Chapter I : REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATION

ART. 234. Requirements of registration. - Any applicant labor organization, association or group of unions or workers shall acquire legal personality and shall be entitled to the rights and privileges granted by law to legitimate labor organizations upon issuance of the certificate of registration based on the following requirements.

(a) Fifty pesos (P50.00) registration fee;

(b) The names of its officers, their addresses, the principal address of the labor organization, the minutes of the organizational meetings and the list of the workers who participated in such meetings;

(c) The names of all its members comprising at least twenty percent (20%) of all the employees in the bargaining unit where it seeks to operate; (As amended by Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986).

(d) If the applicant union has been in existence for one or more years, copies of its annual financial reports; and

(e) Four (4) copies of the constitution and by-laws of the applicant union, minutes of its adoption or ratification, and the list of the members who participated in it. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Bilang 130, August 21, 1981).

ART. 235. Action on application. - The Bureau shall act on all applications for registration within thirty (30) days from filing.

All requisite documents and papers shall be certified under oath by the secretary or the treasurer of the organization, as the case may be, and attested to by its president.

ART. 236. Denial of registration; appeal. - The decision of the Labor Relations Division in the regional office denying registration may be appealed by the applicant union to the Bureau within ten (10) days from receipt of notice thereof.

ART. 237. Additional requirements for federations or national unions. - Subject to Article 238, if the applicant for registration is a federation or a national union, it shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding Articles, submit the following:

(a) Proof of the affiliation of at least ten (10) locals or chapters, each of which must be a duly recognized collective bargaining agent in the establishment or industry in which it operates, supporting the registration of such applicant federation or national union; and

(b) The names and addresses of the companies where the locals or chapters operate and the list of all the members in each company involved.

[ART. 238. Conditions for registration of federations or national unions. - No federation or national union shall be registered to engage in any organization activity in more than one industry in any area or region, and no federation or national union shall be registered to engage in any organizational activity in more than one industry all over the country.

The federation or national union which meets the requirements and conditions herein prescribed may organize and affiliate locals and chapters without registering such locals or chapters with the Bureau.

Locals or chapters shall have the same rights and privileges as if they were registered in the Bureau, provided that such federation or national union organizes such locals or chapters within its assigned organizational field of activity as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.

The Bureau shall see to it that federations and national unions shall only organize locals and chapters within a specific industry or union.] (Repealed by Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986).

ART. 238. Cancellation of registration; appeal. - The certificate of registration of any legitimate labor organization, whether national or local, shall be cancelled by the Bureau if it has reason to believe, after due hearing, that the said labor organization no longer meets one or more of the requirements herein prescribed.

[The Bureau upon approval of this Code shall immediately institute cancellation proceedings and take such other steps as may be necessary to restructure all existing registered labor organizations in accordance with the objective envisioned above.] (Repealed by Executive Order No. 111, December 24, 1986).

ART. 239. Grounds for cancellation of union registration. - The following shall constitute grounds for cancellation of union registration:

(a) Misrepresentation, false statement or fraud in connection with the adoption or ratification of the constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto, the minutes of ratification and the list of members who took part in the ratification;

(b) Failure to submit the documents mentioned in the preceding paragraph within thirty (30) days from adoption or ratification of the constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto;

(c) Misrepresentation, false statements or fraud in connection with the election of officers, minutes of the election of officers, the list of voters, or failure to submit these documents together with the list of the newly elected/appointed officers and their postal addresses within thirty (30) days from election;

(d) Failure to submit the annual financial report to the Bureau within thirty (30) days after the closing of every fiscal year and misrepresentation, false entries or fraud in the preparation of the financial report itself;

(e) Acting as a labor contractor or engaging in the "cabo" system, or otherwise engaging in any activity prohibited by law;

(f) Entering into collective bargaining agreements which provide terms and conditions of employment below minimum standards established by law;

(g) Asking for or accepting attorney’s fees or negotiation fees from employers;

(h) Other than for mandatory activities under this Code, checking off special assessments or any other fees without duly signed individual written authorizations of the members;

(i) Failure to submit list of individual members to the Bureau once a year or whenever required by the Bureau; and

(j) Failure to comply with requirements under Articles 237 and 238.

ART. 240. Equity of the incumbent. - All existing federations and national unions which meet the qualifications of a legitimate labor organization and none of the grounds for cancellation shall continue to maintain their existing affiliates regardless of the nature of the industry and the location of the affiliates.