SECTION 1. Jurisdiction of voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators. — The voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators named in the collective bargaining agreement shall have exclusive and original jurisdiction to hear and decide all grievances arising from the implementation or interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement and those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies which remain unresolved after exhaustion of the grievance procedure.
The voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators, upon agreement of the parties, shall also hear and decide all other labor disputes including unfair labor practice and bargaining deadlocks.
SECTION 2. Referral of cases to voluntary arbitration. — All grievances unsettled or unresolved within seven (7) calendar days from the date of its submission for resolution to the last step of the grievance machinery shall automatically be referred to voluntary arbitration prescribed in the collective bargaining agreement.
The Commission, its regional branches and the Regional Directors of the Department of Labor and Employment shall not entertain disputes, grievances or matters under the exclusive and original jurisdiction of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators and shall immediately dispose and refer the same to the appropriate grievance machinery or voluntary arbitration provided in the collective bargaining agreement.
In case issues arising from the interpretation or implementation of the collective bargaining agreements or those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies are raised in notices of strikes or lockouts or requests for preventive mediation, the regional branch of the Board shall advise the parties to submit the issue/s to voluntary arbitration.
SECTION 3. All labor-management dispute subject to voluntary arbitration. — It is the policy of the State to encourage voluntary arbitration on all other labor-management disputes. Before or at any state of the compulsory arbitration process, the parties may opt to submit their dispute to voluntary arbitration.
SECTION 4. Powers of voluntary arbitrator and panel voluntary arbitrators. — The voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators shall have the power to hold hearings, receive evidence and take whatever action is necessary to resolve the issue/s subject of the dispute.
The voluntary arbitrator or panel of arbitrators may conciliate or mediate to aid the parties in reaching a voluntary settlement of the disputes.
SECTION 5. Procedures. — All parties to the dispute shall be entitled to attend the arbitration proceedings. The attendance of any third party or the exclusion of any witness from the proceedings shall be determined by the voluntary arbitrator or panel of arbitrators. Hearing may be adjourned for cause or upon agreement by the parties.
Unless the parties agree otherwise, it shall be mandatory for the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators to render an award or decision within twenty (20) calendar days from the date of submission of the dispute to voluntary arbitration.
SECTION 6. Award/Decision. — The award or decision of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators must state in clear, concise and definite terms the facts, the law and/or contract upon which it is based. It shall be final and executory after ten (10) calendar days from the receipt of the copy of the award or decision by the parties.
SECTION 7. Execution of Award/Decision. — Upon motion of any interested party, the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators or the Labor Arbiter in the region where the movant resides, in case of the absence or incapacity of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators for any reason, may issue a writ of execution requiring either the Sheriff of the Commission or regular courts or any public official whom the parties may designate in the submission agreement to execute the final decision order or award.
SECTION 8. Cost of voluntary arbitration and voluntary arbitrator's fee. — The parties to a collective bargaining agreement shall provide therein a proportionate sharing scheme on the cost of voluntary arbitration including the voluntary arbitrator's fee. The fixing of fee of voluntary arbitrators or panel of arbitrators, whether shouldered wholly by the parties or subsidized by the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund, shall take into account the following factors:
(a) Nature of the case;
(b) Time consumed in hearing the case;
(c) Professional standing of the voluntary arbitrator;
(d) Capacity to pay of the parties; and
(e) Fees provided for in the Revised Rules of Court.
Unless the parties agree otherwise, the cost of voluntary arbitration proceedings and voluntary arbitrator's fee shall be shared equally by the parties.
Parties are encouraged to set aside funds to answer for the cost of voluntary arbitration proceedings including voluntary arbitrator's fee. In the event that said funds are not sufficient to cover such expenses, an amount by way of subsidy taken out of the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund may be availed of by either or both parties under Section 9 of these Rules.
SECTION 9. Voluntary arbitration subsidy. — The Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund shall be available to subsidize the cost of voluntary arbitration in cases involving the interpretation and implementation of the collective bargaining agreement and the interpretation and enforcement of company personnel policies, including the arbitrator's fees, subject to the guidelines on voluntary arbitration to be issued by the Secretary.
