December 22, 2014

COA RESOLUTION NO. 034-14

 

WHEREAS, Section 37, Title I, Book V of Executive Order No. 292 dated July 25, 1987, otherwise known as the Revised Administrative Code of 1987, provides that employees shall have the right to present their complaints or grievances to management and have them adjudicated as expeditiously as possible in the best interest of the agency, the government as a whole and the employees concerned;

WHEREAS, this Commission promulgated COA Resolution No. 95-1144 dated December 5, 1995, entitled Adopting and Directing the Implementation of a COA Grievance Procedure to Promote Better Management-Employee Relations;

WHEREAS, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), in its Resolution No. 010113 dated January 10, 2001, adopted the Revised Policies in the Settlement of Grievances in the Public Sector;

WHEREAS, CSC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2, s. 2001 provides for the guidelines that shall be observed in addressing the employees' grievances;

WHEREAS, there is a need to update the existing COA grievance settlement guidelines to be consistent with CSC Resolution No. 010113 and CSC MC No. 2, s. 2001, and make it more responsive to the current structure of the Commission;

WHEREFORE, this Commission resolves, as it does hereby resolve, to adopt the Revised Guidelines on Grievance Settlement of the Commission on Audit, as follows:

1.0 Basic Policies

1.1 Officers and employees of this Commission shall have the right to present their grievance to the management and to have such grievance adjusted in accordance with this Resolution.

1.2 A grievance shall be resolved expeditiously at all times at the lowest level possible.

1.3 An employee presenting a grievance shall be assured of freedom from coercion, discrimination, reprisal and biased action on the grievance, and of a speedy and impartial resolution thereof. aEACcS

1.4 Grievance proceedings shall not be bound by legal rules and technicalities and shall be kept as simple as possible.

1.5 Equal opportunity for men and women to be represented in the Grievance Committee shall be ensured.

1.6 Grievance proceedings are not adversarial but conciliatory in nature, the main objective of which is to adjust to mutually acceptable terms several sets of conflicting demands.

1.7 All participants in a grievance proceeding shall bear in mind that the intended ultimate beneficiary is the public service, to which all personal interests or objectives must be subordinated.

2.0 Applicability

The grievance settlement guidelines shall apply to all officials and employees of this Commission, except the members of the Commission Proper.

3.0 Coverage of the Grievance Settlement Guidelines

3.1 The following cases shall be acted upon through the Grievance Settlement Guidelines:

3.1.1. Non-implementation of policies, practices, and procedures on economic and financial issues and other terms and conditions of employment fixed by law including, but not limited to, salaries, incentives, working hours and leave benefits and other terms and conditions;

3.1.2. Non-implementation of policies, practices and procedures which affect employees from recruitment to promotion, detail, transfer, retirement, termination, and other related issues that affect them;

3.1.3. Physical working conditions;

3.1.4. Interpersonal relationships and linkages; and

3.1.5. All other related matters that give rise to employee dissatisfaction and discontentment outside of the foregoing.

3.2 The following cases shall not be acted upon through the GSG:

3.2.1. Protest on appointment as provided in CSC Resolution No. 091718 and circularized by CSC MC No. 4, s. 2010;

3.2.2. Disciplinary cases which shall be resolved pursuant to existing COA rules on administrative cases;

3.2.3. Sexual harassment cases as provided in Republic Act No. 7877; and EScaIT

3.2.4. Union membership and operation-related issues and concerns.

4.0 Definition of Terms

4.1 Aggrieved party — the employee complaining or the party not satisfied with the grievance resolution.

4.2 Grievance — refers to work-related issues giving rise to employee dissatisfaction.

4.3 Higher Supervisor — the official next higher to the official exercising immediate supervision of the grievance complainant or employee complained of.

4.4 Immediate Supervisor — the Audit Team Leader (ATL), in case of the Audit Team Member; the Audit Group/Cluster Supervisor, in case of the ATL; the Service Chief in the case of the support service staff; the Assistant Regional/Cluster Director, in case of the Audit Group/Cluster Supervisor/Service Chief; the Regional/Cluster Director in the case of the Assistant Regional/Cluster Director; the Assistant Commissioner, in the case of the Regional/Cluster Director; and the Chairperson, in case of the Assistant Commissioner.

4.5 Rank and file — employees occupying the positions of Division Chief and below pursuant to CSC Resolution No. 1, s. 1991 dated January 28, 1991.

5.0 Creation of the Grievance Settlement Committee, Composition and Qualification of Members

5.1 There is hereby created Grievance Settlement Committees (GSCs) for the Central Office and for each of the Regional Offices, to be known as the Central Office Grievance Settlement Committee (COGSG), and the Regional Grievance Settlement Committee (RGSC), respectively;

5.2 Qualification — The members of the GSC shall be permanent officials and employees of known integrity, probity, sincerity and credibility.

5.3 The members of the COGSC or RGSC shall be appointed by the Assistant Commissioner for Administration or the Regional Director, respectively. HDTSCc

5.4 Composition: The COGSC or RGSC shall be composed of seven (7) members, with both genders duly represented as follows:

5.4.1. The Director, HRMO or the Service Chief, Administration, Training and Finance Services (ATFS), who shall act as Chair of the GOGSC and RGSC, respectively.

5.4.2. Three Division Chiefs or holders of equivalent positions, two of whom shall come from the audit sector and one from the non-audit sector.

5.4.3. Two members of the rank-and-file who shall be nominated by the PHILGASEA, the recognized employees' union; one from the first level and another from the second level. The first level representative shall participate in the resolution of grievances of first level employees while the second level representative shall participate in the resolution of grievances of second level employees.

5.4.4. The Bills Aksyon Partner who serves as the counterpart action officer of the CSC under the "Mamamayan Muna Program" in every agency pursuant to CSC MC No. 3, s. 1994. For this purpose, the Division Chief of the Internal Audit Office and a Supervising Auditor of the Office of the Regional Director to be designated by him, shall be deemed the Bills Action Partner in the COGSC and RGSC, respectively.

5.5 The members of the COGSC and RGSC shall serve for a term of two (2) years. In case of vacancy, appointment shall be for the unexpired portion of the term.

5.6 If the grievance is against a member of the COGSC or RGSC, a substitute member shall be designated by the Assistant Commissioner for Administration or Regional Director respectively, for the resolution of the particular grievance.

5.7 Any member of the RGSC/COGSC who has personal and/or professional connection to any of the parties involved in the complaint which may affect his/her independence should inhibit from the deliberations of the committee.

5.7.1. Personal connection consists, among others, of the member being a friend or adversary, or related by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil degree to any of the parties. aTcIEH

5.7.2. Professional connection consists, among others, of the member being the supervisor or subordinate of any of the parties to the grievance proceeding.

5.8 Membership in the Grievance Settlement Committee shall be considered part of the employee's/official's regular duties.

6.0 Meeting and Quorum of the Committee

6.1 The Committee shall meet once every month or as often as necessary to resolve grievances submitted for deliberation.

6.2 A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the total Committee membership present in every meeting called for the purpose shall constitute a quorum. In the absence of the Committee Chairman, one (1) of the three (3) Division Chief members present chosen by and from among themselves shall act as Chairman.

6.3 Attendance of proxies shall not be allowed.

7.0 Functions and Responsibilities of the Grievance Settlement Committee

The Committee shall:

7.1 Develop and implement pro-active measures that would prevent grievance, such as employee assembly which shall be conducted at least once every quarter, "talakayan," counseling, and other similar activities.

7.2 Conduct continuing information drive on grievance machinery among COA officials and employees in collaboration with the HRMO/ATFS, PHILGASEA and the Public Information Office.

7.3 Establish internal procedures and strategies in handling cases referred to it.

7.4 Submit a quarterly report of its accomplishments and status of unresolved grievances to the Chairperson, and concerned Director and Assistant Commissioner of this Commission, CSC Field Office/CSC Regional Office, within ten (10) days after the end of each quarter.

7.5 Keep custody of all proceedings, minutes, memoranda and other records on grievances. These documents shall not be made available to any person for any purpose except in compliance with a lawful court order, or as provided under COA Resolution No. 2013-005 dated September 18, 2013 on the guidelines in the disposition of request for documents and records.

8.0 Grievance Settlement Procedure

8.1 Discussion with Supervisor — A grievance shall be presented in writing by the aggrieved party to his/her immediate supervisor, by accomplishing the Grievance Complaint (Form A.)

8.1.1. The supervisor shall inform the aggrieved party of the corresponding action within three (3) working days from the date of presentation using the Grievance Settlement (Form B.)

8.1.2. If the party being complained of is the immediate supervisor, the grievance shall be presented to the higher supervisor.

8.1.3. If the object of the grievance is an employee belonging to another audit team, group or sector, the aggrieved party shall bring the grievance to the former's immediate supervisor using Form A, after discussing the matter with his (aggrieved party's) immediate supervisor. DCcTHa

8.1.4. The Supervisor shall render a decision using Form B.

8.2 Appeal to the Higher Supervisor — If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the decision of the immediate supervisor, he/she may submit the grievance in writing, copy furnished the immediate supervisor, within five (5) working days to the higher supervisor using Form A.

8.2.1. The Higher Supervisor shall render a decision within five (5) working days from receipt of the grievance using Form B.

8.2.2. Appeals submitted beyond the five (5)-working day period shall not be entertained except for compelling reasons.

8.3 Appeal to the COGCS/RGSC — The decision of the Higher Supervisor may be elevated to the COGSC or RGSC as the case may be, with Notice of Appeal to the former within five (5) working days from receipt of the decision using Form A. Appeals submitted beyond the five (5)-working day period shall not be entertained except for compelling reasons.

8.3.1. The COGSC/RGSC may conduct investigation and hearing, within ten (10) working days from receipt of the grievance and render a decision within five (5) working days thereafter.

8.3.2. In case investigation and hearing are dispensed with, and when the grievance can be properly resolved based on available records/documents, decision shall be rendered within five (5) working days from receipt of the appeal.

8.3.3. If the object of the grievance is the RGSC itself, the aggrieved party may submit his/her grievance to the COGSC using Form A.

8.4 Appeal from RGSC Decision — The decision of the RGSC may be elevated to the COGSC with notice of appeal to the former within five (5) working days from receipt of the decision using Form A. Appeals submitted beyond the five (5)-working day period shall not be entertained except for compelling reasons.

8.4.1. The COGSC shall render a decision within five (5) working days after receipt of the appeal. It may conduct investigation and hearing on appealed cases involving COA Central Office personnel within ten (10) working days from receipt of the appeal and render a decision within five (5) working days thereafter.

8.4.2. The COGSC shall issue Form C, Certificate of Final Action on the Grievance (CFAG), that shall contain the history and final action on the grievance. DEIHSa

8.4.3. If the subject of grievance is the COGSC itself, the aggrieved party may submit his/her complaint to the Chairperson, this Commission, using Form A.

8.5 Appeal to the Chairperson — Any party aggrieved by the decision of the COGSC, may appeal or elevate his/her grievance in writing, using Form A, within five (5) days from receipt of the decision to the Chairperson who shall render a decision within five (5) working days from receipt of the appeal using Form B. A copy of the CFAG (Form C) shall be attached to the appeal.

8.6 Appeal to the CSC — If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the decision of the Chairperson, he/she may appeal or elevate his/her grievance to the CSC Main Office, within fifteen (15) working days from the receipt of such decision using the CSC prescribed Form. The aggrieved party shall submit a copy of the COA Chairperson's final decision.

9.0 Penalty Clause

COA officials who refuse to take immediate action on the grievance brought to their attention shall be liable for neglect of duty in accordance with Civil Service laws and regulations.

10.0 Repealing Clause

This Resolution repeals, amends or modifies accordingly all related COA issuances that are inconsistent herewith.

11.0 Effectivity

This Resolution shall take effect immediately.

A copy hereof shall be submitted to the Civil Service Commission.

Quezon City, Philippines.

(SGD.) MA. GRACIA M. PULIDO TANChairperson

(SGD.) HEIDI L. MENDOZACommissioner

(SGD.) JOSE A. FABIACommissioner

 

FORM A

Grievance Complaint

FORM B

Grievance Settlement

FORM C

Certificate of Final Action on Grievance

Published in The Philippine Star on January 23, 2015.