Strikes and Lockouts

Art. 278 (263). Strikes, Picketing and Lockouts. – (a) It is the policy of the State to encourage
free trade unionism and free collective bargaining.

(b) Workers shall have the right to engage in concerted activities for purposes of collective
bargaining or for their mutual benefit and protection. The right of legitimate labor organizations
to strike and picket and of employers to lock-out, consistent with the national interest, shall
continue to be recognized and respected. However, no labor union may strike and no employer
may lockout on grounds involving inter-union and intra-union disputes.

(c) In cases of bargaining deadlocks, the duly certified or recognized bargaining agent may file a
notice of strike or the employer may file a notice of lockout with the Ministry at least 30 days
before the intended date thereof. In cases of unfair labor practice, the period notice shall be 15
days and in the absence of a duly certified or recognized bargaining agent, the notice of strike
may be filed by any legitimate labor organization in behalf of its members. However, in case of
dismissal from employment of union officers duly elected in accordance with the union
constitution and bylaws, which may constitute union busting where the existence of the union is
threatened, the 15-day cooling off period shall not apply and the union may take action
immediately.

(d) The notice must be in accordance with such implementing rules and regulations as the
Minister of labor and Employment may promulgate.

(e) During the cooling-off period, it shall be the duty of the Ministry to exert all efforts at
mediation and conciliation to effect a voluntary settlement. Should the dispute remain unsettled
until the lapse of the requisite number of days from the mandatory filing of the notice, the labor
union may strike or the employer may declare a lockout.

(f) A decision to declare a strike must be approved by a majority of the total union membership
in the bargaining unit concerned, obtained by secret ballot meetings or referenda called for the
purpose. A decision to declare lockout must be approved by the majority of the board of
directors of the corporation or association or of the partners in a partnership, obtained by secret
ballot in a meeting called for the purpose. The decision shall be valid for the duration of the
dispute based on substantially the same grounds considered when the strike or lockout vote was
taken. The Ministry may, at its own initiative or upon the request of any affected party, supervise
the conduct of the secret balloting. In every case, the union or the employer shall furnish the
Ministry the results of the voting at least seven days before the intended strike or lockout, subject
to the cooling-off period herein provided.

(g) When, in his opinion, there exists a labor dispute causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout
in an industry indispensable to the national interest, the Secretary of Labor and Employment may
assume jurisdiction over the dispute and decide it or certify the same to the Commission for
compulsory arbitration. Such assumption or certification shall have the effect of automatically
enjoining the impending strike or lockout as specified in the assumption or certification order. If
one has already taken place at the time of the assumption or certification, all striking or locked
out employees shall immediately return to work and the employer shall immediately resume
operations and readmit all workers under the same terms and conditions prevailing before the
strike or lockout. The Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Commission may seek the
assistance of law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with this provision as well as with
such orders as he may issue to enforce the same.

In line with the national concern and the highest respect accorded to the right of patients to life
and health, strikes and lockouts in hospitals, clinics and similar medical institutions shall, to
every extent possible, be avoided, and all serious efforts, not only by labor and management but
government as well, be exhausted to substantially minimize, if not prevent, their adverse effects
on such life and health, through the exercise, however legitimate, by labor of its right to strike
and by management to lockout. In labor disputes adversely affecting the continued operation of
such hospitals, clinics or medical institutions, it shall be the duty of the striking union or locking-
out employer to provide and maintain an effective skeletal force of medical and other health
personnel, whose movement and services shall be unhampered and unrestricted, as are necessary
to insure the proper and adequate protection of the life and health of its patients, most especially
emergency cases, for the duration of the strike or lockout. In such cases, therefore, the Secretary
of Labor and Employment may immediately assume, within twenty-four (24) hours from
knowledge of the occurrence of such a strike or lockout, jurisdiction over the same or certify it to
the Commission for compulsory arbitration. For this purpose, the contending parties are strictly
enjoined to comply with such orders, prohibitions and/or injunctions as are issued by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment or the Commission, under pain of disciplinary action,
including dismissal or loss of employment status or payment by the locking out employer of
backwages, damages and other affirmative relief, even criminal prosecution against either or
both them.

The foregoing notwithstanding, the President of the Philippines shall not be precluded from
determining the industries that, in his opinion, are indispensable to the national interest, and from
intervening at any time and assuming jurisdiction over any such labor dispute in order to settle or
terminate the same.

(h) Before or at any stage of the compulsory arbitration process, the parties may opt to submit
their dispute to voluntary arbitration.

(i) The Secretary of Labor and Employment, the Commission or the voluntary arbitrator shall
decide or resolve the dispute, as the case may be. The decision of the President, the Secretary of
Labor and Employment, the Commission or the voluntary arbitrator shall be final and executor
ten (10) calendar days after receipt thereof by the parties.

Provision summary:

1. Right to Engage in Concerted Activities Workers shall have the right to engage in
concerted activities for purposes of collective bargaining or for their mutual benefit and
protection. The more common forms of concerted activities are: a.) strikes; b.) picketing; and c.)
boycotts.

2. Strike is any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of
an industrial or labor dispute. The requisites of a strike are as follows:

a.) temporary; and

b.) the result of the labor dispute

Kinds of Strikes

a.) Unfair labor strike- Unfair labor strike is a concerted activity staged as a result of the
employer’s unfair labor practice. To be considered as unfair labor strike, it is not
necessary that the employer should actually commit an unfair labor practice. It is enough
that the strikers believe in good faith that the employer has committed ULP

b.) Economic strike- Economic strike is a concerted activity staged to force wage or
other concessions from the employer which he is not required by law to grant. An
economic strike may subsequently turn into a ULP strike if in the process, the employer
commits ULP against the strikers

Forms of Strikes

By Manner of Execution :

a.) Walk-out – a form of strike where the employees leave their workplace and establish
themselves outside the plant and refuse access to the owners and other employees who want to
work.

b.) Sit-down – a form of strike where the strikers establish themselves within the plant, stop its
production and refuse access to the owners and other employees who want to work.

c.) Slowdown – a form of strike where strikers merely retard production d.) Mass leave – a
form of strike where the strikers take time-off from work simultaneously.

e.) Wildcat – a strike staged without the sanction or authorization of the union.

As To The Employer Directed Against :

a.) Primary strike – directed against the employer because of a labor dispute with him.

b.) Secondary strike – directed against the employer connected by product or employment with
alleged unfair labor conditions or practices. (E.g., where a manufacturer engages in ULP and the
employees of its distributors stage a strike against it.)

c.) Sympathy strike – a strike staged to make common cause with other strikers in other
establishments or companies, without the existence of any dispute between the striking
employees and their employer. There need not be a connection of product or employment in this
kind of strike.

d.) General strike – directed against all the employers, participated in by the workmen
irrespective of the employers for whom they are working.

e.) Particular strike – directed solely against the strikers’ employer.

As to coverage:

a.) General- one which covers and extend over a whole province or country. In this kind of
strike, the employees of various companies and industries cease to work in sympathy with
striking workers of another company,

b.) Particular – one which covers a particular establishment or employer or one industry
involving one union or federation.
Latest case of Law on Forms of Strikes

 Sporting of closely cropped hair or cleanly shaven heads, a form of illegal strikes
 Slowdown strike
 Mass leave
 Overtime boycott
 Boycott of products or services

Requisites of a Valid Strike

a.) It must be based on any or both of the following:

 ULP of the employer
 Collective Bargaining deadlock
b.) A notice of strike must be filed with the NCMB-DOLE
c.) A notice must be served to the NCMB-DOLE at least 24 hours prior to the taking of the
strike vote by secret balloting, informing said office of the decision to conduct a strike vote,
and the date,place and time thereof and asking it to supervise the taking of the strike.
d.) A strike vote report must be submitted to the NCMB-DOLE at least 7 days before the
intended date of strike.
e.) Except in cases of union busting, observance of the cooling off period of 15 days, in case of
ULP of the employer, 30 days, in case of case of CBD, reckoned form the filling of the
notice of strike.
f.) The 7 day waiting period or strike ban reckoned after the submission of the strike vote report
to the NCMB-DOLE should be fully observed in all cases.

Legal Grounds for Declaring a Strike

a.) Collective bargaining deadlock

b.) Unfair labor practice

** Any strike founded on other grounds is illegal.

Legal Requirements of a Strike

a.) Notice of strike

b.) Strike vote

c.) Strike vote report

**Failure to comply with any of these requirements will render the strike illegal.

Notice of Strike Filed with the Regional Branch of the National Conciliation and Mediation
Board and served to the company, at least:

a.) 30 days before the intended date of strike – if the ground for strike is based on collective
bargaining deadlock

b.) 15 days before the intended date of strike – if the ground for strike is based on ULP.

Cooling-off - is the span of time allotted by law for the parties to settle their disputes in a
peaceful manner before declaring a strike.

a.) 30 days from filing of the notice of strike – if the ground for the strike is CBD

b.) 15 days from filing of the notice of strike – if the ground for strike is ULP
**Observance of the cooling-off period is mandatory. Strikes which violate the cooling-off
period are illegal.

Exception: When in case of ULP involving the dismissal from employment of a union officer
duly elected which may constitute union busting and the existence of the union is threatened, the
15-day cooling-off period need not be observed and the union may strike after the strike vote is
conducted and reported to the regional branch of the NCMB.

Strike Vote - The decision to declare a strike must be approved by the majority of the total
union membership in the bargaining unit concerned, through secret ballot in a meeting or
referendum called for the purpose. The purpose of the strike vote is to ensure that the intended
strike is a majority decision. A strike declared without the approval of a majority of the total
union membership is illegal. The decision to declare a strike shall be valid for the duration of the
dispute based on substantially the same grounds considered when the strike vote was taken.

Strike Vote Report - The purpose of the report is to give assurance that a strike vote has been
taken and also to enable the majority of the union members to take the appropriate remedy before
it is too late, if such report turns out to be false.

Day Strike Ban - This is the 7-day period reckoned from the submission of the strike vote
report. The union cannot strike during this period. This is a reasonable exercise of police power.
In computing the period, the first day shall be excluded and the last day included.

Declaration of Strike -The union may go on strike if after the lapse of the cooling-off period
and the 7-day strike ban, if the dispute remains unsettled. The NCMB shall continue mediating
and conciliating.

Strikes in Medical Institutions Strikes in medical institutions are strongly discouraged

because of their effects on the life and health of patients. Should a strike be declared, the union
must provide and maintain an effective skeletal workforce whose movement and services shall
be unhampered and unrestricted. The Secretary of Labor and Employment may immediately
assume jurisdiction over the dispute or certify it to compulsory arbitration within 24 hours from
knowledge of the occurrence of the strike.

Return-to-Work Order

Strikers are bound to immediate comply with the RTWO issued by the Secretary even if an MR
has been filed. A RTWO is immediately executor. It is a matter of obligation. Strikers who defy
a RTWO may be declared to have lost their employment status. This does not violate the
constitutional provision against involuntary servitude.

Employment Status of Strikers

The mere participation of a worker in a lawful strike is not a ground for termination of
employment, even if the employer had hired a replacement during such lawful strike.

Reinstatement of Strikers

General Rule:

Striking employees are entitled to reinstatement, whether or not the strike was the consequence
of the employer’s ULP.

Exceptions:

a.) Union officers who knowingly participate in an illegal strike;

 b.) Union officers or members who knowingly participate in the commission of illegal acts
during the strike;

c.) Strikers who defy a RTWO

Wages During Strike

General Rule:

Strikers are not entitled to their wages during the period of the strike even if the strike is legal,
following the concept of ‘a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s labor’.

Exceptions: Backwages may be awarded:

a.) When the supposed strikers did not strike but were locked out;

b.) Where the strikers voluntarily and unconditionally offered to return to work, but the
employer refused to accept the offer without justifiable reason

Legality of a Strike

a.) If the purpose is lawful and the means employed are lawful, the strike is LEGAL.

b.) If declared for both a legal and illegal purpose, the strike is ILLEGAL in its entirety.

c.) If the purpose is lawful but the means employed are unlawful, the strike is ILLEGAL.

Illegal Strike

The following strikes have been held illegal:

a.) Strike staged on grounds other than those prescribed by law

b.) Strike staged without complying with any of the legal requirements of the strike.
c.) Strike declared before the lapse of the cooling-off period or the 7-day strike ban.
d.) Strike declared after the Secretary of Labor and Employment has assumed jurisdiction over
the dispute or certified the same for compulsory arbitration.
e.) Strike declared after the notice of strike has been converted into preventive mediation.
f.) Strike carried out with the use of force, violence, physical injuries, sabotage and unnecessary
obscene language.
g.) Strike staged in violation of the no-strike stipulation of a CBA.
h.) Strike staged without giving the employer ample time to consider and act on the demands of
the union.
i.) Strike without exhausting or availing of the grievance machinery under the CBA.
j.) Strike staged without first resorting to pacific means provided by law.
k.) Strike declared to correct wage distortion.
l.) Strike staged to compel an employer to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement during
the pendency of a petition for certification election.
m.) Strike staged by a minority union to compel the employer to bargain with it despite the
existence of a certified bargaining agent
n.) Strike declared for trivial, unjust or unreasonable purpose
o.) Strike on a simple violation of the CBA

p.) Strike on grounds involving inter-union or intra-union disputes

q.) Strike declared without first having bargained collectively

** Cases:

Reliance Surety vs. NLRC 193 SCRA 365

NFSW vs. Ovejera 114 SCRA 354

Union of Filipro vs. Nestle 192 SCRA 396

PAL vs. Secretary of Labor 193 SCRA 223

Liberal Labor Union vs. Philippine Can Co. 91 Phil. 72

Philippine Metal Foundries vs. CIR 90 SCRA 135

INSUREFCO Paper vs. INSUREFCO 95 Phil. 761

Liberal Labor Union vs. Philippine Can Co. 91 Phil. 72

National Labor Union vs. Philippine Match Factory 70 Phil. 300

Ilaw at Buklod ng Manggagawa vs. NLRC 198 SCRA 586

LAKAS vs. Marcelo 118 SCRA 422; 449

Sanction for Illegal Strike

An Illegal strike does not automatically warrant the wholesale dismissal of strikers. Only the
following strikers can be penalized with loss of employment status:

a.) Union officers who knowingly participate in an illegal strike;

b.) Union officers or members who knowingly participate in the commission of illegal acts
during a strike.

** Illegal acts include violence, physical injuries, coercion, intimidation, possession of deadly
weapon, obstruction of the free ingress to and egress from the employer’s premises and defiance
of RTWO or assumption/certification order.

Liability for Damages Arising from an Illegal Strike

The best evidence obtainable must be presented to hold the union and the strikers liable for
damages. Actual or compensatory damages cannot be presumed, but must be duly proved. The
local union and not the federation are liable for damages resulting from an illegal strike. This is
because the local union is the principal and the federation is a mere agent of the union.

The Innocent Bystander Doctrine

The doctrine provides that the right to strike and picket may be regulated at the instance of third
parties or innocent bystanders if it appears that the inevitable result of its exercise is to create an
impression that a labor dispute to which they have no connection or interest exists between them
and the picketing union or constitute an invasion of their rights. The courts can confine or
localize the sphere of communication or the demonstration to the parties to the labor dispute,
including those with related interest and to insulate establishments or persons with no industrial
connection or having interest totally foreign to the context of the dispute.

Picketing
 Is the marching to and fro before the premises of an establishment involved in a dispute,
generally accompanied by the carrying and display of a sign, placard or banner bearing
statements in connection with the dispute. Picketing is a freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.
If peacefully carried out, it cannot be enjoined even in the absence of employer-employee
relationship. But the courts can confine or localize the demonstrations to the disputants and
insulate establishments with no industrial connection or interest to the dispute.

Injunction Against Picketing

General Rule:

Picketing cannot be enjoined because it is part of the freedom of speech.

Exceptions:

a.) If necessary to protect the rights of third parties or innocent bystanders;

b.) If the picketing is carried out through the use of illegal means;

c.) If the picketing is carried out through the use of violence or illegal acts.

Boycott is a combination formed for the purpose of restricting the market of an individual or
group of individuals.

a.) Primary boycott – one which is applied directly and alone to the offending person by
withdrawing from him all business relations on the part of the organization that initiated the
boycott.

b.) Secondary boycott – a combination to exercise coercive pressure upon the customers of an
employer, actual or prospective, in order to cause them to or withhold or withdraw patronage
from him through fear of loss or damage to themselves should they deal with him. - Usually
held to be illegal because of the principle that one not a party to an industrial strife cannot,
against his will, be made an ally of one of the parties for the purpose of accomplishing the
destruction of the other.

Lockout is the temporary refusal of an employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial or

labor dispute.

Requisites:

The refusal to furnish work must be:

a.) Temporary; and

b.) The result of a labor dispute.

Lockout vs. Shut-down

Lockout - In a lock out, the plant continues to operate.

Shut-down

 In a shut-down, the plant ceases to operate.

 A shut-down is the willful act of the employer himself following a complete lockout.
**All shutdowns are lockouts, but not all lockouts constitute shutdowns.

Requisites of a Valid Lockout

a.) It should be declared only on grounds specified by law; and

b.) It should comply with the requirements prescribed by law.

Legal Grounds for Declaring a Lockout

a.) Collective bargaining deadlock (CBD)

b.) Unfair labor practice (ULP)

Legal Requirements of a Lockout

a.) Notice of lockout

b.) Lockout vote;

c.) Lockout vote report

Notice of Lockout Filed with the NCMB and served to the union, at least:

a.) 30 days before intended date – if the ground is CBD

b.) 15 days before the intended date – if the ground is ULP

Cooling-off Period

a.) 30 days from the filing of notice of lockout – for CBD

b.) 15 days from filing the notice of lockout – for ULP

Lockout Vote

The decision to declare a lockout must be approved by the majority of the BoD, in case of a
corporation, or the partners in the case of a partnership, through secret ballot in a meeting called
for the purpose. The employer shall furnish the regional branch of the NCMB the notice of
meeting at least 24 hours before the holding of such meeting. The NCMB may also supervise the
secret balloting at its own initiative or upon instance of any affected party.

Lockout Vote Report

The employer must report the results of the voting at least 7 days before the intended lockout.

7-day Lockout Ban

The 7-day period is reckoned from the submission of the lockout vote report. Observance is
mandatory.

Declaration of Lockout

The employer may declare a lockout if after the cooling-off period and the 7-day lockout ban,
the dispute remains unsettled. The NCMB shall continue mediating and conciliating.

Illegal Lockouts
a.) Lockouts on grounds other than those prescribed by law

b.) Lockouts without complying with any of the legal requirements

c.) Lockout before the lapse of the cooling-off period or the 7-day lockout ban

d.) Lockout declared after the Secretary of Labor and Employment has assumed jurisdiction over
the dispute or certified the same for compulsory arbitration

e.) Lockout declared without first having bargained collectively

Sanctions :

**An employer guilty of illegal lockout may be held liable for backwages

National Interest Disputes

When, in his opinion, there exists a labor dispute causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout in
an industry indispensable to the national interest, the Secretary may assume jurisdiction over the
dispute and decide it or certify the same to the NLRC for compulsory arbitration.
Recommendation of the Undersecretary is not a condition. The Secretary may assume
jurisdiction over a labor dispute or certify it for compulsory arbitration even if there is no actual
strike or lockout. The existence of a labor dispute likely to cause a strike or lockout is enough
basis for the Secretary to assume jurisdiction or to issue a certification. Such powers are not
undue delegation of legislative power. It is not an interference with the workers’ right to strike. It
simply regulates such right.

Extent of Authority

General Rule:

- Encompasses only the issues in the dispute.

- Cannot rule on the legality of the strike; this authority and power is with the original and

exclusive jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter.

- Cannot restrain the employer from taking disciplinary action against the strikers.

Art. 279 (264). Prohibited activities. :

(a) No labor organization or employer shall declare a strike or lockout without first having
bargained collectively in accordance with Title VII of this Book or without first having filed the
notice required in the preceding Article or without the necessary strike or lockout vote first
having been obtained and reported to the Ministry.

No strike or lockout shall be declared after assumption of jurisdiction by the President or the
Minister or after certification or submission of the dispute to compulsory or voluntary arbitration
or during the pendency of cases involving the same grounds for the strike or lockout.

Any worker whose employment has been terminated as a consequence of any unlawful lockout
shall be entitled to reinstatement with full backwages. Any union officer who knowingly
participates in an illegal strike and any worker or union officer who knowingly participates in the
commission of illegal acts during a strike may be declared to have lost his employment status:
Provided, That mere participation of a worker in a lawful strike shall not constitute sufficient
ground for termination of his employment, even if a replacement had been hired by the employer
during such lawful strike.

(b) No person shall obstruct, impede, or interfere with, by force, violence, coercion, threats or
intimidation, any peaceful picketing by employees during any labor controversy or in the
exercise of the right to self-organization or collective bargaining, or shall aid or abet such
obstruction or interference.

(c) No employer shall use or employ any strike-breaker, nor shall any person be employed as a
strike-breaker.

(d) No public official or employee, including officers and personnel of the New Armed Forces of
the Philippines or the Integrated National Police, or armed person, shall bring in, introduce or
escort in any manner, any individual who seeks to replace strikers in entering or leaving the
premises of a strike area, or work in place of the strikers. The police force shall keep out of the
picket lines unless actual violence or other criminal acts occur therein: Provided, That nothing
herein shall be interpreted to prevent any public officer from taking any measure necessary to
maintain peace and order, protect life and property, and/or enforce the law and legal order. (As
amended by Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986)

(e) No person engaged in picketing shall commit any act of violence, coercion or intimidation or
obstruct the free ingress to or egress from the employer’s premises for lawful purposes, or
obstruct public thoroughfares. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 227, June 1, 1982)

Provision Summary:

Limitations on the right to strike or lockout:

A strike or lockout cannot be declared:

A. Without first having bargained collectively .

B. Without first having filed the notice of strike/lockout .

C. Without the necessary strike or lockout vote first having been obtained reported to the DOLE
D. After the SOLE assumes jurisdiction or certifies the dispute to compulsory or voluntary
arbitration

E. During the pendency of cases involving the same grounds for the strike or lockout.

Limitations on the right to picket:

Persons or employees engaged in picketing are forbidden from:

A. committing any act of violence, coercion or intimidation

B. obstructing the free ingress to and egress from the employer’s premises and

C. Obstructing public thoroughfares.

Removal of Illegal Blockade:

Obstruction in public properties, such as streets, sidewalks, alleys, may be summarily removed
by the local governments, through their respective law enforcement authorities without
consulting with the DOLE, because these obstructions are considered as nuisance per se.
Obstructions in points of egress and ingress of private properties during a labor dispute may be
removed only in accordance with proper orders issued by the Office of the SOLE or by the
NLRC or its arbitration branches. They cannot be summarily demolished by law enforcement
authorities.

Employment of Strike, Breakers Prohibited

 A strike-breaker is a person who obstructs, impedes, or interferes with by force, violence,
coercion, threats, or intimidation any peaceful picketing by employees during any labor
controversy affecting wages, hours or conditions of work or in the exercise of the right to
selforganization or collective bargaining. Employment of strike breakers is prohibited under
Article 27 (c) of the Labor Code.

ROLE OF POLICE PERSONNEL IN LABOR DISPUTES

The PNP may be called upon to perform the limited role of enforcing the laws and legal orders
of duly constituted authorities and maintaining peace and order to protect life and property
during strikes, lockouts and other labor disputes.

The peace keeping personnel should not be stationed in the picket or confrontation line, but in
such place as their presence may deter the commission of criminal acts from either side. They
should maintain themselves at a distance of 50 meters from the picket line, except, if the 50-m
radius includes a public thoroughfare, in which case, they may station themselves in such public
thoroughfare for the purpose of insuring the free flow of traffic.

SERVICE of LAWFUL ORDERS OR WRITS

The primary concern of the representative of DOLE, sheriff or representative of the government
agency issuing the order. The role of police is only supportive. Only when specifically stated and
requested in the order or writ should police personnel enforce such orders or writs.

Art. 280 (265). Improved offer balloting. – In an effort to settle a strike, the Department of Labor
and Employment shall conduct a referendum by secret ballot on the improved offer of the
employer on or before the 30th day of the strike. When at least a majority of the union members
vote to accept the improved offer the striking workers shall immediately return to work and the
employer shall thereupon readmit them upon the signing of the agreement.

In case of a lockout, the Department of Labor and Employment shall also conduct a referendum
by secret balloting on the reduced offer of the union on or before the 30th day of the lockout.
When at least a majority of the board of directors or trustees or the partners holding the
controlling interest in the case of a partnership vote to accept the reduced offer, the workers shall
immediately return to work and the employer shall thereupon readmit them upon the signing of
the agreement. (Incorporated by Section 28, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989)

Provision Summary:

Referendum on Improved Offer

Improved offer balloting - a referendum conducted by the DOLE wherein the strikers vote by
secret ballots on whether to accept the improved offer of management.

Referendum on Reduced Offer

Reduced offer balloting - a referendum conducted by the DOLE wherein the BOD or trustees or
the partners holding the controlling interest in the case of partnership, vote by secret ballot on
whether to accept the reduced offer of the strikers.