Surface Bargaining: "Nilandi ka niya pero wala siyang balak maging kayo"

Date Published:
Surface bargaining is defined as "going through the motions of negotiating" without any legal intent to reach an agreement. The resolution of surface bargaining allegations never presents an easy issue. The determination of whether a party has engaged in unlawful surface bargaining is usually a difficult one because it involves, at bottom, a question of the intent of the party in question, and usually such intent can only be inferred from the totality of the challenged party’s conduct both at and away from the bargaining table. It involves the question of whether an employer’s conduct demonstrates an unwillingness to bargain in good faith or is merely hard bargaining. (G.R. No. 114974; June 16, 2004)