V.

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE

5.1 REQUISITES
1. Employer-employee relationship between the offender and the offended; and
2. Act done is expressly defined in the Code as an act of unfair labor practice.
5.2 ACTS OF ULP; EMPLOYER AND UNION (ARTS 248&249); YELLOW DOG CONTRACT,
SURFACE BARGAINING, BLUE SKY BARGAINING, RUN AWAY SHOP ETC.
Art. 248. Concept of unfair labor practice and procedure for prosecution thereof Unfair
labor practices violate the constitutional right of workers and employees to self-organization, are
inimical to the legitimate interests of both labor and management, including their right to bargain
collectively and otherwise deal with each other in an atmosphere of freedom and mutual respect,
disrupt industrial peace and hinder the promotion of healthy and stable labor-management
relations.
"Consequently, unfair labor practices are not only violations of the civil rights of both labor and
management but are also criminal offenses against the State which shall be subject to prosecution
and punishment as herein provided. chanrobles virtual law library
"Subject to the exercise by the President (Prime Minister) or by the Minister of Labor of the powers
vested in them by Articles 264 and 265 of this Code, the civil aspects of all cases involving unfair
labor practices, which may include claims for damages and other affirmative relief, shall be under
the jurisdiction of the labor arbiters. They shall resolve such cases within thirty (30) working days
from the time they are submitted for decision.
"Recovery of civil liability in the administrative proceedings shall bar recovery under theCivil Code.
"No criminal prosecution under this Title may be instituted without a final judgment, finding that an
unfair labor practice was committed, having been first obtained in the administrative proceeding
referred to in the preceding paragraph. During the pendency of such administrative proceeding
referred to in the preceding paragraph. During the pendency of such administrative proceeding, the
running of the period of prescription of the criminal offense herein penalized shall be considered
interrupted: Provided, however, That the final judgment in the administrative proceedings shall not
be binding in the criminal case nor be considered as evidence of guilt but merely as proof of
compliance of the requirements therein set forth."
"CHAPTER II
Unfair Labor Practices of Employers
"Art. 249. Unfair labor practices of employers. It shall be unlawful for an employer to
commit any of the following unfair labor practices:
"(a) To interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization;
"(b) To require as a condition for employment that a person or an employee shall not join a labor
organization or shall withdraw from one to which he belongs; chanrobles virtual law library
"(c) To contract out services or functions being performed by union members when such will
interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights to selforganization; chanrobles virtual law library

"(d) To initiate, dominate, assist or otherwise interfere with the formation or administration of any
labor organization, including the giving of financial or other support to it; chanrobles virtual law
library
"(e) To discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of
employment in order to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization. Nothing in
this Code or in any other law shall prevent the parties from requiring membership in a recognized
collective bargaining agent as a condition for employment, except of those employees who are
already members of another union at the time of the signing of the collective bargaining agreement.
Employees belonging to an appropriate collective bargaining unit who are not members of the
recognized collective bargaining agent may be assessed a reasonable fee equivalent to the dues
and other fees paid members of the recognized collective bargaining agent, if such non-union
members accept the benefits under the collective agreement: Provided, That the individual
authorization required under Article 242, paragraph (o), of this Code shall not apply to the nonmembers of the recognized collective bargaining agent;
"(f) To dismiss, discharge, or otherwise prejudice or discriminate against an employee for having
given or being about to give testimony under this Code;
"(g) To violate the duty to bargain collectively as prescribed by this Code:
"(h) To pay negotiation or attorney's fees to the union or its officers or agents as part of the
settlement of any issue in collective bargaining or any other dispute;
"(i) To violate or refuse to comply with voluntary arbitration awards or decisions relating to the
implementation or interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement; or
"(j) To violate a collective bargaining agreement.
"The provisions of the preceding paragraph notwithstanding, only the officers and agents of
corporations, associations or partnerships who have actually participated in, authorized or ratified
unfair labor practices shall be held criminally liable."
5.3 PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD ( ART 290); PENAL PROVISION (ART. 288)
Art. 288. Penalties. Except as otherwise provided in this Code, or unless the acts complained of
hinge on a question of interpretation or implementation of ambiguous provisions of an existing
collective bargaining agreement, any violation of the provisions of this Code declared to be unlawful
or penal in nature shall be punished with a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) nor
more than Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than three months nor
more than three years, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
In addition to such penalty, any alien found guilty shall be summarily deported upon completion of
service of sentence.
Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any criminal offense punished in this Code,
shall be under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Municipal or City Courts and the Courts of First
Instance. (As amended by Section 3, Batas Pambansa Bilang 70)
Art. 289. Who are liable when committed by other than natural person. If the offense is committed
by a corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association or any other entity, the penalty shall be
imposed upon the guilty officer or officers of such corporation, trust, firm, partnership, association or
entity.
Art. 290. Offenses. Offenses penalized under this Code and the rules and regulations issued
pursuant thereto shall prescribe in three (3) years.
All unfair labor practice arising from Book V shall be filed with the appropriate agency within one (1)

year from accrual of such unfair labor practice; otherwise, they shall be forever barred.
Art. 291. Money claims. All money claims arising from employer-employee relations accruing during
the effectivity of this Code shall be filed within three (3) years from the time the cause of action
accrued; otherwise they shall be forever barred.
All money claims accruing prior to the effectivity of this Code shall be filed with the appropriate
entities established under this Code within one (1) year from the date of effectivity, and shall be
processed or determined in accordance with the implementing rules and regulations of the Code;
otherwise, they shall be forever barred.
Workmens compensation claims accruing prior to the effectivity of this Code and during the period
from November 1, 1974 up to December 31, 1974, shall be filed with the appropriate regional offices
of the Department of Labor not later than March 31, 1975; otherwise, they shall forever be barred.
The claims shall be processed and adjudicated in accordance with the law and rules at the time their
causes of action accrued.
5.4 RELIEFS AGAINST ULP
The civil aspect of all cases involving ULP, which may include claims for actual, moral, exemplary
and other forms of damages, attorney;s fees and other affirmative relief shall be under the
jurisdiction of labor arbiters, subject to the provisions of article 263 and 264. Recovery of civil
liability in the administrative proceedings will bar recovery under the civil code (art 247, LC).
Regarding the criminal aspect of ULP, no criminal prosecution may be instituted without a final
judgment first obtained in the administrative proceeding finding that a ULP was committed. During
the pendency of such proceeding, the running of the prescriptive period of the criminal offense shall
be considered interrupted. The final judgment in the administrative proceeding shall not be binding
in the criminal case nor be considered as evidence of guilt, but merely as proof of compliance with
procedural requirements.
In view of the dual aspect of ULP cases, the avenues of relief available are:
PREVENTIVE-through a cease and desist order to stop a party from engaging further in
unfair labor practice acts
REMEDIAL- consisting of affirmative reliefs such as reinstatement, damages, attorneys fees,
etc.
PENAL- such as fine or imprisonment or both.
civil aspects of all cases involving ULP including claims for damages and other affirmative reliefs are
within the jurisdiction of labor arbiters (national union bank employees vs lazaro)
Labor arbiters are required to give utmost priority to the hearing and resolution of cases involving
ULP. They are bound to resolve such cases within 30 calendar days from the time they are submitted
for decision.
5.5 JURISDICTION
ART. 224 [217]. JURISDICTION OF LABOR ARBITERS AND THE COMMISSION
(a) Except as otherwise provided under this Code the Labor Arbiters shall have original and
exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide, within thirty (30) calendar days after the submission of the
case by the parties for decision without extension, even in the absence of stenographic notes, the
following cases involving all workers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural:

1. Unfair labor practice cases;

2. Termination disputes;
3. If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement, those cases that workers may file involving wages,
rates of pay, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment;
4. Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages arising from the employeremployee relations;
5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of this Code, including questions involving the
legality of strikes and lockouts;
6. Except claims for Employees Compensation, Social Security, Medicare and maternity benefits, all
other claims, arising from employer-employee relations, including those of persons in domestic or
household service, involving an amount exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) regardless of
whether accompanied with a claim for reinstatement.
b) The Commission shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by Labor
Arbiters.
(c) Cases arising from the interpretation of collective bargaining agreements and those arising from
the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies shall be disposed of by the Labor
Arbiter by referring the same to the grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration as may be
provided in said agreements.
Article 224 Yields to Articles 273 and 274
Article 224 enumerates the cases falling under original and exclusive jurisdiction of labor arbiters.
This gives the impression that none but a labor arbiter can hear and decide the six categories of
cases listed. But this is not really so. Any or all of these cases can, by agreement of the parties, be
presented to and decided with finality by a voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators. A
voluntary arbitrator, under Article 273, has original and exclusive jurisdiction over disputes
concerning CBA implementation or personnel policy enforcement. In addition, under Article 274, the
parties may submit to a voluntary arbitrator (or panel) all other disputes including unfair labor
practices and bargaining deadlocks. In other words, a case under Article 224 may be lodged
instead with a voluntary arbitrator despite the seemingly exclusive jurisdiction of the labor rbiter.
This is because the law prefers, or gives primacy to, voluntary arbitration (see Article 218) instead of
compulsory arbitration. And this, in turn, is the reason why the law (Article 273, last paragraph, and
Article 224 [c]) forbids a compulsory arbitrator from entertaining a dispute properly belonging to
thejurisdiction of a voluntary arbitrator.
The cases that a labor arbiter can hear and decide are employment-related .Employment is the one
element that runs through all the cases and disputes enumerated in Article 224.
LABOR ARBITERS JURISDICTION: U.L.P. CASES
In Article 224, the first in the enumeration of cases cognizable by a labor arbiter is unfair labor
practice (U.L.P.) cases. Questions about unfair labor practice how and under what conditions it is
committed, who are liable for it, and what its consequences are are discussed under Article 257
and following articles. But its essence, captured in Article 256, is any act intended or directed to
weaken or defeat the workers right to self-organize or to engage in lawful concerted activities. In

short, unfair labor practice, when committed by an employer, carries the effect of anti-unionism.
Every such case is within the original jurisdiction of a labor arbiter, unless the parties agree to
submit it to voluntary arbitration, pursuant to Article 274.
Under Article 247 [now 257] of the Code, the civil aspects of all cases involving unfair labor
practices, which may include claims for damages and other affirmative relief, shall be under the
jurisdiction of the labor arbiters.
CBA VIOLATION AMOUNTING TO U.L.P.
If the only question is the legality of the expulsion of an employee from the union, undoubtedly, the
question is one cognizable by the Bureau of Labor Relations. But if the question extended to the
dismissal of the employee from employment or steps leading to it, as when the employer decides
the recommended dismissal, its acts would be subject to scrutiny. Particularly, it will be asked
whether it violates or not the existing collective bargaining agreement. Certainly, violations of the
collective bargaining agreement would be unfair labor practice which falls under the jurisdiction of
the Labor Arbiters and the National Labor Relations Commission.
ART. 257 [247]. CONCEPT OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR
PROSECUTION THEREOF
Unfair labor practices violate the constitutional right of workers and employees to self-organization,
are inimical to the legitimate interests of both labor and management, including their right to
bargain collectively and otherwise deal with each other in an atmosphere of freedom and mutual
respect, disrupt industrial peace and hinder the promotion of healthy and stable labor-management
relations.
Consequently, unfair labor practices are not only violations of the civil rights of both labor and
management but are also criminal offenses against the State which shall be subject to prosecution
and punishment as herein provided.
Subject to the exercise by the President or by the Secretary of Labor and Employment of the powers
vested in them by Articles 263 and 264 of this Code, the civil aspects of all cases involving unfair
labor practices, which may include claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages,
attorneys fees and other affirmative relief, shall be under the jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiters. The
Labor Arbiters shall give utmost priority to the hearing and resolution of all cases involving unfair
labor practices. They shall resolve such cases within thirty (30) calendar days from the time theyare
submitted for decision.
Recovery of civil liability in the administrative proceedings shall bar recovery under the Civil Code.
No criminal prosecution under this Title may be instituted without a final judgment, finding that an
unfair labor practice was committed, having been first obtained in the preceding paragraph. During
the pendency of such administrative proceedings, the running of the period of prescription of the
criminal offense herein penalized shall be considered interrupted: Provided, however, That the final
judgment in the administrative proceedings shall not be binding in the criminal case nor be
considered as evidence of guilt but merely as proof of compliance of the requirements herein set
forth.
PROSECUTION OF U.L.P.

Under Article 257, U.L.P. has civil as well as criminal aspects. The civil aspect may include liability for
damages and these may be passed upon by a labor arbiter.
To prosecute U.L.P. as criminal offense is not possible until after finality of judgment in the labor
case, finding that the respondent indeed committed unfair labor practice. But such judgment will not
serve as evidence of U.L.P. in the criminal case; the criminal charge must be proved independently
from the
labor case. Moreover, while only substantial evidence is required in the labor case in the NLRC, proof
beyond reasonable doubt is needed to convict in the criminal case of U.L.P.
The criminal charge, states Article 302, falls under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Municipal or
Regional Trial Court. The same article defines the penalty of fine and/or imprisonment.
Under Article 303, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officers of a corporation,
partnership, association or entity. If the U.L.P. is committed by a labor organization the parties liable
are those mentioned in Article 259.
The offense prescribes in one year.