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shall have original and exclusive authority to act, at their own initiative or upon
request of either or both parties, on all inter-union and intra-union conflicts, and all
disputes, grievances or problems arising from or affecting labor-management
relations in all workplaces, whether agricultural or non-agricultural, except those
arising from the implementation or interpretation of collective bargaining
agreements which shall be the subject of grievance procedure and/or voluntary
arbitration.

The Bureau shall have fifteen (15) working days to act on labor cases before it,
subject to extension by agreement of the parties.

ART. 233. [227] Compromise Agreements. 177 Any compromise settlement,
including those involving labor standard laws, voluntarily agreed upon by the parties
with the assistance of the Bureau or the regional office of the Department of Labor,
shall be final and binding upon the parties. The National Labor Relations
Commission or any court, shall not assume jurisdiction over issues involved therein
except in case of non-compliance thereof or if there is prima facie evidence that the
settlement was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation, or coercion.

ART. 234. [228] Mandatory Conciliation and Endorsement of Cases. 178 (a)
Except as provided in Title VII-A, Book V of this Code, as amended, or as may be
excepted by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, all issues arising from labor
and employment shall be subject to mandatory conciliation-mediation. The labor
arbiter or the appropriate DOLE agency or office that has jurisdiction over the
dispute shall entertain only endorsed or referred cases by the duly authorized officer.

(b) Any or both parties involved in the dispute may pre-terminate the
conciliation-mediation proceedings and request referral or endorsement to the
appropriate DOLE agency or office which has jurisdiction over the dispute, or if both
parties so agree, refer the unresolved issues to voluntary arbitration.

ART. 235. [229] Issuance of Subpoenas. The Bureau shall have the power to
require the appearance of any person or the production of any paper, document or
matter relevant to a labor dispute under its jurisdiction, either at the request of any
interested party or at its own initiative.

176
As amended by Sec. 14 of R.A. No. 6715 (1989).

177
Sec. 22 of E.O. No. 126 (1987) on, and voluntary
partment of Labor" shall be understood to read as "Board" and Regional
Branches of the NCMB," respectively.

178 The former Art. 228, which was expressly repealed by Sec. 16 of B.P. Blg. 130 Indorsement of Cases to Labor Arbiters. (a) Except as provided
in paragraph (b) of this Article, the Labor Arbiter shall entertain only cases endorsed to him for compulsory arbitration by the Bureau or by the Regional Director with a written notice of such
indorsement or non-indorsement. The indorsement or non-indorsement of the Regional Director may be appealed to the Bureau within ten (10) working days from receipt of the notice.
(b) The parties may, at any time, by mutual agreement, withdraw a case from the Conciliation Section and
* IMPORTANT: A new Art. 228 was inserted by Sec. 1 of R.A. No. 10396 (2013), An Act Strengthening Conciliation-Mediation as a Voluntary Mode of Dispute Settlement for all Labor
Cases.

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