Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Intramuros, Manila
D.O.L.E. CIRCULAR No. 1
Series of 2006
ADMINISTRATIVE INTERVENTION FOR DISPUTE AVOIDANCE
In line with the objectives of the Republic Act No. 9285, Executive Order No. 523
dated 07 April 2006, and the mandate of the Department of Labor and Employment
to promote industrial peace, this administrative procedure for the voluntary
settlement of labor disputes is hereby established.
1. Either or both the employer and the certified collective bargaining agent (or the
representative of the employees where there is no certified bargaining agent) may
voluntarily bring to the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, through
a REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION, any potential or ongoing dispute defined
below.
A potential or ongoing dispute refers to:
a. a live and active dispute;
b. that may lead to a strike or lockout or to massive labor unrest; and
c. is not the subject of any complaint or notice of strike or lockout at the time a
REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION is made.
This recourse is separate from the established dispute resolution modes of
mediation, conciliation and arbitration under the Labor Code, and is an alternative
to other voluntary modes of dispute resolution such as the voluntary submission of
a dispute to the Regional Director for mediation, to the National Conciliation and
Mediation Board (NCMB) for preventive mediation, or to the intervention of a
regional or local tripartite peace council for the same purpose.
2. All REQUESTS shall be in writing and filed with the Office of the Secretary. A
REQUEST shall state:
a. the name and address of the employer;
b. the name of the certified bargaining agent, or the employee representative duly
designated in writing by a majority of the employees where there is no collective
bargaining agent;
c. the number of employees affected by the potential or ongoing dispute; and
d. a brief description of the potential or ongoing dispute.
3. Upon receipt of the REQUEST, the Office of the Secretary shall forthwith notify
the parties and invite them for conference.

The conference for REQUESTS coming from the National Capital Region,
Regions III, IV-A or IV-B shall be held at the Office of the Secretary of Labor and
Employment unless the Secretary otherwise directs. The conference for
REQUESTS coming from the other regions shall be conducted by the Regional
Director for the Secretary.
4. The Office of the Secretary or the Regional director, in the proper case, shall
proceed to intervene after the parties shall have manifested that;
a. they voluntarily submit their potential or ongoing dispute to intervention by the
Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment;
b. there is no pending notice of strike or lockout or any related complaint in
relation with their potential or ongoing dispute;
c. they shall refrain from any strike or lockout or any form of work stoppage or
from filing any related complaint while the Secretary's intervention is in effect; and
d. they shall abide by the agreement reached, whose terms may be enforced
through the appropriate writs issued by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
All agreements settling the dispute shall be in writing and signed by the parties as
well as the official who mediated the dispute.
5. The parties and officials or employees of the Department of Labor and
Employment who took part in the intervention proceedings shall not testify in any
court or body regarding the disclosures, submissions or positions made by the
parties in these proceedings.
6. If the intervention fails, either or both parties may avail themselves of the
remedies provided under the Labor Code. Alternatively, the parties may submit
their dispute to the Office of the Secretary for voluntary arbitration.
Such voluntary arbitration shall be limited to the issues defined in the parties'
submission to voluntary arbitration agreement and shall be decided on the basis of
the parties' position papers and submitted evidence.
The Office of the Secretary shall resolve the dispute within sixty (60) days from
the parties' submission of the dispute for resolution.
7. This circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper
of general publication.
Done in the City of Manila, Philippines, 11 August 2006.
(Sgd.) ARTURO D. BRION
Secretary