552 Phil. 432
PUNO, C.J.:
The Company filed a petition for Consolidated Assumption of Jurisdiction with the Office of the Secretary of Labor. On August 14, 1998, then Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma issued an Order, the dispositive portion of which states:
- Requiring employees to execute undated resignation letters prior to regularization as a condition for continued employment.
- Preventing employees from displaying Union flags and CBA's slogans.
- Prohibiting employees from conducting and preventing employees from participating in Union activities.
- Requiring employees to render forced overtime to prevent them from attending Union meetings and activities after office hours.
- Using vulgar and insulting language such as "Kahit sa puwet n'yo isaksak ang mga banderang yan!"
- Threatening employees who join concerted Union activities with disciplinary action.
- Discouraging employees from participating in Union activities by branding the activities illegal and prohibited by law.
- Abuse of Company Rules and Regulations to prevent the free exercise by the Union and its members of their right to self organization and free expression (e.g. issuing show cause memos for refusal to render overtime and vandalism).
- Utilizing security guards to harass employees who participate in Union activities by requiring the guards to take down the names of employees who participate in the Union activities.[6]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, this Office hereby assumes jurisdiction over the entire labor dispute at Pilipino Telephone Corporation pursuant to Art. 263(g) of the Labor Code, as amended.On September 4, 1998, the Union filed a second Notice of Strike[8] with the NCMB on the grounds of: a) union busting, for the alleged refusal of the Company to turn over union funds; and b) the mass promotion of union members during the CBA negotiation, allegedly aimed at excluding them from the bargaining unit during the CBA negotiation. On the same day, the Union went on strike.
Accordingly, any strike or lockout, whether actual or intended, is hereby enjoined.
Furthermore, the parties are likewise directed to cease and desist from committing any or all acts that might exacerbate the situation.
To expedite the resolution of the dispute, the parties are hereby directed to file their respective position papers and documentary evidence within TEN (10) days from receipt of this Order.
SO ORDERED.[7] (Emphases supplied.)
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the September 4, 1998 strike conducted by PILTEA is declared illegal.The Labor Arbiter found the strike illegal for having been conducted in defiance of Secretary Laguesma's August 14, 1998 assumption order and for non-compliance with the procedural requirements for the conduct of a strike under the Labor Code and its implementing rules. The Labor Arbiter cited Scholastica's College v. Ruben Torres[11] which ruled that a strike undertaken despite the issuance of an assumption or certification order by the Secretary of Labor is a prohibited activity, hence, illegal under Article 264 of the Labor Code. He found that the grounds relied upon by the Union in its second notice of strike were substantially the same as those set forth in its first notice of strike. Moreover, he held that the Company's alleged refusal to turn over the checked-off union dues was not a strikeable issue as it was not a gross and blatant violation of the economic provisions of the CBA. He also held that the mass promotion of the Union's members was not tantamount to dismissal, hence, did not constitute union busting. The staging of the strike was likewise found to suffer from fatal procedural defects, to wit: a) the notice of strike was filed on the same day that the strike was conducted; b) the fifteen (15)-day cooling-off period was not observed; c) the Union failed to conduct a strike vote within the time prescribed by law; and d) the result of the strike vote was not furnished to the NCMB at least seven (7) days prior to the intended strike. Certain illegal acts were likewise found to have been committed during the strike, among which were the following: 1) striker Manny Costales prevented the Company's Director, Lilibeth Pasa, from entering the Bankers Centre Building; 2) union officers Judilyn Gamboa and Rolly Sta. Ana physically blocked the front entrance of the same building; 3) striker Aris Ablis drove a company vehicle and used it to block the driveway of PILTEL Centre II, thus, the cars inside the building were prevented from going out. The tires of said company vehicle were found deflated the following day; 4) strikers Dorothy Zulieta and Ronald Cornel prevented the Warehousing Manager assigned at the PILTEL Metropolitan Warehouse from going out of his office; 5) the strikers, led by Nelson Pineda, blocked the Detachment Supervisor of Protection Specialists and the uniformed company guards from delivering food to the non-striking employees trapped inside PILTEL Call Center at the Manila Memorial Park Building; 6) in General Santos City, some union members tied the entrance doors of the PILTEL Building and tied the company vehicles together; 7) Fe Carandang, Estrella Anonical, Zaldy Logos and Jovencio Laderas blocked the main entrance of the Boac, Marinduque office of the Company; 8) strikers Edna Carrion, Celia Mogol, Erlinda Madrid, Raul Montalan, Rolly Miraflor, Zaldy de Chavez and Dina Madla of the Company's office in Boac, Marinduque were also heard telling the Company's clients not to transact business with the company; and 9) strikers Zaldy Logos, Rizaldy de Chavez, Raul Montalan, Rolly Milaflor and Jovencio Laderas were seen preventing the free ingress and egress of the Company's office premises in Boac, Marinduque. The Labor Arbiter ruled that since the September 4, 1998 strike was illegal, the Union officers were deemed to have lost their employment status. He further ruled that the illegal acts committed during the strike were not serious enough to merit the dismissal of the erring Union members as they were merely acting at the order of their leaders. Hence, the erring union members were merely suspended for six (6) months.
Accordingly, the following union officers of PILTEL/MKP, namely: George de Leon, Pelagio S. Briones, Nelson C. Pineda, Rolando U. Sta. Ana, Elna E. Escalante, Gem P. Torres, Ma. Rica D. Hilotin, Gerald Joseph P. Tayas, Lecel M. Fidel and Jose Rudylin R. Gamboa are declared to have lost their employment status.
While the following members, namely: Romeo Anonuevo, Jonathan Molaer, Cris Herrera, Edgar Alan Aquino, Aris Ablis, Dorothy Zulieta, Ronald Cornel, Arnel Garcia, Ranelio Mendoza, Oliver Antonio, Alvin Usman, Augusto Francisco, Celia Mogol and Erlinda Madrid are hereby suspended for six (6) months without pay.
SO ORDERED.[10]
WHEREFORE, the assailed decision of the NLRC dated February 29, 2000 is MODIFIED. Petitioners Pelagio S. Briones, George L. De Leon, Lecel M. Fidel and Gem Torres shall be suspended for six (6) months without pay instead of being dismissed. If already dismissed, petitioners shall be reinstated back to their former positions, or, if already filled, then to any other equal positions and shall be entitled to backwages computed from date of dismissal until date of actual reinstatement less the pay for the six (6) months suspension they were supposed to serve. The suspension of petitioners Augusto C. Francisco, Oliver B. Antonio, Ronaldo B. Coronel and Christopher L. Herrera for six (6) months without pay and the finding of illegality of the September 4, 1998 strike STANDS.Both parties filed their respective partial motions for reconsideration - the company assailed the CA decision decreasing the penalty of the union officers while the Union and its dismissed officers assailed the decision declaring the strike illegal. Both motions were denied.[16]
SO ORDERED.[15]
In G.R. No. 160058, the Company raises the issue of:It prays that the September 20, 2002 Decision and September 17, 2003 Resolution of the CA be reversed in part and judgment be rendered affirming in toto the February 29, 2000 Decision of the NLRC.
[WHETHER] THE ASSAILED 20 SEPTEMBER 2002 DECISION AND 17 SEPTEMBER 2003 RESOLUTION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS ARE CONTRARY TO LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE.[17]
[WHETHER] THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR IN UPHOLDING NLRC'S FINDING THAT THE 4 SEPTEMBER 1998 STRIKE HELD BY PILTEA WAS ILLEGAL AS IT IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH EXISTING LAW OR JURISPRUDENCE.[18]They pray that this Court modify the September 20, 2002 Decision and September 17, 2003 Resolution of the CA and: a) declare the Union's September 4, 1998 strike as legal; b) nullify the six-month suspension imposed on Briones, De Leon and Torres; and c) order the Company to pay them backwages covering the period of their suspension.
1) A notice of strike, with the required contents, should be filed with the DOLE, specifically the Regional Branch of the NCMB, copy furnished the employer of the union;It is settled that these requirements are mandatory in nature and failure to comply therewith renders the strike illegal.[24]
2) A cooling-off period must be observed between the filing of notice and the actual execution of the strike thirty (30) days in case of bargaining deadlock and fifteen (15) days in case of unfair labor practice. However, in the case of union busting where the union's existence is threatened, the cooling-off period need not be observed.xxx xxx xxx
4) Before a strike is actually commenced, a strike vote should be taken by secret balloting, with a 24-hour prior notice to NCMB. The decision to declare a strike requires the secret-ballot approval of majority of the total union membership in the bargaining unit concerned.
5) The result of the strike vote should be reported to the NCMB at least seven (7) days before the intended strike or lockout, subject to the cooling-off period.[23]
x x x Neither does that (sic) PILTEL's promotion of some members of respondent union constitutes (sic) union busting which could be a valid subject of strike because they were not being dismissed. In fact, these promoted employees did not personally come forward to protest their promotion vis-á-vis their alleged option to remain in the union bargaining unit of the rank and filers.[26]This is consistent with our ruling in Bulletin Publishing Corporation v. Sanchez[27] that a promotion which is manifestly beneficial to an employee should not give rise to a gratuitous speculation that it was made to deprive the union of the membership of the benefited employee.
Article 264 of the Labor Code provides:Having settled that the subject strike was illegal, we shall now determine the proper penalty to be imposed on the union officers who knowingly participated in the strike.
Art. 264. Prohibited activities.–x x x
No strike or lockout shall be declared after assumption of jurisdiction by the President or the Secretary or after certification or submission of the dispute to compulsory or voluntary arbitration or during the pendency of cases involving the same grounds for the strike or lockout.
Art. 264. Prohibited activities.–x x xWe have explained the meaning of this provision as follows:
Any workers whose employment has been terminated as a consequence of an unlawful lockout shall be entitled to reinstatement with full back wages. Any union officer who knowingly participates in illegal strike and any worker or union officer who knowingly participates in the commission of illegal acts during a strike may be declared to have lost his employment status: Provided, that mere participation of a worker in a lawful strike shall not constitute sufficient ground for termination of his employment, even if a replacement had been hired by the employer during such lawful strike. x x x
The effects of illegal strikes, as outlined in Article 264 of the Labor Code, make a distinction between ordinary workers and union officers who participate therein. Under established jurisprudence, a union officer may be terminated from employment for knowingly participating in an illegal strike. The fate of union members is different. Mere participation in an illegal strike is not a sufficient ground for termination of the services of the union members. The Labor Code protects ordinary, rank-and-file union members who participated in such a strike from losing their jobs provided that they did not commit illegal acts during the strike.[34]In Gold City Integrated Port Service, Inc. v. NLRC,[35] the Court held that "[t]he law, in using the word may, grants the employer the option of declaring a union officer who participated in an illegal strike as having lost his employment." Thus, in a number of cases,[36] proof that an employee who knowingly participated in an illegal strike is a union officer was enough to warrant his dismissal from employment.
While the employer is authorized to declare a union officer who participated in an illegal strike as having lost his employment, his/its option is not as wide with respect to union members or workers for the law itself draws a line and makes a distinction between union officers and members/ordinary workers. An ordinary striking worker or union member cannot, as a rule, be terminated for mere participation in an illegal strike; there must be proof that he committed illegal acts during the strike.[40]The Court further explained the reason:
x x x Thus in Association of Independent Union in the Philippines vs. NLRC,[41] we held that the responsibility of union officers, as main players in an illegal strike, is greater than that of the members and, therefore, limiting the penalty of dismissal only for the former for participation in an illegal strike is in order. Of the same tenor, albeit formulated a bit differently is our holding in Gold City Integrated Port Service, Inc. vs. NLRC.[42] (Emphasis supplied.)In the case at bar, we do not find any reason to deviate from our rulings in Gold City Integrated Port Service, Inc. and Nissan Motors Philippines, Inc. It bears emphasis that the strike staged by the Union in the instant case was illegal for its procedural infirmities and for defiance of the Secretary's assumption order. The CA, the NLRC and the Labor Arbiter were unanimous in finding that bad faith existed in the conduct of the subject strike. The relevant portion of the CA Decision states:
x x x We cannot go to the extent of ascribing good faith to the means taken in conducting the strike. The requirement of the law is simple, that is–1. Give a Notice of Strike; 2. Observe the cooling period; 3. Observe the mandatory seven day strike ban; 3. If the act is union busting, then the union may strike doing away with the cooling-off period, subject only to the seven-day strike ban. To be lawful, a strike must simply have a lawful purpose and should be executed through lawful means. Here, the union cannot claim good faith in the conduct of the strike because, as can be gleaned from the findings of the Labor Arbiter, this was an extensively coordinated strike having been conducted all through out the offices of PILTEL all over the country. Evidently, the strike was planned. Verily, they cannot now come to court hiding behind the shield of "good faith." Be that as it may, petitioners claim good faith only in so far as their grounds for the strike but not on the conduct of the strike. Consequently, they still had to comply with the procedural requirements for a strike, which, in this case, they failed to do so.[43]Thus, in imposing the penalty of dismissal, the NLRC correctly held:
x x x the point We wish to stress is that the [open, blatant] and willful defiance by the respondents of the Order emanating from the Secretary of Labor and Employment in this labor dispute only goes to show that the respondents have little or no regard at all for lawful orders from duly constituted authorities. For what their officers and members have suffered they have no one else to blame.[44]It cannot be overemphasized that strike, as the most preeminent economic weapon of the workers to force management to agree to an equitable sharing of the joint product of labor and capital, exert some disquieting effects not only on the relationship between labor and management, but also on the general peace and progress of society and economic well-being of the State.[45] This weapon is so critical that the law imposes the supreme penalty of dismissal on union officers who irresponsibly participate in an illegal strike and union members who commit unlawful acts during a strike. The responsibility of the union officers, as main players in an illegal strike, is greater than that of the members as the union officers have the duty to guide their members to respect the law.[46] The policy of the state is not to tolerate actions directed at the destabilization of the social order, where the relationship between labor and management has been endangered by abuse of one party's bargaining prerogative, to the extent of disregarding not only the direct order of the government to maintain the status quo, but the welfare of the entire workforce though they may not be involved in the dispute. The grave penalty of dismissal imposed on the guilty parties is a natural consequence, considering the interest of public welfare.[47]