PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Lingayen Campus

Reporter: NEBRIDA,BEVERLY JOY

MIRANDA,SWEET JENESIE Professor: DR. KAREN ESTIRA

TOPIC: GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Grievance – a disagreement between an employee and the employer on the terms or condition of
employment. Causes of grievance may include, but not limited to, complaints concerning wages, hours
of work, working conditions, performance evaluations, job assignments, or the interpretation or
application of a rule, regulation or policy.

Grievance (for Unionized firms) “any question by either the employer or the union regarding the
interpretation or application of the CBA or company personnel policies, thus referring only to a specific
disputes concerning any violation of the CBA or the labor code.

Grievance (Perfecto Sison) may be any dissatisfaction, complaint, irritation, or misunderstanding that he
thinks or feel is wrong or unfair.

A grievance refers to “a complaint in writing which has, in the first instance and in the employee’s
opinion, been ignored, overridden or dropped without due consideration.” (Section 1 b) of Rule XII of
the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of Executive Order No. 292 & other Pertinent Civil Service
Laws)

Nature of Grievances
1. Individual Differences – No two persons are alike. Individuals differ in physical and mental
heritage, educational and work experiences, social environment, and economic circumstances.
These differences influence their attitudes, behavior and reactions to events in their day-to-day
relations, at their jobs, with their supervisors and co-workers.

2. Attitudes of Supervisors – It is a major responsibilities of the supervisors to discover and settle

complaints and grievances. It is true that no supervisor can eliminate every grievance but he can
reduce them to a minimum if he knows how to locate and handle them.

Causes of Grievances (Produced by the interaction of several behavioral factors

1. Application and interpretation of the collective bargaining agreement. Grievances arise due to
unclear language that leads to different interpretation of the CBA.
2. Absence of a clear-cut company labor policy. May cause some confusion or misunderstanding
on the part of the employees, especially where there is no union in the company and effective
employer-employee channels of communication.
3. Ineffective or inadequate supervision. Grievances generally arise from poor supervision, poor
planning or schedules or assignments, employee’s lack of confidence in their supervisors
because of lack of leadership ability, discrimination or unfair treatment.
4. Inadequate communication – Common source of conflict is inadequate or inconsistent orders
and instructions from the supervisor who assumes that he put his message across to the worker
by just issuing a circular.
5. Personal problems. Grievances are also caused by personal problems of employees outside the
firm, such as family problems, financial difficulties, vices, bad living habits, and personal
relationships with people.
6. Union inspired grievances. In unionized firms, employees sometimes bring up grievances
because of union prodding. One can often tell that a grievance is union-inspired when the union
 takes an overly active part in prosecuting it. Although the grievance may be a minor one, the
union generally makes a big issue of it.
7. Improper selection and placement. It is a frequent cause of gripes and complaints. An
employee is likely to be dissatisfied if he is misplaced in his job, either because his duties and
responsibilities are too difficult for him or because the job is too low for his ability, training, and
experience.
8. Lack of orientation or training of new employees. Orientation of new employees is the first
step in making employee understand his relationship with the company, his supervisor, and his
fellow workers.
9. Favoritism. Discrimination against workers results in grievances.
10. Poor organizational structure. Poor organizational structure will surely be a cause for
inefficiency and grievance.
11. Poor systems and procedures. When systems and procedures are not well integrated,
congestion, backtracking, bottlenecks and possible relations conflicts will occur and cause
employee’s gripes.
12. Lack of appropriate facilities. Employees will complain if they are required to come up with
results without necessary tools, facilities and equipment they need to produce the expected
results.
13. Improper implementation of policies. Not only must policies be proper and appropriate, but
they must also be administered in such a way that they produce positive results and not
resentment among the employees.

INVESTIGATING THE GRIEVANCE

1.The Background-Violation of company policy,rule or order?The employee aware of the policy ,rule
or order ,furnished a copy of it ,before he committed violation?
2.The subject of the grievance -Was the employee given enough opportunity to explain his side of
the case,in accordance with ‘’due process’’
3.The solution or settlement-Under the Labor Code,the employee should be treated as a human
being.Have been similar cases decided by the National Labor Relations Commission.

METHODS OF SETTLING GRIEVANCES

The Supervisor’s Role: Guidelines in Handling Grievances
1. Accept the responsibility for handing the grievance-As supervisor you are responsible for
handling the problems, complaints and grievances of your subordinates.
2. Listen to the Complaint-If you a supervisor and your employee brings his grievance to your
attention and you listen attentively and try to understand the problem from the employee’s
point of view as well as from that of the company.
3. Get all the facts-You should write down the problem as you understand them making sure
that you get the employee’s point of view.
4. Know your employees. This knowledge will guide you in handling them and their problems.
You must be alert to spot personality changes in your subordinates.
5 .Study the settlement desired- If a decision cannot be made at the moment tell the
employee to come back and do not fail keep the appointment.
6. Supervisors should know the company policy and regulations union agreement and the
Labor Code-To be able to handle the employee grievances, you must know thoroughly the
company policy and regulations, the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and
essential provisions of the Labor Code.
7. Communicate the fact to your supervisor-Before making a decision, it is advisable to keep
your superior informed about the grievance from the beginning and your proposed decision.
8. Make your decision and take action promptly-Promptness in settling the grievances is
necessary but take time to investigate and be sure your decision is sound and will be backed
up by your superior and top management.
9.Keep records of all the grievances-Keep a records of all complaints and grievances including
the minor once which were settled in the first and second steps and review them at least
once a year in order to assess what caused these grievance and the reasons for the
misunderstanding.
10. Follow up-Follow up the action to find out it effects. This will enable you to know what
modifications or adjustments should be made.
 The Role of Management in Minimizing Grievances
1. A definite plan for handling grievances in the organization-responsibility and authority must
be clearly defined among the various supervisory levels.
2. Simple, clear-cut and concise grievance procedure to communicate to all levels of
personnel-A Manual of Personnel Policies and Procedures and will very useful to supervisor in
handling in personnel problems.
3. Strong responsible management leadership in handling personnel problems-complaints
and grievances must be handled speedily but snap judgments must be avoided.
4. Careful selection and placement-Stressed earlier the source of most problems involving
personnel is faulty selection and placement of employee’s
5. Effective training of supervisor and employees-Supervisor are primarily the leaders and
trainers of the employees, it is essential that supervisor have in proper training and human
relations.
6. Right attitude toward the aggrieved party and his gripes-Management should always open
its door to employees with problems but it must not by pass lines managers in making
decisions.
7. Fairness in the settlement of grievances-Appeal channels to top management should be
kept open and free from reprisals by supervisors.
8. Employee counseling-Employees may have on-the-job problems or problems of personnel
nature that can be seriously affects their affectiveness.
Remember … when handling grievances check these points:

1. Receive the grievance properly

… Give the man a good hearing
… Ask him to repeat his story
… Repeat essentials in your own words
…Assure him of an answer

2. Get the facts

… Check every angle
…Check the union agreement
…Check the company policy
…Examine employee’s record

3. Take action
…Make correction if Company is wrong
…Maintain your position if right
…Communicate fact to your boss
4. Follow up
…Make sure action was carried out
…Correct conditions which cause grievances
…Write up grievance and action taken
…Promote employee morale

Grievance Procedures in Unionized Firms as Provided in their CBA

4 steps:
1. Submitting the grievance to the immediate supervisor – employee presenting a problem to his
or her immediate supervisor within a certain time period after offending event has occurred.

2. Submitting the grievance to the employee’s union representative – at this point,a union
representative enters the negotiations on behalf of the employee.
3. Appealing the grievance to top management representative – if the situations is still not
resolved,the grievance continues up the chain of command to the plant manager and president
of the local union.if the labor union fails to follow the procedures at any point,the contract
usually specifies that it must drop the grievance.
 4. Submitting the grievance to arbitration – this is done if a satisfactory solution to both parties is
not reached by the above procedure.This is the final step in the grievance process and both
parties agree beforehand to abide by the arbitrator’s decision.As provided in the Labor Code,all
grievance that remain unresolved after exhausting all the internal procedures shall
automatically be referred to arbitraton.

Two Periods in the Grievance Procedure

1. Period of Persuasion – labor and management with the use of arguments and evidences,
persuade one another to give in to one’s position or agree to a compromise.

2. Period of Arbitration – begins when the act of persuasion has been exhaustively used and no
settlement has been reached.

Handling Employee grievances at the level of the supervisor

1.Receive and treat all complaints seriously and give the employee a full hearing.The way
supervisors receive a complaint or grievance is important because this may have a lot to do
with the ease or difficulty in settling the problem.it is also important to assure the grievant
or complainant of prompt action and when he/she can expect an answer.Determine if there
is a genuine grievance and if there is,whether the same is justified or not.

2.Get the facts by investigating and handling each case as though it may eventually result in
arbitration.This can be done by means of checking every angle of the complaint, checking the provisions
in the existing CBA, the company policy,and examining the employee’s record. Thus,there is a need to
examine the labor agrrement carefully and obtain clarification from the HRD if necessary.collect
evidence and determine if there were witnesses.Most grievances are contract violations and if the
supervisor does not know the contract or the company personnel policies,he/she wil not recognize a
violation when he/she sees one.Be sure to investigate the
Five W’s.
a.Who-refers tp that part of the form that clearly identifies the worker with the grievance.
b.When-refers to the time element.Often,information regarding more than one dateis needed to
properly complete the data:the date on which the grievance is officially written;the time and date on
which the grievance actually happened ;the date on which the grievance was filed in the first step with
the foreman;and the date on which the foreman or supervisor gave his/her decision.It is particularly
important on matters involving back pay that all dates be clearly started.
c.Where-refers to the exact place where the grievance took place –the department aisle or inside the
conference room.
d.Why-refers to the reason why the complaint is considered a grievance.This is the heart of the
grievance and should be written under the section that carries the heading”Nature of Grievance.”It is
important to remember that it is possible to have a legitimate grievance without being able to point to a
violation of a specific clause of the contact.
e.What-refers to what should be done about the grievance-the settlement desired.Many grievance
forms do not have separate section headed,”Settlement Desired.”In those cases, it is customary for the
union steward to list his/her settlement request at the end of the section.It is extremely important that
this be done since the arbitrator will often base his/her award solely on the original request.
3.Carefully examine all the evidence before making a decision.Avoid lengthy delays.When all the
information is in,make a decision and communicate it.Make correction if the employee or the company
is wrong.Whatever is the decision,it should be clearly explained to the employee concerned.
4.Follow up to make sure the plan of action is properly carried out by means of correcting conditions
which could result in a similar grievance happening again.

Processing of Grievance-perfecto Fernandez suggests the following approach in the processing and
adjustment of grievances:
“Processing of grievances involving a joint effort on
1.identification of the issue or issues involved;
2.developing its factual basis or background;
3.determining the contract provisions involved;
4.evaluating the merits of the grievance in the light of the factual background and applicable rules;and
5.working out a fair and just settlement.”

Two Kinds of Arbitration

1.Voluntary Arbitration-the parties agree to submit themselves to arbitration in case there is deadlock
during collective bargaining.
Scope of Voluntary Arbitration
Types of Labor Disputes that may be submitted to Voluntary Arbitration
Under Article 261 of the Labor Code,as amended,the following disputes are subject to the original
and exclusive jurisdiction of voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators:

1.Undersolved grievances arising from CBA interpretation or implementation.

These include CBA violations which are not gross in character,meaning,flagrant and/or malicious
refusal to comply with the economic provisions of the CBA.
2.Unresolved grievance arising from personnel policy enforcement and interpretation including
disciplinary cases.These disputes are often referred to as “rights disputes.”
3.Under Article 262 of the same Code,all other labor disputes including unfair labor practices and
bargaining deadlock may also be submitted to voluntary arbitration upod agreement of the
parties.Bargaining deadlock are often eferred to as “interest disputes.”
4.Article 263 lilewise allows the parties upod agreement,to submit even tne so-called”national interest
cases.”to voluntary arbitration,before orin any stage of the compulsory arbitration process prior to the
submission of the resolution.
Republic Act Nos.6727 and 6971 enacted on 7 July 1989 and 22 November 1990,respectively,also
expanded the jurisdiction of voluntary arbitration to include:
1.all unresolved wage distortion cases as a result of the application of wage orders,issued by any
Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in establishments where there is collective bargaining
agreement or recognized labor union:and

Authority of a Arbitration
A voluntary arbitration is defined as any person accredited by the NCMB,or anyone named or
designated in the CBA by the parties,to act as their voluntary arbitration.
Article 261-262 of the Labor Code provide pertinent information about the jurisdiction of voluntary
arbitration,procedures to be followed,and cots of arbitration.
1.Generel authority to investigateand hear the case upod notice of the parties and to render an
award based on the contract and record ot the case;
2.Incedental authority to perform all acts necessary to an adequate discharge of his/her duties and
responsibilities like setting and conduct of hearing, attendance of witnesses and proof documents and
other evidence,fact-finding and other modes of discorvery,reopening of hearing,etc.;
3.Special power in aid of his/her general contractual authority like the authority to determine
arbitrabilityof any particular dispute and to modify any provision of existing agreement upon which a
proposed change is submitted for arbitration.

Ground to Challenge Voluntary Arbitrator’s Decision

1.Lack of jurisdiction
2.Grave abuse of discretion
3.Violation of due process
4.Denial of substantive justice
5.Erroneous interpretation of the law
Grievance Procedures in Nonunionized Firms
A company without any union must formulate a grievance procedure for the guidance of its supervisors
and employees.The different steps in the grievance procedure usually involve the following:
1.Presentation of employee problem/s to the supervisor who is expected to settle the problem within
the specified period
2.If not satisfied ,the employee can elevate the complaint to the next higher level to resolve the
grievance.
3.The problem or case may be taken to arbitration for final decision if no satisfactory solution has been
reached by the above procedures.
 Procedures in the handling grievances vary among companies .Some nonunionized firms have
established grievance committees,member of which are either appointed by topped management or
elected by the employees.Such committees hear the evidence and issue a judgment.In some cases ,the
committee makes a recommendation to the president,rather than making a binding decision on its own
.
Another way used by nonunionized firms in handling grievance is the used of grievance appeal
procedure.It allows employees to submit grievances to successively higher levels in the organization
where the aggrieved employee is represented by an attorney, a appear, or a personnel office.The
hearing is normally conducted by a neutral company executive, who hears the evedince and makes a
judgment.
References: Human Resource Management 3rd Edition by Crispina R.Corpuz