AMENDING AND CONSOLIDATING THE GUIDELINES ON THE FEES AND IN THE PROCESSING AND PAYMENT OF SUBSIDY ENTITLEMENT FOR VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION CASES

WHEREAS , Resolutions No. 1, 2 and 3, series of
1997, all of which were passed by the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration
Advisory Council and approved by the Secretary of Labor and Employment
on January 6, 1997, established the Guidelines on Expedited Voluntary
Arbitration Procedure, revised the Guidelines on the Processing and
Payment of Subsidy Entitlement and the Guidelines for Subsidy Under the
Free Legal Aid and Voluntary Arbitration Services (FLAVAS) program,
respectively;

WHEREAS , these guidelines need to be reviewed
periodically particularly in view of the changing times and increasing
costs of professional service and other expenses incidental to
arbitration of labor disputes;

WHEREAS , to promote acceptance of voluntary arbitration, there is a need to remove the burden of cost from the parties;

WHEREAS , the Council, during its 39th Special
Meeting held on 23 April 1999, resolved to revise the Guidelines on
Expedited Voluntary Arbitration Procedure and consolidate under one
general guidelines, subject to appropriate distinctions as herein
provided, all guidelines on subsidies for cases falling under regular
and expedited voluntary arbitration procedures as well as cases falling
under the FLAVAS program;

WHEREAS , the Council likewise resolved that the
subsidy should be provided only to parties who have no capacity to pay
the arbitrator’s fees;

WHEREFORE , pursuant to the provisions of Republic
Act. No. 6715 authorizing the Council to recommend appropriate
guidelines on the use of the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund
particularly on subsidy, Resolution No. 3, Series of 1997 is hereby
incorporated and Resolution No. 2, Series of 1997 is hereby amended to
read as follows:

I. COVERAGE

The subsidy shall cover all arbitration cases whether involving
unionized or non-unionized establishments, upon proof by either or both
parties of lack of capacity to pay the cost of arbitration in accordance
with No. II herein and subject to the following conditions:

A.       UNDER REGULAR AND EXPEDITED VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION CASES — The subsidy shall be provided to all arbitration cases involving unionized establishments.

B.        UNDER THE FREE LEGAL AID AND VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION SERVICES (FLAVAS) PROGRAM, the subsidy shall be available to the following:

1.    Individual workers in establishments with no unions or with no collective bargaining agreements (CBAs);
2.    Unions which are still in the organizational stage; and
3.    Management of distressed companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

II. PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS

The subsidy is payable to the voluntary arbitrator or to the
Chairman and its members in case of panel of voluntary arbitrators
except in cases of reimbursement for amounts paid to the arbitrator or
panel of arbitrators-by either party, in which case it shall be paid to
the union or the company, as the case may be.

The request for subsidy shall be supported by the following:

A.        Duly-accomplished request for Subsidy Entitlement Form;
B.        Copy of Decision or Award;
C.        For establishments with CBAs, copy of CBA or Certificate of CBA REGISTRATION;
D.        Copy of Submission Agreement;
E.        In cases of reimbursement, proof of partial/full payment to the voluntary arbitrator;
F.         Waiver from the other party not availing of the subsidy, where appropriate.

All requests, accompanied by the aforementioned documents shall be filed with the appropriate Regional Branch.

III. AMOUNT OF SUBSIDY

A.        As a rule, the amount of subsidy shall be Ten Thousand
Pesos (P10,000.00) for all types of voluntary arbitration cases, except
as specified hereunder:

1) Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) shall be provided if:

a)    The case is submitted under the Expedited Voluntary
Arbitration Procedure as laid down in TVAAC Resolution No. 2, series of
1999.
b)    The case is a rights dispute involving two or more issues.
c)    The case involves bargaining deadlock regardless of the number of issues.

2) Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) shall be provided if the case is submitted under the FLAVAS program.

The amount shall be disposed of as follows:

a)    P1,000 shall be paid to the office of the legal aid;
b)    P500 shall be remitted to the PAVA regional chapter;
c)    P3,500 shall be paid to the voluntary arbitrator

B.        In instances where the case is settled through a
compromise agreement entered into by the parties with the assistance of
the Voluntary Arbitrator, full regular subsidy may be given to the
parties should it appear to the satisfaction of the Board that the
compromise agreement is not contrary to law, morals, good order and
public policy and entered into in good faith and not solely for the
purpose of claiming the subsidy. The subsidy under this provision can be
availed of by the same parties only once. Any agreement which
tantamounts to a mere withdrawal of the case is excluded from coverage
of this provision.

C.        If both parties avail of the subsidy, the applicable
amount shall be applied in accordance with the sharing scheme of the
parties per CBA provision. Should the sharing scheme provide for 60-40
or 70-30 or any sharing other than 50-50, for purposes of subsidy, the
amount to be provided shall be reversed, the bigger amount will be
applied to labor. In the absence of any scheme, the subsidy shall be
applied equally. However, in no case shall the subsidy be more than the
share of either party in the agreed fees of the arbitrator.

IV. SUPERSESSION CLAUSE

Resolution No. 2, Series of 1997 Providing Guidelines on the Fees
and in the Processing of Payment of Subsidy Entitlement for Regular
Voluntary Arbitration Cases is hereby amended. Resolution No. 3, series
of 1997 providing Guidelines for Subsidy Under the Free Legal Aid and
Voluntary Arbitration Services Program is hereby incorporated by
reference.

All other resolutions inconsistent with this are hereby superseded.

V. APPROVAL OF THE GUIDELINES

These guidelines shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Labor and Employment.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Tripartite Voluntary Arbitration Advisory Council has RESOLVED, as it is hereby RESOLVED,
that the National Conciliation and Mediation Board shall observe and
comply with the guidelines set forth herein as approved by the Secretary
of Labor and Employment, in the administration of the Special Voluntary
Arbitration fund and in the use of the voluntary arbitration subsidy.

APPROVED .

Adopted: November 15, 1999

(SGD.) BUENAVENTURA C. MAGSALIN Chairman		(SGD.) BENEDICTO ERNESTO R. BITONIO, JR. Member-Government Sector
(SGD.) ROBERTO A. PADILLA  Member-Labor Sector		(SGD.) EDGAR C. RECIÑA  Member-Labor Sector
(SGD.) RANULFO P. PAYOS  Member- Employer Sector		(SGD.) ANIANO G. BAGABALDO  Member-Employer Sector
	APPROVED:
	(SGD.) BIENVENIDO E. LAGUESMA Secretary