,
directly or indirectly, but shall not
include
any
labor
organization
(otherwise than when acting as an
employer) or any one acting in the
capacity or agent of such labor
organization.
Congress did not intend to give a
complete definition of "employer", but
rather that such definition should be
complementary to what is commonly
understood as employer.
Feati controls the work of the
members of its faculty
o prescribes
the
courses
or
subjects that professors teach,
and when and where to teach

LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

professors'
work
is
characterized by regularity and
continuity for a fixed duration
professors are compensated for
their services by wages and
salaries, rather than by profits
professors and/or instructors
cannot substitute others to do
their work without the consent
of the university
professors can be laid off if their
work is found not satisfactory

PHILIPPINE
SOCIETY
FOR
THE
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
vs COA (the case has nothing to do about
er-ee relationship but it explains how an
entity impressed with public interest is
treated as private corporation and not a
public corporation)

LABOR DISPUTE
The test of whether a labor controversy
comes within the definition of a labor dispute
depends on whether it involves or concerns
terms,
conditions
of
employment
or
representation. The existence of a labor
dispute is not negative by the fact that the
plaintiffs and defendants do not stand in the
proximate
relation
of
employer
and
employee.
ASSOCIATED LABOR UNION vs Judge
Borromeo

The fact that a certain juridical entity

is impressed with public interest does
not, by that circumstance alone, make
the entity a public corporation,
inasmuch as a corporation may be
private although its charter contains
provisions of a public character,
incorporated solely for the public
good. It must be stressed that a quasipublic corporation is a species of
private corporations, but the qualifying
factor is the type of service the former
renders to the public: if it performs a
public service, then it becomes a
quasi-public corporation.

LABOR ORGANIZATION AS EMPLOYER

Exceptionally, a labor organization may be
deemed an employer when it is acting as
such in relation to persons rendering services
under hire, particularly in connection with its
activities for profit or gain.
Reynaldo Bautista vs Hon. Amado C.
Inciong
The mere fact that the respondent is a
labor union does not mean that it cannot
be considered an employer of the persons
who work for it. Much less should it be
exempted from the very labor laws which
it espouses as labor organization.
Page 9 of 10

an issue "concerning terms, tenure or

conditions
of
employment,
or
concerning
the
association
or
representation
of
persons
in
negotiating,
fixing,
maintaining,
changing, or seeking to arrange terms
or conditions of employment" to
partake of the nature of a "labor
dispute", it is not necessary that "the
disputants stand in the proximate
relation of employer and employee."
to apply the provisions of Sec. 9 of
Republic Act No. 875, governing the
conditions
under
which
"any
restraining order" or "temporary or
permanent injunction" may issue in
any "case involving or growing out of a
labor dispute", it is not indispensable
that the persons involved in the case
be "employees of the same employer",
although this is the usual case. Sec. 9,
likewise, governs cases involving
persons:
o 1) "who are engaged in the
same industry, trade, craft, or
occupation"; or
o 2) "who ... have direct or
indirect interests therein", or
o 3) "who are members of the
same
or
an
affiliated
organization of employers or
employees"; or
o 4) "when the case involves any
conflicting
or
competing
interests in a "labor dispute" (as
hereinbefore
defined)
or
"persons
participating
or

LABOR RELATIONS PART I: BASIC CONCEPTS

ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LAW

interested"
therein
hereinafter defined)".

(as

LABOR DISPUTES AND REMEDIES: A

SUMMARY

relationship of ER and EE, provided the

controversy concerns, among others, the
terms and conditions of employment or a
change of arrangement thereon. The
existence of Labor Dispute is not negative by
the non-existence of EE-ER relationship.
(Associated Watchmen vs US Lines)

Definition

Kinds of Labor Disputes

Labor Dispute includes any controversy or

matter concerning terms and conditions of
employment
or
the
association
or
representation of persons in negotiating,
fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging
the terms and conditions of employment,
regardless of whether the disputants stand in
the proximate relation of employer and
employee.

A. Labor Standards Disputes:

B. Labor Relations Disputes:

Tests or Criteria of Labor Dispute

A. Nature: Dispute arises from employeremployee
relationship,
although
disputants need not be proximately
employee or employer of the
other.
B.

(1) Compensation (underpayment of

minimum wage)
(2) Benefits (nonpayment of holiday pay)
(3) Working conditions (unrectified work
hazards)

Subject matter: Dispute concerns (1)

terms or conditions of employment; or
(2) association or representation of
persons
in
negotiating,
fixing,
maintaining, or changing terms or
conditions of employment.

NB: Direct EE-ER relationship is not an

essential requisite in order to have a
Labor Dispute. As a general rule, labor
dispute arises from EE-ER relationship.
However, the law considers certain conflicts
involving parties who are not ER and EEs of
each other as still falling within the concept
of the said term.
A labor dispute can still exist regardless of
whether the disputants stand in proximate

(1) Organizational Right Dispute/ ULP

(coercion)
(2) Representation Disputes (determination
of appropriate collective bargaining unit)
(3) Bargaining Disputes (refusal to bargain)
(4) Contract Administration or Personnel
Policy Disputes (noncompliance with CBA
provision)
(5)
Employment
Tenure
Disputes

(nonregularization of employees)
Remedies in Labor Disputes:
1. Grievance procedure
2. Enforcement or compliance order
3. Certification
of
bargaining
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Page 10 of 10

representatives
Assumption of jurisdiction
Certification to NLRC
Injunction
Judicial Action
Appeal
Review by court