AN ACT TO PROMOTE INDUSTRIAL PEACE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 875

Declaration of Policy (Section 1):
- Eliminate causes of industrial unrest by protecting employees' right to self-organization for collective bargaining and promotion of their well-being.
- Promote industrial peace and advancement of welfare through collective bargaining between employers and employee representatives.
- Advance settlement of issues through collective bargaining by providing governmental facilities for conciliation and mediation.
- Avoid differences by prescribing rules for negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements.

Definitions (Section 2):
- Defines terms like "court", "service", "employer", "employee", "labor organization", "legitimate labor organization", "company union", "representative", "unfair labor practice", "labor dispute", "supervisor", "strike", and "lockout".

Employees' Right to Self-Organization (Section 3):
- Employees have the right to self-organization, form labor organizations, and engage in concerted activities for collective bargaining.
- Supervisors cannot be members of labor organizations of employees under their supervision but can form separate organizations.

Unfair Labor Practices (Section 4):
- Lists unfair labor practices by employers, such as interfering with employees' rights, discriminating against union members, and refusing to bargain collectively.
- Lists unfair labor practices by labor organizations, such as restraining employees' rights, causing discrimination, refusing to bargain collectively, and exacting payments for services not performed.

Unfair Labor Practice Cases (Section 5):
- The court has exclusive jurisdiction over prevention of unfair labor practices.
- Outlines the procedure for investigating and issuing orders in unfair labor practice cases.

Appeals in Unfair Labor Practice Cases (Section 6):
- Appeals can be made to the Supreme Court within 10 days, but the court's order must be obeyed.
- The Supreme Court's review is limited to questions of law.

Fixing Working Conditions by Court Order (Section 7):
- No court can set wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of employment, except as provided in this Act or other specified laws.

Private Contracts Contravening Employee Rights (Section 8):
- Contracts or agreements that require employees not to join labor organizations or to withdraw from them are null and void.

Injunctions in Labor Disputes (Section 9):
- No court can issue injunctions prohibiting certain acts related to labor disputes, such as strikes, picketing, or advising others to engage in such acts.
- Outlines requirements for courts to issue injunctions in labor disputes.

Labor Disputes in Industries Indispensable to National Interest (Section 10):
- The President can certify a labor dispute to the court, which can issue orders forbidding strikes or lockouts and fixing terms and conditions of employment.

Prohibition Against Strikes in the Government (Section 11):
- Employees in governmental functions cannot strike to secure changes in terms and conditions of employment.

Exclusive Collective Bargaining Representation (Section 12):
- The labor organization designated by the majority of employees in a bargaining unit is the exclusive representative for collective bargaining.
- Outlines procedures for determining the representative through elections.

Duty to Bargain Collectively (Section 13):
- Employers and employee representatives have a duty to bargain collectively in good faith for negotiating agreements and adjusting grievances.
- Outlines requirements for terminating or modifying existing agreements.

Procedure of Collective Bargaining (Section 14):
- Outlines the steps for initiating negotiations, holding conferences, involving the Conciliation Service, and providing notice of intention to strike or lockout.

Violation of Duty to Bargain Collectively (Section 15):
- Penalties for employers refusing to bargain collectively or declaring lockouts without bargaining, and for labor organizations refusing to bargain collectively or declaring strikes without bargaining.

Administration of Agreement and Handling of Grievances (Section 16):
- Parties to collective bargaining should include provisions for observing the agreement and adjusting grievances.

Rights and Conditions of Membership in Labor Organizations (Section 17):
- Outlines policies for internal procedures of labor organizations, such as election of officers, financial reporting, and restrictions on membership.

Conciliation Service (Section 18):
- Establishes the Conciliation Service to assist parties in settling labor disputes through conciliation and mediation.

Compilation of Collective Bargaining Agreements (Section 19):
- The Conciliation Service shall maintain a file of collective bargaining agreements and related orders and decisions.

Labor-Management Conferences (Section 20):
- The President can call national or regional conferences of employer and labor representatives to adopt voluntary codes of principles for labor-management relations.

Advisory Labor-Management Council (Section 21):
- Establishes an advisory Labor-Management Council in the Department of Labor to advise on avoiding industrial disputes and administering mediation.

Study of Industrial Relations (Section 22):
- The Secretary of Labor shall inquire into various aspects of employer-employee relations and recommend remedial legislation for promoting industrial peace.

Registration of Labor Organizations (Section 23):
- Establishes a Registrar of Labor Organizations in the Department of Labor.
- Outlines requirements and procedures for registration and cancellation of registration of labor organizations.

Rights of Labor Organizations (Section 24):
- Lists the rights of legitimate labor organizations, such as acting as representatives for collective bargaining, owning property, and bringing legal actions.

Penalties (Section 25):
- Violations of Section 3 (employees' right to self-organization) are punishable by a fine of 100 to 1,000 pesos or imprisonment of 1 month to 1 year, or both.
- Other violations are punishable by a fine of 50 to 500 pesos per offense.

Appropriations (Section 26):
- Appropriates 200,000 pesos for fiscal year 1954 and authorizes the same amount for succeeding years to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Transitory Provision (Section 27):
- Cases pending before the Court of Industrial Relations at the time of this Act's passage shall be processed according to previous laws, but judges shall attempt to help parties reach a speedy solution by mutual agreement.

Declaration of Invalidity (Section 28):
- If any provision of this Act is held invalid, the remainder shall not be affected.

Prior Inconsistent Laws (Section 29):
- All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this Act are repealed.

Date of Effectivity (Section 30):
- This Act shall take effect upon its approval.