Labor Law > Jurisdiction of Voluntary Arbitrators for Unfair Labor
Practice > Duty to Bargain Collectively > Test of Good Faith Bargaining
GUAGUA NATIONAL COLLEGES, PETITIONER,
VS.
GUAGUA NATIONAL COLLEGES FACULTY LABOR UNION AND GUAGUA
NATIONAL COLLEGES NON-TEACHING AND MAINTENANCE LABOR
UNION, RESPONDENTS.
G.R. No. 204693, July 13, 2016
Doctrine:
1. There is a need for an express stipulation in the CBA that unfair labor practices
should be resolved in the ultimate by the voluntary arbitrator or panel of
voluntary arbitrators since the same fall within a special class of disputes that are
generally within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter by express
provision of the law.
2. The duty to bargain collectively is defined under Article 252 of the Labor Code –
“The duty to bargain collectively means the performance of a mutual obligation
to meet and convene promptly and expeditiously in good faith for the purpose of
negotiating an agreement with respect to wages, hours of work and all other
terms and conditions of employment including proposals for adjusting any
grievances or questions arising under such agreements and executing a
contract incorporating such agreements if requested by either party but such
duty does not compel any party to agree to a proposal or to make any
agreement.”
There is no per se test of good faith in bargaining. Good faith or bad faith is an
inference to be drawn from the facts. The effect of an employer’s or a union’s
actions individually is not the test of good faith bargaining, but the impact of all
such occasions or actions, considered as a whole.
FACTS:
GNC and Guagua National Colleges Faculty Labor Union (GNCFLU) and Guagua
National Colleges NonTeaching and Maintenance Labor Union (GNCNTMLU)
concluded their Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) without issue. Significantly,
the 1994-1999 CBA has a “no strike, no lockout” clause under Section 17 thereof which
likewise provides for mechanism for grievance resolution and voluntary arbitration.
Union’s president wrote the president of the company to inform him of their intention
to open the negotiation for the renewal of CBA. Despite the series of negotiation and
manifestation on part of the union to meet, no one appeared on behalf of the company
and no signing of the CBA took place. Thus, the union filed a Notice of Strike charging
GNC with bad faith bargaining, violation of its duty to bargain, gross violations of the
provisions of the CBA. GNC filed a Motion to Strike Out Notice of Strike and to Refer
Dispute to Grievance Machinery and Voluntary Arbitration pursuant to the Collective
Bargaining Agreement. It invoked the “no strike, no lockout” clause and the grievance
machinery and voluntary arbitration provision of the parties’ existing CBA which was
carried over from their 1994-1999 CBA and the CBAs subsequent thereto. Respondents
thus argued that GNC clearly committed an unfair labor practice by bad faith
bargaining.
Issue 1:
Whether the Voluntary Arbitrator has jurisdiction over the ULP dispute as provided in
the CBA.
Ruling 1:
No. It has been held that while the phrase “all other labor dispute” or its variant “any
other matter or dispute” may include unfair labor practices, it is imperative that the
agreement between the union and the company states in unequivocal language that the
parties conform to the submission of unfair labor practices to voluntary arbitration.
There is a need for an express stipulation in the CBA that unfair labor practices should
be resolved in the ultimate by the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators
since the same fall within a special class of disputes that are generally within the
exclusive original jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter by express provision of the law.
In the absence here of an express stipulation in the CBA that GNC and respondents
agreed to submit cases of unfair labor practice to their grievance machinery and
eventually to voluntary arbitration, jurisdiction over the parties’ dispute does not vest
upon the voluntary arbitrator. As it stands, the parties’ dispute which centers on the
charge of unfair labor practice is the proper subject of compulsory arbitration. In fact,
GNC itself acknowledged in its June 24, 2010 letter to the Secretary of Labor and
Employment that a charge of unfair labor practice in a notice of strike is ordinarily
certified for compulsory arbitration.
Issue 2:
Whether or not a party has met his statutory duty to bargain in good faith
Ruling 2:
There is no per se test of good faith in bargaining. Good faith or bad faith is an inference
to be drawn from the facts. The effect of an employer’s or a union’s actions individually
is not the test of good faith bargaining, but the impact of all such occasions or actions,
considered as a whole. Here, the collective conduct of GNC is indicative of its failure to
meet its duty to bargain in good faith. Badges of bad faith attended its actuations both at
the plant and NCMB levels.
