Labor group queries Roque’s strange ruling

Under what law, regulation or jurisprudence is the Labor Secretary authorized to order labor and management to execute a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) “for records purposes only?”

The issue cropped up after the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE)-City Savings of Cebu Employees Chapter, in its motion for partial reconsideration, questioned the Jan. 19, 2010 decision by the Office of Labor Secretary Marianito Roque which, among others, directs the parties to execute a CBA “for records purposes only” To make matters worse, NUBE complained that under Roque’s order, “the prior substantial agreements of the parties during CBA negotiations proper were disregarded and it was ruled that retroactive application cannot be ordered.”

The NUBE charged Roque of committing grave abuse of discretion when he motu proprio directed the parties to execute a CBA “for records purposes only” with no law, rule, regulation or jurisprudence to support such directive. “What is the legal basis for such a CBA, if any? The Secretary did not say or elaborate. It is humbly submitted that a CBA for records purposes only does not exist in law,” NUBE maintained.

Moreover, NUBE pointed out that when the labor secretary motu proprio ruled not to give effect to the prior substantial agreements of the parties during their CBA negotiations proper on 27 items, he, in effect, substituted his own judgment for that of the parties. According to NUBE, such ruling is contrary to the policy of the law which promotes and emphasizes the primacy of free collective bargaining and negotiations as modes of settling labor disputes.

The labor dispute at City Savings of Cebu has dragged on virtually for two years. The union officers and members of City Savings of Cebu have waited for the outcome of the deadlock in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) since December 2007 after it was assumed by the office of the Labor Secretary in early 2008. The decision finally came out last Jan. 19.

But NUBE expressed agreement only on two items under Roque’s “half-baked” decision – the lump sum amounts to employees and additional amount to each employee.