JURISDICTION OF THE LABOR ARBITERS

a. Original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide 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 employer-
employee relations;

5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of the Labor Code, as amended, including
questions involving the legality of strikes and lockouts;

6. Except claims for employees compensation not included in the next succeesing paragraph,
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), whether or not accompanied with a claim for reinstatement;

7. Wage distortion disputes in unorganized establishments not voluntarily settled by the parties
pursuant to Republic Act No. 6727;

8. Enforcement of compromise agreements when there is non-compliance by any of the parties

pursuant to Article 227 of the Labor Code, as

amended;

9. Money claims arising out of employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any law or

contract, involving Filipino workers for overseas deployment,

including claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages as provided by
Section 10, Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic

Act No. 10022; and

10. Other cases as may be provided by law.

JURISDICTION OF THE COMMISSION PROPER

1. Cases decided by the Labor Arbiter;

2. Cases decided by the Regional Directors or hearing officers on small money claims;

3. Cases of national interest certified to by the Secretary of Labor;

4. Petitions for injunctions or temporary restraining order under Article 218 (e) of the Labor
Code, as amended; and

5. Petition to annul or modify the order or resolution (including those issued during execution
proceedings) of the Labor Arbiter.
The Bureau of Labor Relations has jurisdiction over the following cases:

A.) Original and Exclusive

1.) Inter-union conflicts

2.) Intra-union conflicts
3.) All disputes, problems, or grievances that are founded on or affect labor-management
relations, whether agricultural or not (except those founded on an interpretation or interpretation
of a CBA -these are subject either to the grievance procedure and/or voluntary arbitration)

B.) Appellate

1.) Decisions of med-arbiters in intra-union disputes

2.) Regional office decisions on petitions to cancel a union's registration certificate

A med-arbiter is an officer in the DOLE regional office or BLR whose job is to hear and decide
representation, intra/inter-union disputes and other labor relations disputes except cases on
cancellation of union registration. Decisions of the med-arbiter/regional director are appealable
to the the BLR within 10 days from receipt of the decision. The BLR has 15 days to work on
cases submitted to it. This period can be extended on agreement by the parties. A decision of the
BLR must also be appealed within 15 days from its receipt; the appeal is to the DOLE secretary.

Representation cases are those cases meant to determine which among rival unions in an
establishment should be the appropriate representative for collective bargaining purposes. Inter-
union disputes are disputes between unions while an intra-union dispute is a dispute within a
union.

The NCMB

The National Conciliation and Mediation Board is an attached agency under the supervision and
control of the DOLE. It was created to handle the conciliation, mediation, and voluntary
arbitration functions of the BLR and is composed of an administrator and 2 deputies.

Functions:

1.) Formulate policies, programs, procedures, standards, operation manuals and guidelines on
effective mediation and conciliation of labor disputes
2.) Preventive mediation and conciliation functions
3.) Coordinate and maintain linkages with other sectors and institutions and other government
authorities concerned with matters relative to the prevention and settlement of labor disputes
4.) Formulate policies, plans, programs, standards, procedures, operations manuals and
guidelines pertaining to the promotion of cooperative and non-adversarial schemes, grievance
handling, voluntary arbitration and other voluntary modes of dispute settlement
5.) Administer the voluntary arbitration program; maintain/update a list of voluntary arbitrations
and compile arbitration awards and decisions
6.) Provide counseling and preventive mediation assistance particularly in the administration of
collective agreements
7.) Monitor and exercise technical supervision over BLR programs implemented in regional
offices
8.) Perform other such function provided by law or assigned by the DOLE secretary