SECTION 1. Who may join unions. — All persons employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises, including employees of government corporations established under the Corporation Code as well as employees of religious, medical or educational institutions whether operating for profit or not, except managerial employees, shall have the right to self-organization and to form, join or assist labor organizations for purposes of collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, self-employed people, rural workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual aid and protection.
Supervisory employees and security guards shall not be eligible for membership in a labor organization of the rank-and-file employees but may join, assist or form separate labor organizations of their own; Provided, that those supervisory employees who are included in an existing rank-and-file bargaining unit, upon the effectivity of Republic Act No. 6715, shall remain in that unit; Provided, further, that alien employees with valid working permits issued by the Department of Labor and Employment may exercise the right to self-organization and join or assist labor organizations for purposes of collective bargaining if they are nationals of a country which grants the same or similar rights to Filipino workers, as certified by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
For the purpose of this Section, any employee, whether employed for a definite period or not, shall, beginning on the first day of his service, be eligible for membership in the union.
SECTION 2. Where to file application; procedure. — Any national labor organization or labor federation or local union may file an application for registration with the Bureau or the Regional Office where the applicant's principal office is located. The Bureau or the Regional Office shall immediately process and approve or deny the application. In case of approval, the Bureau or the Regional Office shall issue the registration certificate within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of the application, together with all the requirements for registration as hereinafter provided.
SECTION 3. Union affiliation; direct membership with national union. — An affiliate of a labor federation or national union may be a local or chapter thereof or an independently registered union.
(a) The labor federation or national union concerned shall issue a charter certificate indicating the creation or establishment of a local or chapter, copy of which shall be submitted to the Bureau of Labor Relations within thirty (30) days from issuance of such charter certificate.
(b) An independently registered union shall be considered an affiliate of a labor federation or national union after submission to the Bureau of the contract or agreement of affiliation within thirty (30) days after its execution.
(c) All existing labor federations or national unions are required to submit a list of all their affiliates, their addresses and including the names and addresses of their respective officials, to the Bureau within thirty (30) days from effectivity of these Rules.
(d) All existing labor federations or national unions with direct members are required to organize said members into locals or chapters in their respective companies or establishments within sixty (60) days from effectivity of these Rules.
(e) The local or chapter of a labor federation or national union shall have and maintain constitution and by-laws, set of officers and books of accounts. For reporting purposes, the procedure governing the reporting of independently registered unions, federations or national unions shall be observed.
(f) No person who is not an employee or worker of the company or establishment where an independently registered union, affiliate, local or chapter of a labor federation or national union operates shall henceforth be elected or appointed as an officer of such union, affiliate, local or chapter.
SECTION 4. Requirements for registration of local unions; applications. — The application for registration of a local union shall be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit which the applicant union seeks to represent, and shall be accompanied by the following:
(a) Fifty-peso registration fee;
(b) The names of its officers, their addresses, the principal address of the labor organization, the minutes of the organizational meetings and the list of the workers who participated in such meetings;
(c) The names of all its members and the number of employees in the bargaining unit;
(d) If the applicant union has been in existence for one or more years, copies of its annual financial reports;
(e) Four copies of its constitution and by-laws, minutes of its adoption or ratification, and the list of the members who participated in it;
(f) A sworn statement by the applicant union that there is no certified bargaining agent in the bargaining unit concerned. In case where there is an existing collective bargaining agreement duly submitted to the Department of Labor and Employment, a sworn statement that the application for registration is filed during the last sixty (60) days of the agreement; and
(g) The application for registration and all the accompanying documents shall be verified under oath by the secretary or the treasurer, as the case may be, and attested to by the president.
SECTION 5. Denial of registration of local unions. — The Regional Office of the Bureau may deny the application for registration on grounds of non-compliance with the requirements enumerated in Section 4 hereof.
The decision of the Regional Office or the Bureau denying the application for registration shall be in writing, stating in clear terms the reasons therefor. A copy thereof shall be furnished the applicant union.
SECTION 6. Appeal. — Any applicant union may appeal to the Bureau the denial of registration by the Regional Office, or to the Secretary if the denial is by the Bureau, within ten (10) calendar days from receipt of such decision on grounds of:
(a) Grave abuse of discretion; and
(b) Gross incompetence.
The appeal shall be filed in the Regional Office/Bureau which shall cause the transmittal of the records to the Bureau/Secretary within five (5) calendar days from receipt of the appeal.
The Bureau/Secretary shall decide the appeal within twenty (20) calendar days from receipt of the records of the case.
SECTION 7. Cancellation of registration certificate. — The certificate of registration of any legitimate labor organization including labor federations or national unions may be cancelled by the Bureau or the Regional Office on any of the following grounds:
(a) Violation of Articles 234, 237 and 239 of the Code;
(b) Failure to comply with Article 238 of the Code; and
(c) Violation of any of the provisions of Article 241 of the Code.
SECTION 8. Notice of Cancellation. — The Bureau or the Regional Office shall serve a notice of the cancellation proceedings on the labor organization concerned stating the grounds therefor, at least fifteen (15) calendar days before the scheduled date of hearing. In such hearing, the representative of the labor organization shall have the right to present its side.
SECTION 9. Appeal. — The labor organization may, unless the law provides otherwise, within fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt of the decision cancelling or revoking its certificate of registration, file an appeal to the Bureau, or in case of cancellation by the Bureau, to the Secretary, on any of the following grounds:
(a) Grave abuse of discretion; and
(b) Gross incompetence.
The Bureau/Secretary shall have fifteen (15) calendar days from receipt of the records of the case within which to decide the appeal. The decision shall be final and unappealable.
SECTION 10. Rights of labor organizations. — A legitimate labor organization shall have the rights enumerated in Article 242 of the Code.
SECTION 11. Automatic cancellation of union registration. — (a) The Bureau or the Regional Office shall, after due process, cancel the certificate of registration of any labor organization which fails to submit the financial reports required by the Code and its Implementing Rules six (6) months after the effectivity of Republic Act No. 6715.
(b) The reports required under this section shall be submitted to the Bureau or the Regional Office.
