Certification Election
Certification election is a process of determining through secret ballot the sole
and exclusive bargaining agent (SEBA) of all the employees in an appropriate
bargaining unit for the purpose of collective bargaining.
A certification election is the most democratic and expeditious method by which
the laborers can freely determine the union that shall act as their representative in their
dealings with the establishment where they are working. It is the appropriate means
whereby controversies and disputes on representation may be laid to rest, by the
unequivocal vote of the employees themselves.
Consent Election and Certification Election Distinguished
A certification election is ordered by the Department, while a consent election is
voluntarily agreed upon by the parties, with or without the intervention by the
Department. (Department refers to the Department of Labor and Employment.)
Direct certification is no longer allowed.
Effects of Consent Election
Where a petition for certification election had been filed, and upon the
intercession of the Med-Arbiter, the parties agree to hold a consent election, the results
thereof shall constitute a bar to the holding of a certification election for one (1) year
from the holding of such consent election. Where an appeal has been filed from the
results of the consent election, the running of the one-year period shall be suspended
until the decision on appeal has become final and executory. Where no petition for
certification election was filed but the parties themselves agreed to hold a consent
election with the intercession of the Regional Office, the results thereof shall constitute a
bar to another petition for certification election.
Med-Arbiter refers to an officer in the Regional Office or in the Bureau authorized
to hear and decide representation cases, inter/intra-union disputes and other related
labor relations disputes, except cancellation of union registration cases.
Voluntary Recognition
Voluntary recognition refers to the process by which a legitimate labor union is
recognized by the employer as the exclusive bargaining representative or agent in a
bargaining unit, reported with the Regional Office in accordance with Rule VII, Section 2
of these Rules.
When and Where to File:
- In unorganized establishments with only one legitimate labor organization, the
employer may voluntarily recognize the representation status of such a union. Within
thirty (30) days from such recognition, the employer and union shall submit a notice of
voluntary recognition with the Regional Office which issued the recognized labor union's
certificate of registration or certificate of creation of a chartered local.
Requirements for voluntary recognition:
- The notice of voluntary recognition shall be accompanied by the original copy
and two (2) duplicate copies of the following documents: (a) a joint statement under
oath of voluntary recognition attesting to the fact of voluntary recognition; (b) certificate
of posting of the joint statement of voluntary recognition for fifteen (15) consecutive days
in at least two (2) conspicuous places in the establishment or bargaining unit where the
union seeks to operate; (c) the approximate number of employees in the bargaining
unit, accompanied by the names of those who support the voluntary recognition
comprising at least a majority of the members of the bargaining unit; and (d) a
statement that the labor union is the only legitimate labor organization operating within
the bargaining unit. All accompanying documents of the notice for voluntary recognition
shall be certified under oath by the employer representative and president of the
recognized labor union.
Nature of Certification Election
The conduct of a certification election has a two-fold objective: to determine the
appropriate bargaining unit and to ascertain the majority representation of the
bargaining representative, if the employees desire to be represented at all by anyone. It
is not simply the determination of who between two or more contending unions won, but
whether it effectively ascertains the will of the members of the bargaining unit as to
whether they want to be represented and which union they want to represent them.
Who may file:
- Any legitimate labor organization may file a petition for certification election.
When requested to bargain collectively, an employer may file a petition for certification
election with the Regional Office. If there is no existing registered collective bargaining
agreement in the bargaining unit, the Regional Office shall, after hearing, order the
conduct of a certification election.
Where to file:
- A petition for certification election shall be filed with the Regional Office which
issued the petitioning union's certificate of registration/certificate of creation of chartered
local. The petition shall be heard and resolved by the Med-Arbiter. Where two or more
petitions involving the same bargaining unit are filed in one Regional Office, the same
shall be automatically consolidated with the Med-Arbiter who first acquired jurisdiction.
Where the petitions are filed in different Regional Offices, the Regional Office in which
the petition was first filed shall exclude all others; in which case, the latter shall indorse
the petition to the former for consolidation.
When to file:
- A petition for certification election may be filed anytime, except:
(a) when a fact of voluntary recognition has been entered or a valid certification,
consent or run-off election has been conducted within the bargaining unit within one (1)
year prior to the filing of the petition for certification election. Where an appeal has been
filed from the order of the Med-Arbiter certifying the results of the election, the running
of the one year period shall be suspended until the decision on the appeal has become
final and executory;
(b) when the duly certified union has commenced and sustained negotiations in
good faith with the employer in accordance with Article 250 of the Labor Code within the
one year period referred to in the immediately preceding paragraph;
(c) when a bargaining deadlock to which an incumbent or certified bargaining
agent is a party had been submitted to conciliation or arbitration or had become the
subject of a valid notice of strike or lockout;
(d) when a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and a duly
recognized or certified bargaining agent has been registered in accordance with Article
231 of the Labor Code. Where such collective bargaining agreement is registered, the
petition may be filed only within sixty (60) days prior to its expiry.
Role of Employer in Certification Election
The employer shall not be considered a party to a petition for certification
election, whether it is filed by an employer or a legitimate labor organization, and shall
have no right to oppose it. Its participation shall be limited only to being notified or
informed of petition for certification election and submitting the certified list of employees
or where necessary, the payrolls (Employer as Bystander Rule).
Qualification of Voters; Inclusion & Exclusion
All employees who are members of the appropriate bargaining unit sought to be
represented by the petitioner at the time of the issuance of the order granting the
conduct of a certification election shall be eligible to vote. An employee who has been
dismissed from work but has contested the legality of the dismissal in a forum of
appropriate jurisdiction at the time of the issuance of the order for the conduct of a
certification election shall be considered a qualified voter, unless his/her dismissal was
declared valid in a final judgment at the time of the conduct of the certification election.
Source
https://blr.dole.gov.ph/2014/12/11/certification-election/
https://pnl-law.com/blog/by-stander-rule-the-role-of-company-in-certification-elections/
http://www.chanrobles.com/implementingrulesofthelaborcode5.html#.XjdZqcgzbIU
https://www.coursehero.com/file/p6r8cb5/Consent-election-and-certification-election-distinguished-
Consent-election-is-a/
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/64990/117859/F-1331837401/PHL64990.pdf
