PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITYPANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITYGraduate SchoolGraduate School

Urdaneta CityUrdaneta City

Module 15Employer-Employee Relations

ME 212 Human Resource Developmentand ManagementSummer 2012

JOHN A. LIWANAG, C.E.Master in Management Engineering

Employer/employee relationsEmployer/employee relations

Employer/employee relations refer to the communication that takes place between representatives of employees and employers. Much of the employee relations involve employees and employers working together and part of the aim of established union’s social policy today is to create a system of shared responsibility of employers and employees for working practices, conditions and other areas of working life. This policy of shared responsibility is called co-determination.

Discussions between employers and employees typically cover the following areas:◦ pay◦ bonuses◦ the work environment◦ disputes◦ work schedules◦ grievances◦ health and safety◦ hours of work◦ production targets.

Three tests to determine employer-Three tests to determine employer-employee relationshipemployee relationship

1. Four-fold test elementsThe usual test used to determine the existence of employer-employer relationship is the so-called four-fold test. In applying this test, the following elements are generally considered:

◦ Right to hire or to the selection and engagement of the employee.

◦ Payment of wages and salaries for services.◦ Power of dismissal or the power to impose disciplinary

actions.◦ Power to control the employee with respect to the

means and methods by which the work is to be accomplished. This is known as the right-of-control test.

Source: empxtrack.com

Three tests to determine employer-Three tests to determine employer-employee relationshipemployee relationship

2. Economic Reality Test

Under economic reality test, the benchmark in analyzing whether employment relation exists between the parties is the economic dependence of the worker on his employer. That is, whether the worker is dependent on the alleged employer for his continued employment in the latter’s line of business.

Applying this test, if the putative employee is economically dependent on putative employer for his continued employment in the latter’s line of business, there is employer-employee relationship between them. Otherwise, there is none.

Source: http://caps.fool.com

Three tests to determine employer-Three tests to determine employer-employee relationshipemployee relationship

3. Two-tiered test (or Multi-factor test)

The economic reality test is not meant to replace the right of control test. Rather, these two tests are often used in conjunction with each other to determine the existence of employment relation between the parties. This is known as the two-tiered test, or multi-factor test. This two-tiered test involves the following tests:◦ The putative employer’s power to control the

employee with respect to the means and methods by which the work is to be accomplished;

◦ and The underlying economic realities of the activity or relationship.

Source: careerealism.com

When is an employer-employee When is an employer-employee relationship deemed to exist? relationship deemed to exist? In resolving the issue of employer-employee relationship the

Supreme Court made use of the four-fold test:

“Jurisprudence is abound [sic] with cases that recite the factors to be considered in determining the existence of employer-employee relationship, namely: (a) the selection and engagement of the employee; (b) the payment of wages; (c) the power of dismissal; and (d) the employer’s power to control the employee with respect to the means and method by which the work is to be accomplished. The most important factor involves the control test. Under the control test, there is an employer-employee relationship when the person for whom the services are performed reserves the right to control not only the end achieved but also the manner and means used to achieve that end.” (This article was published in the Sept. 3, 2008 edition of the Negros Times)

Source: peopleinsight.co.uk

Public Sector UnionismPublic Sector Unionism

Unions are established where an employer-employee relationship exists. The basic concerns of unions are the protection of the rights of employees, the advancement of their economic welfare and improvements in their terms and conditions of work.

Public sector unionism in the Philippines is a relatively recent reclaimed right by government personnel in the country. The reclaiming of such a right cannot be divorced from the gains won by the Filipino people in ending the 20-year martial rule when through presidential edict the right of public sector employees to form unions was removed.

Prior to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, unionism in the public sector except in government-owned and controlled-corporations was prohibited by Presidential Decree No. 442 or “The Labor Code of the Philippines.”

Public Sector UnionismPublic Sector UnionismThe rights of Filipino government employees to form unions were recognized only after the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship. These rights are enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

Article III, Sec. 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged;

Article IX-B, Sec. 2 (5). The right to self organization shall not be denied to government employees; and

Article XIII, Sec. 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.Source:ehow.com

Public Sector UnionismPublic Sector Unionism    

The State shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.

Executive Order No. 180, issued on June 1, 1987 by then President Corazon Aquino spelled out the scope and limits of public sector unionism.

Source: getfreelegalforms.com

DENR Employees Union DENR Employees Union - Kalipunan ng mga Kawani sa Kagawaran ng Kalikasan

(K-4) DENREU - is the association of all union chapters of the department’s employees, numbering around 18,525 nationwide.

- The DENR recognizes the K4 as the representative of all rank-and-file employees within the Collective Negotiation Unit based on the Joint Resolution dated Oct. 5, 2010, supplemented by the memorandum of Agreement signed between the Kalipunan ng mga Kawani para sa Sambayanan at Nasyunalismo (KALIKASAN) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Employees Union (DENREU) dated 22 Nov. 2010.

- SAMAHAN NG MGA MANGGAGAWA PARA SA KALIKASAN (SAMAKA) DENR Region 1 Employees Union

References:References:

Francisco vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 170087 August 31, 2006 Religious of the Virgin Mary vs. NLRC, G.R. No. 103606, October 13, 1999 Viaña vs. Al-Lagadan and Piga, 99 Phil. 408 (1956). Sevilla v. Court of Appeals, G.R. Nos. L-41182-3, April 15, 1988. The Forum - January-February 2012 - (Vol 13 Issue 1)

Unionism in the University of the Philippines: A post-Marcos dictatorship gainJudy M. Taguiwalo, Ph.D.

K4-DENREU SAMAKA, DENR Region 1

Source: ahows.info