423 Phil. 948
KAPUNAN, J.:
WHEREFORE, finding the said Report of Labor Arbiter Manuel R. Caday to be supported by substantial evidence, this Office hereby RESOLVES to APPROVE and ADOPT the same as the decision in this case, and judgment is hereby rendered:Petitioner union moved for the reconsideration of the order but its motion was denied. The union went to the Court of Appeals via a petition for certiorari. In the now questioned decision promulgated on 29 December 1999, the appellate court dismissed the petition. The union's motion for reconsideration was likewise denied.who spearheaded and led the overtime boycott and work slowdown, to have lost their employment status; and
(1) Declaring the `overtime boycott' and `work slowdown' as illegal strike;(2) Declaring the respondent union officers namely:Nestor Ocampo -President Carmelo Santos -Vice-President Marites -MontejoTreasurer/Board Member Rico Gonzales -Auditor Rod Abuan -Director Segundino Flores -Director Hernando Clemente -Director
(3) Finding the respondents guilty of unfair labor practice for violating the then existing CBA which prohibits the union or any employee during the existence of the CBA from staging a strike or engaging in slowdown or interruption of work and ordering them to cease and desist from further committing the aforesaid illegal acts.
THE HONORABLE FIFTH DIVISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, LIKE THE HONORABLE PUBLIC RESPONDENT IN THE PROCEEDINGS BELOW, COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION, AMOUNTING TO LACK AND/OR EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHEN IT COMPLETELY DISREGARDED "PAROL EVIDENCE RULE" IN THE EVALUATION AND APPRECIATION OF EVIDENCE PROFERRED BY THE PARTIES.We sustain the questioned decision.
THE HONORABLE FIFTH DIVISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION, AMOUNTING TO LACK AND/OR EXCESS OF JURISDICTION, WHEN IT DID NOT DECLARE PRIVATE RESPONDENT'S ACT OF EXTENDING SUBSTANTIAL SEPARATION PACKAGE TO ALMOST ALL INVOLVED OFFICERS OF PETITIONER UNION, DURING THE PENDENCY OF THE CASE, AS TANTAMOUNT TO CONDONATION, IF INDEED, THERE WAS ANY MISDEED COMMITTED.
THE HONORABLE FIFTH DIVISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION, AMOUNTING TO LACK AND/OR EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHEN IT HELD THAT THE SECRETARY OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT HAS JURISDICTION OVER A CASE (A PETITION TO DECLARE STRIKE ILLEGAL) WHICH HAD LONG BEEN FILED AND PENDING BEFORE THE LABOR ARBITER.[9]
In the present case, the Secretary was explicitly granted by Article 263(g) of the Labor Code the authority to assume jurisdiction over a labor dispute causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout in an industry indispensable to the national interest, and decide the same accordingly. Necessarily, this authority to assume jurisdiction over the said labor dispute must include and extend to all questions and controversies arising therefrom, including cases over which the labor arbiter has exclusive jurisdiction.Anent the alleged misappreciation of the evidence proffered by the parties, it is axiomatic that the factual findings of the Labor Arbiter, when sufficiently supported by the evidence on record, must be accorded due respect by the Supreme Court.[12] Here, the report and recommendation of Labor Arbiter Caday was not only adopted by then Secretary of Labor Quisumbing but it was likewise affirmed by the Court of Appeals. We see no reason to depart from their findings.
Moreover, Article 217 of the Labor Code is not without, but contemplates, exceptions thereto. This is evident from the opening proviso therein reading `(e)xcept as otherwise provided under this Code x x x.' Plainly, Article 263(g) of the Labor Code was meant to make both the Secretary (or the various regional directors) and the labor arbiters share jurisdiction, subject to certain conditions. Otherwise, the Secretary would not be able to effectively and efficiently dispose of the primary dispute. To hold the contrary may even lead to the absurd and undesirable result wherein the Secretary and the labor arbiter concerned may have diametrically opposed rulings. As we have said, `(i)t is fundamental that a statute is to be read in a manner that would breathe life into it, rather than defeat it.
In fine, the issuance of the assailed orders is within the province of the Secretary as authorized by Article 263(g) of the Labor Code and Article 217(a) and (5) of the same Code, taken conjointly and rationally construed to subserve the objective of the jurisdiction vested in the Secretary.[11]
Section 1. Regular Working Hours - A normal workday shall consist of not more than eight (8) hours. The regular working hours for the Company shall be from 7:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. The schedule of shift work shall be maintained; however the company may change the prevailing work time at its discretion, should such change be necessary in the operations of the Company. All employees shall observe such rules as have been laid down by the company for the purpose of effecting control over working hours.[17]It is evident from the foregoing provision that the working hours may be changed, at the discretion of the company, should such change be necessary for its operations, and that the employees shall observe such rules as have been laid down by the company. In the case before us, Labor Arbiter Caday found that respondent company had to adopt a continuous 24-hour work daily schedule by reason of the nature of its business and the demands of its clients. It was established that the employees adhered to the said work schedule since 1988. The employees are deemed to have waived the eight-hour schedule since they followed, without any question or complaint, the two-shift schedule while their CBA was still in force and even prior thereto. The two-shift schedule effectively changed the working hours stipulated in the CBA. As the employees assented by practice to this arrangement, they cannot now be heard to claim that the overtime boycott is justified because they were not obliged to work beyond eight hours.
Respondents' attempt to deny the existence of such regular overtime schedule is belied by their own awareness of the existence of the regular overtime schedule of 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. of the following day that has been going on since 1988. Proof of this is the case undisputedly filed by the union for and in behalf of its members, wherein it is claimed that the company has not been computing correctly the night premium and overtime pay for work rendered between 2:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M. of the 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. shift. (tsn pp. 9-10, testimony of Alessandro G. Salazar during hearing on August 9, 1994). In fact, the union Vice-President Carmelo C. Santos, demanded that the company make a recomputation of the overtime records of the employees from 1987 (Exh. "P"). Even their own witness, union Director Enrico C. Gonzales, testified that when in 1992 he was still a Quality Control Inspector at the Sucat Plant of the company, his schedule was sometime at 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., sometime at 6:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., at 2:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. and sometime at 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., and when on the 6 to 6 shifts, he received the commensurate pay (t.s.n. pp. 7-9, hearing of January 10, 1994). Likewise, while in the overtime permits, dated March 1, 6, 8, 9 to 12, 1993, which were passed around daily for the employees to sign, his name appeared but without his signatures, he however had rendered overtime during those dates and was paid because unlike in other departments, it has become a habit to them to sign the overtime schedule weekly (t.s.n. pp. 26-31, hearing of January 10, 1994). The awareness of the respondent union, its officers and members about the existence of the regular overtime schedule of 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. of the following day will be further shown in the discussion of the second issue.[18]It is thus undisputed that members of the union by their own volition decided not to render overtime services in April 1993.[20] Petitioner union even admitted this in its Memorandum, dated 12 April 1999, filed with the Court of Appeals, as well as in the petition before this Court, which both stated that "(s)sometime in April 1993, members of herein petitioner, on their own volition and in keeping with the regular working hours in the Company x x x decided not to render overtime".[21] Such admission confirmed the allegation of respondent company that petitioner engaged in "overtime boycott" and "work slowdown" which, to use the words of Labor Arbiter Caday, was taken as a means to coerce respondent company to yield to its unreasonable demands.
As to the second issue of whether or not the respondents have engaged in "overtime boycott" and "work slowdown" from April 16, 1993 up to March 7, 1994, both amounting to illegal strike, the evidence presented is equally crystal clear that the "overtime boycott" and "work slowdown" committed by the respondents amounted to illegal strike.
As undisputably testified to by Mr. Alessandro G. Salazar, the company's Vice-President-Human Resources Department, sometime in February, 1993, he was approached by the union President Nestor Ocampo and Union Director Hernando Clemente who asked him as to what was the stand of the company regarding the duration of the CBA between the company and which was set to expire on July 31, 1993. He answered that the matter could be best discussed during the formal renegotiations which anyway was to start soon. This query was followed up sometime in March, 1993, and his answer was the same. In early April, 1993, the union president requested for a meeting to discuss the duration and effectivity of the CBA. Acceding to the request, a meeting was held on April 15, 1993 wherein the union officers asked him if he would agree to make the new CBA effective on August 1, 1993 and the term thereof to be valid for only two (2) years. When he answered that it was still premature to discuss the matter, the very next day, April 16, 1993, all the rank and file employees of the company refused to follow their regular two-shift work schedule of 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., when after the 8-hours work, they abruptly stopped working at 2:00 P.M. and 2:00 A.M., respectively, leaving their place of work without sealing the containers and securing the raw materials they were working on. When he saw the workers leaving before the end of their shift, he asked them why and their reply was "asked (sic) the union officers." Alarmed by the overtime boycott and the damage it was causing the company, he requested for a meeting with the union officers. In the meeting, he asked them why the regular work schedule was not being followed by the employees, and union Director Enrico Gonzales, with the support of the other union officers, told him that if management would agree to a two-year duration for the new CBA and an effectivity date of August 1, 1993, all employees will return to the normal work schedule of two 12-hour shifts. When answered that the management could not decide on the matter at the moment and to have it discussed and agreed upon during the formal renegotiations, the overtime boycott continued and the employees at the same time employed a work slowdown campaign during working hours, causing considerable delay in the production and complaints from the clients/customers (Exh. "O", Affidavit of Alessandro G. Salazar which formed part of his direct testimony). This testimonial narrations of Salazar was, as earlier said, undisputed because the respondents' counsel waived his cross examination (t.s.n. p. 15, hearing on August 9, 1994).
Aside from the foregoing undisputed testimonies of Salazar, the testimonies of other Department Managers pointing to the union officers as the instigators of the overtime boycott and work slowdown, the testimony of Epifanio Salumbides (Exh. "Y") a union member at the time the concerted activities of the respondents took place, is quoted hereunder:"2. Noon Pebrero 1993, ipinatawag ng Presidente ng Unyon na si Nestor Ocampo ang lahat ng taga-maintenance ng bawat departamento upang dumalo sa isang miting. Sa miting na iyon, sinabi ni Rod Abuan, na isang Direktor ng Unyon, na mayroon ilalabas na memo ang Unyon na nag-uutos sa mga empleyado ng Kompanya na mag-imbento ng sari-saring dahilan para lang hindi sila makapagtrabaho ng "overtime". Sinabihan rin ako ni Tessie Montejo na siya namang Treasurer ng Unyon na 'Manny, huwag ka na lang pumasok sa Biyernes para hindi ka masabihan ng magtrabaho ng Sabado at Linggo' na siya namang araw ng "overtime" ko. x x xLikewise, the respondents' denial of having a hand in the work slowdown since there was no change in the performance and work efficiency for the year 1993 as compared to the previous year was even rebuffed by their witness M. Theresa Montejo, a Quality Control Analyst. For on cross-examination, she (Montejo) admitted that she could not answer how she was able to prepare the productivity reports from May 1993 to February 1994 because from April 1993 up to April 1994, she was on union leave. As such, the productivity reports she had earlier shown was not prepared by her since she had no personal knowledge of the reports (t.s.n. pp. 32-35, hearing of February 27, 1995). Aside from this admission, the comparison made by the respondents was of no moment, because the higher production for the years previous to 1993 was reached when the employees regularly rendered overtime work. But undeniably, overtime boycott and work slowdown from April 16, 1993 up to March 7, 1994 had resulted not only in financial losses to the company but also damaged its business reputation.
"3. Nakalipas ang dalawaang buwan at noong unang bahagi ng Abril 1993, miniting kami ng Shop Stewards namin na sina Ariel Abenoja, Dany Tansiongco at Vicky Baron. Sinabihan kami na huwag ng mag-ovetime pag nagbigay ng senyas ang Unyon ng "showtime."
"4. Noong umaga ng ika-15 ng Abril 1993, nagsabi na si Danny Tansiongco ng "showtime". Dahil dito wala ng empleyadong nag-overtime at sabay-sabay silang umalis, maliban sa akin. Ako ay pumasok rin noong Abril 17 at 18, 1993 na Sabado at Linggo.
"5. Noong ika-19 ng Abril 1993, ako ay ipinatawag ni Ariel Abenoja Shop Steward, sa opisina ng Unyon. Nadatnan ko doon ang halos lahat ng opisyales ng Unyon na sina:Nestor Ocampo ----- Presidente
Carmelo Santos ----- Bise-Presidente
Nanding Clemente -- Director
Tess Montejo ------- Chief Steward
Segundo Flores ------ Director
Enrico Gonzales ----- Auditor
Boy Alcantara ------- Shop Steward
Rod Abuan ----------- Director
at marami pang iba na hindi ko na maala-ala. Pagpasok ko, ako'y pinaligiran ng mga opisyales ng Unyon. Tinanong ako ni Rod Aguan kung bakit ako "nag-ovetime" gayong "Binigyan ka na namin ng instruction na huwag pumasok, pinilit mo pa ring pumasok." "Management ka ba o Unyonista." Sinagot ko na ako ay Unyonista. Tinanong niya muli kung bakit ako pumasok. Sinabi ko na wala akong maibigay na dahilan para lang hindi pumasok at "mag-overtime." Pagkatapos nito, ako ay pinagmumura ng mga opisyales ng Unyon kaya't ako ay madaliang umalis.x x x"
Evidently, from all the foregoing, respondents' unjustified unilateral alteration of the 24-hour work schedule thru their concerted activities of "overtime boycott" and "work slowdown" from April 16, 1993 up to March 7, 1994, to force the petitioner company to accede to their unreasonable demands, can be classified as a strike on an installment basis, as correctly called by petitioner company. xxx[19]
x x x (T)he concerted activity in question would still be illicit because contrary to the workers' explicit contractual commitment "that there shall be no strikes, walkouts, stoppage or slowdown of work, boycotts, secondary boycotts, refusal to handle any merchandise, picketing, sit-down strikes of any kind, sympathetic or general strikes, or any other interference with any of the operations of the COMPANY during the term of xxx (their collective bargaining) agreement."Finally, the Court cannot agree with the proposition that respondent company, in extending substantial separation package to some officers of petitioner union during the pendency of this case, in effect, condoned the illegal acts they committed.
What has just been said makes unnecessary resolution of SMC's argument that the workers' concerted refusal to adhere to the work schedule in force for the last several years, is a slowdown, an inherently illegal activity essentially illegal even in the absence of a no-strike clause in a collective bargaining contract, or statute or rule. The Court is in substantial agreement with the petitioner's concept of a slowdown as a "strike on the installment plan;" as a willful reduction in the rate of work by concerted action of workers for the purpose of restricting the output of the employer, in relation to a labor dispute; as an activity by which workers, without a complete stoppage of work, retard production or their performance of duties and functions to compel management to grant their demands. The Court also agrees that such a slowdown is generally condemned as inherently illicit and unjustifiable, because while the employees "continue to work and remain at their positions and accept the wages paid to them," they at the same time "select what part of their allotted tasks they care to perform of their own volition or refuse openly or secretly, to the employer's damage, to do other work;" in other words, they "work on their own terms." x x x.[24]