Labor Code · Labor Organizations · Chapter III – Rights of Legitimate Labor Organizations

Article 251

Rights of Legitimate Labor Organizations

Formerly Article 242 before the 2015 renumbering — court decisions before 2015 cite it this way.

Amended
By RA 6715 (1989)

A legitimate labor organization shall have the right:

(a) To act as the representative of its members for the purpose of collective bargaining;

(b) To be certified as the exclusive representative of all the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining;

(c) To be furnished by the employer, upon written request, with its annual audited financial statements, including the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement, within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of receipt of the request, after the union has been duly recognized by the employer or certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of the employees in the bargaining unit, or within sixty (60) calendar days before the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, or during the collective bargaining negotiation;

(d) To own property, real or personal, for the use and benefit of the labor organization and its members;

(e) To sue and be sued in its registered name; and

(f) To undertake all other activities designed to benefit the organization and its members, including cooperative, housing, welfare and other projects not contrary to law. Notwithstanding any provision of a general or special law to the contrary, the income and the properties of legitimate labor organizations, including grants, endowments, gifts, donations and contributions they may receive from fraternal and similar organizations, local or foreign, which are actually, directly and exclusively used for their lawful purposes, shall be free from taxes, duties and other assessments. The exemptions provided herein may be withdrawn only by a special law expressly repealing this provision.

Editor’s notes from DOLE (1)

As amended by Sec. 17 of R.A. No. 6715 (1989).

Text and numbering follow the Department of Labor and Employment's 2022 edition of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended and renumbered under DOLE Department Advisory No. 01, series of 2015. Former article numbers are shown in brackets. Notes are DOLE's editorial notes. Amendments after that edition are not included. For information and research only, and not legal advice. For certified copies, refer to the Official Gazette or the issuing agency.