What is ULP (Unfair Labor Practice)?

NLRC Labor Complaint forms are usually user friendly wherein the complainant merely ticks off the boxes containing his grievance/s against his employer. However, there is a specific grievance which a lot of complainants have made the mistake of ticking off and that is the box beside Unfair Labor Practice. We cannot fault them for that since the "common understanding" of what Unfair Labor Practice is literally that -"unfair employer practices in the workplace", but sadly, that understanding is not entirely correct. 

It is a daft and boring technical term and does cause a lot of confusion for those who have not read the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, which defines the concept of Unfair Labor Practice under Art. 258 [247], to wit:

Unfair labor practices violate the constitutional right of workers and employees to self-organization, are inimical to the legitimate interests of both labor and management, including their right to bargain collectively and otherwise deal with each other in an atmosphere of freedom, mutual respect, disrupt industrial peace and hinder the promotion of healthy and stable labor-management relations.

xxx  xxx xxx

Simply stated, ULP are certain acts of the employer that prevents workers from forming organizations (UNIONS), taking part in its formation, joining or assisting a union of their own choosing for purposes of collective bargaining, and engaging in concerted activities for mutual help and protection. 

A fine example would be that during period of employment, management prevents you from forming a union/organization, and expressly prohibits you from joining and forming one or a rival union is forcing you to join their union. Specific acts of employers as well as labor organizations deemed as ULP are enumerated in the Labor Code under the renumbered Arts. 259 and 260 (formerly Arts. 248 and 249)

Not everything that's unfair that occurs in the workplace is Unfair Labor Practice, e.g. you are required to render overtime but without overtime pay -that's just a labor standards dispute. The law states an employer and a labor organization may be the perpetuator of ULP. 

So, if you find yourself filing a labor complaint and your employer does not have a union, and you were not prevented from joining or forming one, don't tick the box that says Unfair Labor Practice.