Section 26March 2, 1989, Sec./Art. 26

There shall be incorporated after Article 259 of the same Code a new chapter to read as follows:

TITLE VIII-A

Grievance Machinery and Voluntary Arbitration

"Article 260. Grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration. - The parties to a collective bargaining agreement shall include therein provisions that will ensure the mutual observance of its terms and conditions. They shall establish a machinery for the adjustment and resolution of grievances arising from the interpretation or implementation of their collective bargaining agreement and those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies.

"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 collective bargaining agreement.

"For this purpose, parties to a collective bargaining agreement shall name and designate in advance a voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators, or include in the agreement a procedure for the selection of such voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators, preferably from the listing of qualified voluntary arbitrators duly accredited by the Board. In case the parties fail to select a voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators, the Board shall designate the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators, as may be necessary, pursuant to the selection procedure agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement, which shall act with the same force and effect as if the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators have been selected by the parties as described above."

"Article 261. Jurisdiction of voluntary arbitrator and panel of voluntary arbitrators. - The voluntary arbitrator or panel of arbitrators shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide all unresolved grievances arising from the interpretation or implementation of the collective bargaining agreement and those arising from the interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies referred to in the immediately preceding Article. Accordingly, violations of a collective bargaining agreement, except those which are gross in character, shall no longer be treated as unfair labor practice and shall be resolved as grievances under the collective bargaining agreement.

For purposes of this Article, gross violations of a collective bargaining agreement shall mean flagrant and/or malicious refusal to comply with the economic provisions of such agreement.

"The Commission, its Regional Offices and the Regional Directors of the Department of Labor and Employment shall not entertain disputes, grievances or matters under the exclusive and original jurisdiction of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators and shall immediately dispose and refer the same to the grievance machinery or voluntary arbitration provided in the collective bargaining agreement."

"Article 262. Jurisdiction over other labor disputes. - The voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators, upon agreement of the parties, shall also hear and decide all other labor disputes including unfair labor practices and bargaining deadlocks.

"Article 262-A. Procedures. - The voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators shall have the power to hold hearings, receive evidences and take whatever action is necessary to resolve the issue or issues subject of the dispute, including efforts to effect a voluntary settlement between parties.

"All parties to the dispute shall be entitled to attend the arbitration proceedings. The attendance of any third party or the exclusion of any witness from the proceedings shall be determined by the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators. Hearings may be adjourned for cause or upon agreement by the parties.

"Unless the parties agree otherwise, it shall be mandatory for the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators to render an award or decision within twenty (20) calendar days from the date of submission of the dispute to voluntary arbitration. "The award or decision of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators shall contain the facts and the law on which it is based. It shall be final and executory after ten (10) calendar days from receipt of the copy of the award or decision by the parties.

"Upon motion of any interested party, the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators or the Labor Arbiter in the region where the movant resides, in case of the absence or incapacity of the voluntary arbitrator or panel of voluntary arbitrators for any reason, may issue a writ of execution requiring either the sheriff of the Commission or regular courts or any public official whom the parties may designate in the submission agreement to execute the final decision, order or award.

"Article 262-B. Cost of voluntary arbitration and voluntary arbitrator's fee. - The parties to a collective bargaining agreement shall provide therein a proportionate sharing scheme on the cost of voluntary arbitration including the voluntary arbitrator's fee. The fixing of fee of voluntary arbitrators, or panel of voluntary arbitrators, whether shouldered wholly by the parties or subsidized by the Special Voluntary Arbitration Fund, shall take into account the following factors:

"(a) Nature of the case;

"(b) Time consumed in hearing the case;

"(c) Professional standing of the voluntary arbitrator;

"(d) Capacity to pay of the parties; and

"(e) Fees provided for in the Revised Rules of Court."