Quasi-judicial bodies

which exercises
jurisdiction over Labor
cases

A.With Original Jurisdiction

Labor Arbiters(Art. 217);
National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC);
Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR)/Regional
Office(Art. 226);
DOLE Regional Directors/duly authorized
hearing officers(Art. 129);
Grievance Machinery and Voluntary
Arbitrators(Art. 260);
Secretary of Labor and Employment/his
duly authorized representatives(Art. 128);

B.With Appellate Jurisdiction

National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC);
Secretary of Labor and Employment;
and
Director of the Bureau of Labor
Relations.

LABOR ARBITERS
What is the nature of jurisdiction
of Labor Arbiters?
The jurisdiction is original and
exclusive in nature.
Labor Arbiters have no appellate
jurisdiction.

 What are the cases falling

under the jurisdiction of the
Labor Arbiters?
Labor Arbiters have jurisdiction
over the following cases :
Unfair labor practice (ULP)
cases;

Termination disputes (or

illegal dismissal cases);

 Cases that workers may file involving

wages, rates of pay, hours of work and
other terms and conditions of
employment, if accompanied with claim
for reinstatement;
Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and
other forms of damages arising from the
employer-employee relations;
Cases arising from any violation of
Article 264 of this Code, including
questions involving the legality of strikes
and lockouts; and

 Except claims for Employees

Compensation, Social Security,
Medicare and maternity benefits, all
other claims arising from employeremployee relations, including those of
persons in domestic or household
service, involving an amount
exceeding five thousand pesos
(P5,000.00) regardless of whether
accompanied with a claim for
reinstatement.
If the amount is less than (P5,000.00) it
shall fall under the jurisdiction of the
DOLE Regional Director

NLRC
What are the two kinds of
jurisdiction of the NLRC?
Original jurisdiction; and
Exclusive appellate jurisdiction.

 Original jurisdiction
Injunction in ordinary labor disputes to
enjoin or restrain any actual or
threatened commission of any or all
prohibited or unlawful acts or to require
the performance of a particular act in any
labor dispute which, if not restrained or
performed forthwith, may cause grave or
irreparable damage to any party.
Injunction in strikes or lockouts under
Article 264 of the Labor Code.

 Certified labor disputes causing or

likely to cause a strike or lockout in
an industry indispensable to the
national interest, certified to it by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment
for compulsory arbitration.

 Exclusive appellate jurisdiction

All cases decided by the Labor
Arbiters including contempt cases.
Cases decided by the DOLE Regional
Directors or his duly authorized
Hearing Officers (under Article 129)
involving recovery of wages, simple
money claims and other benefits not
exceeding P5,000 and not
accompanied by claim for
reinstatement.

 What is the distinction between

the jurisdiction of the Labor
Arbiters and the NLRC?
The NLRC has exclusive appellate
jurisdiction on ALL cases decided by
the Labor Arbiters. The NLRC does not
have original jurisdiction on the cases
over which Labor Arbiters have original
and exclusive jurisdiction. If a claim
does not fall within the exclusive original
jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter, the
NLRC cannot have appellate
jurisdiction thereover.

BLR/LRD
The BLR has original and exclusive
jurisdiction over the following:
on all inter-union and intra-union
conflicts, and all disputes, grievances or
problems arising from or affecting labormanagement relations in all workplaces,
whether agricultural or non-agricultural,
except those arising from the
implementation or interpretation of
collective bargaining agreements which
shall be the subject of grievance
procedure and/or voluntary arbitration.

 Labor Relations Division handles the

same cases of Bureau of Labor
Relations in the Regional Offices of
the Department of Labor and
Employment.

REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Under Article 129, the Regional Director
or any of the duly authorized hearing
officers of DOLE have jurisdiction over
claims for recovery of wages, simple
money claims and other benefits,
provided that:
the claim must arise from employeremployee relationship;
the claimant does not seek reinstatement;
and
the aggregate money claim of each
employee does not exceed P5,000.00

GRIEVANCE MACHINERY
Cases falling under the
jurisdiction of the Grievance
Machinery are those grievance
arising from:
the interpretation or implementation
of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement (CBA); and
the interpretation or enforcement of
company personnel policies.

 (NOTE: All grievances submitted to the

grievance machinery which are not
settled within seven (7) calendar days
from the date of its submission shall
automatically be referred to voluntary
arbitration prescribed in the CBA)

VOLUNTARY
ARBITRATORS
The Voluntary Arbitrator (or panel of
Voluntary Arbitrators) has original
and exclusive jurisdiction over
the following:
all unresolved grievances arising from
the interpretation or implementation
of the collective bargaining
agreement after exhaustion of the
grievance procedure; and

 all unresolved grievances arising from

the implementation or interpretation
of company personnel policies.
(Article 261).
all other labor disputes including
unfair labor practices and bargaining
deadlocks, upon agreement of the
parties. (Article 262).

SECRETARY OF LABOR
AND EMPLOYMENT
When may the Secretary of DOLE
assume jurisdiction of a labor dispute
and what are its effects?
When, in his opinion, the labor dispute may
cause or is likely to cause a strike or lockout in an industry indispensable to the
national interest. Such assumption shall
automatically enjoin all intended or
impending strikes or lock-outs or, if one
has already taken place, it shall require all
striking or locked out employees to return
to work on pain of dismissal.

 What are the cases falling under

the DOLE Secretarys appellate
power?
Orders issued by the duly authorized
representative of the Secretary of Labor
and Employment under Article 128
(Visitorial and Enforcement Power) may
be appealed to the latter. (Art. 128).

 Denial of application for union registration

or cancellation of union registration
originally rendered by the Bureau of Labor
Relations (BLR) may be appealed to the
Secretary of Labor and Employment. (NOTE:
If originally rendered by the Regional Office,
appeal should be made to the BLR).
Decisions of the Med-Arbiter in certification
election cases are appealable to the DOLE
Secretary. (Art. 259).

END