443 Phil. 841
CARPIO MORALES, J.:
THIGCI also alleged that some of the signatures in the list of union members were secured through fraudulent and deceitful means, and submitted copies of the handwritten denial and withdrawal of some of its employees from participating in the petition.[4]
# of SignaturesReasons for Disqualification 13Supervisors of THIGCI 6Resigned employees of THIGCI 2AWOL employees of THIGCI 53Rank-and-file employees of The Country Club at Tagaytay Highlands, Inc. 14Supervisors of The Country Club at Tagaytay Highlands, Inc. 6Resigned employees of The Country Club at Tagaytay Highlands, Inc. 3Terminated employees of The Country Club at Tagaytay Highlands, Inc. 1AWOL employees of The Country Club at Tagaytay Highlands, Inc. 4Signatures that cannot be deciphered 16Names in list that were erased 2Names with first names only
We evaluated carefully this instant petition and we are of the opinion that it is complete in form and substance. In addition thereto, the accompanying documents show that indeed petitioner union is a legitimate labor federation and its local/chapter was duly reported to this Office as one of its affiliate local/chapter. Its due reporting through the submission of all the requirements for registration of a local/chapter is a clear showing that it was already included in the roster of legitimate labor organizations in this Office pursuant to Department Order No. 9 Series of 1997 with all the legal right and personality to institute this instant petition. Pursuant therefore to the provisions of Article 257 of the Labor Code, as amended, and its Implementing Rules as amended by Department Order No. 9, since the respondent’s establishment is unorganized, the holding of a certification election is mandatory for it was clearly established that petitioner is a legitimate labor organization. Giving due course to this petition is therefore proper and appropriate.[9] (Emphasis supplied)Passing on THIGCI’s allegation that some of the union members are supervisory, resigned and AWOL employees or employees of a separate and distinct corporation, the Med-Arbiter held that the same should be properly raised in the exclusion-inclusion proceedings at the pre-election conference. As for the allegation that some of the signatures were secured through fraudulent and deceitful means, he held that it should be coursed through an independent petition for cancellation of union registration which is within the jurisdiction of the DOLE Regional Director. In any event, the Med-Arbiter held that THIGCI failed to submit the job descriptions of the questioned employees and other supporting documents to bolster its claim that they are disqualified from joining THEU.
The statutory authority for the exclusion of supervisory employees in a rank-and-file union, and vice-versa, is Article 245 of the Labor Code, to wit:“ISSUES/ASSIGNMENT OF ERRORS:
THE COURT OF APPEALS GRIEVOUSLY ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE RESOLUTION DATED 12 NOVEMER 1998 HOLDING THAT SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEES AND NON-EMPLOYEES COULD SIMPLY BE REMOVED FROM APPELLEES ROSTER OF RANK-AND-FILE MEMBERSHIP INSTEAD OF RESOLVING THE LEGITIMACY OF RESPONDENT UNION’S STATUS
THE COURT OF APPEALS GRIEVOUSLY ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE RESOLUTION DATED 12 NOVEMBER 1998 HOLDING THAT THE DISQUALIFIED EMPLOYEES’ STATUS COULD READILY BE RESOLVED DURING THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION PROCEEDINGS
THE COURT OF APPEALS GRIEVOUSLY ERRED IN NOT HOLDING THAT THE ALLEGATIONS OF PETITIONER HAD BEEN DULY PROVEN BY FAILURE OF RESPONDENT UNION TO DENY THE SAME AND BY THE SHEER WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE INTRODUCED BY PETITIONER AND CONTAINED IN THE RECORDS OF THE CASE”[18]
Article 245. Ineligibility of managerial employees to join any labor organization; right of supervisory employees. — Managerial employees are not eligible to join, assist or form any labor organization. Supervisory employees shall not be eligible for membership in a labor organization of the rank-and-file employees but may join, assist or form separate labor organizations of their own.While above-quoted Article 245 expressly prohibits supervisory employees from joining a rank-and-file union, it does not provide what would be the effect if a rank-and-file union counts supervisory employees among its members, or vice-versa.
“The Labor Code requires that in organized and unorganized establishments, a petition for certification election must be filed by a legitimate labor organization. The acquisition of rights by any union or labor organization, particularly the right to file a petition for certification election, first and foremost, depends on whether or not the labor organization has attained the status of a legitimate labor organization.petitioner contends that, quoting Toyota, “[i]t becomes necessary . . ., anterior to the granting of an order allowing a certification election, to inquire into the composition of any labor organization whenever the status of the labor organization is challenged on the basis of Article 245 of the Labor Code.”[22]
In the case before us, the Med-Arbiter summarily disregarded the petitioner’s prayer that the former look into the legitimacy of the respondent Union by a sweeping declaration that the union was in the possession of a charter certificate so that ‘for all intents and purposes, Sumasaklaw sa Manggagawa sa Pizza Hut (was) a legitimate organization,’”[21] (Underscoring and emphasis supplied),
We also do not agree with the ruling of the respondent Secretary of Labor that the infirmity in the membership of the respondent union can be remedied in “the pre-election conference thru the exclusion-inclusion proceedings wherein those employees who are occupying rank-and-file positions will be excluded from the list of eligible voters.” Public respondent gravely misappreciated the basic antipathy between the interest of supervisors and the interest of rank-and-file employees. Due to the irreconcilability of their interest we held in Toyota Motor Philippines v. Toyota Motors Philippines Corporation Labor Union, viz:The petition fails. After a certificate of registration is issued to a union, its legal personality cannot be subject to collateral attack. It may be questioned only in an independent petition for cancellation in accordance with Section 5 of Rule V, Book IV of the “Rules to Implement the Labor Code” (Implementing Rules) which section reads:‘x x x
“Clearly, based on this provision [Article 245], a labor organization composed of both rank-and-file and supervisory employees is no labor organization at all. It cannot, for any guise or purpose, be a legitimate labor organization. Not being one, an organization which carries a mixture of rank-and-file and supervisory employees cannot posses any of the rights of a legitimate labor organization, including the right to file a petition for certification election for the purpose of collective bargaining. It becomes necessary, therefore, anterior to the granting of an order allowing a certification election, to inquire into the composition of any labor organization whenever the status of the labor organization is challenged on the basis of Article 245 of the Labor Code.” (Emphasis by petitioner) (Dunlop Slazenger (Phils.), v. Secretary of Labor, 300 SCRA 120 [1998]; Underscoring and emphasis supplied by petitioner.)
Sec. 5. Effect of registration. The labor organization or workers’ association shall be deemed registered and vested with legal personality on the date of issuance of its certificate of registration. Such legal personality cannot thereafter be subject to collateral attack, but may be questioned only in an independent petition for cancellation in accordance with these Rules. (Emphasis supplied)The grounds for cancellation of union registration are provided for under Article 239 of the Labor Code, as follows:
Art. 239. Grounds for cancellation of union registration. The following shall constitute grounds for cancellation of union registration:while the procedure for cancellation of registration is provided for in Rule VIII, Book V of the Implementing Rules.
(a) Misrepresentation, false statement or fraud in connection with the adoption or ratification of the constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto, the minutes of ratification, and the list of members who took part in the ratification;
(b) Failure to submit the documents mentioned in the preceding paragraph within thirty (30) days from adoption or ratification of the constitution and by-laws or amendments thereto;
(c) Misrepresentation, false statements or fraud in connection with the election of officers, minutes of the election of officers, the list of voters, or failure to subject these documents together with the list of the newly elected/appointed officers and their postal addresses within thirty (30) days from election;
(d) Failure to submit the annual financial report to the Bureau within thirty (30) days after the losing of every fiscal year and misrepresentation, false entries or fraud in the preparation of the financial report itself;
(e) Acting as a labor contractor or engaging in the “cabo” system, or otherwise engaging in any activity prohibited by law;
(f) Entering into collective bargaining agreements which provide terms and conditions of employment below minimum standards established by law;
(g) Asking for or accepting attorney’s fees or negotiation fees from employers;
(h) Other than for mandatory activities under this Code, checking off special assessments or any other fees without duly signed individual written authorizations of the members;
(i) Failure to submit list of individual members to the Bureau once a year or whenever required by the Bureau; and
(j) Failure to comply with the requirements under Articles 237 and 238, (Emphasis supplied),
“‘[T]he best forum for determining whether there were indeed retractions from some of the laborers is in the certification election itself wherein the workers can freely express their choice in a secret ballot.’ Suffice it to say that the will of the rank-and-file employees should in every possible instance be determined by secret ballot rather than by administrative or quasi-judicial inquiry. Such representation and certification election cases are not to be taken as contentious litigations for suits but as mere investigations of a non-adversary, fact-finding character as to which of the competing unions represents the genuine choice of the workers to be their sole and exclusive collective bargaining representative with their employer.”[23]As for the lack of mutuality of interest argument of petitioner, it, at all events, does not lie given, as found by the court a quo, its failure to present substantial evidence that the assailed employees are actually occupying supervisory positions.
Designation should be reconciled with the actual job description of subject employees x x x The mere fact that an employee is designated manager does not necessarily make him one. Otherwise, there would be an absurd situation where one can be given the title just to be deprived of the right to be a member of a union. In the case of National Steel Corporation vs. Laguesma (G. R. No. 103743, January 29, 1996), it was stressed that:WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby DENIED. Let the records of the case be remanded to the office of origin, the Mediation-Arbitration Unit, Regional Branch No. IV, for the immediate conduct of a certification election subject to the usual pre-election conference.What is essential is the nature of the employee’s function and not the nomenclature or title given to the job which determines whether the employee has rank-and-file or managerial status or whether he is a supervisory employee. (Emphasis supplied).[27]