576 Phil. 549
NACHURA, J.:
SECTION 1. Basic Pay - the ACADEMY and the UNION agreed to maintain the wage increase in absolute amount as programmed in the computation prepared by the ACADEMY and dated 30 June 1994 initialed by the members of the bargaining panel of both parties, taking into account increases in tuition fees, if any.The UNION then assessed agency fees from non-union employees, and requested DEL PILAR to deduct said assessment from the employees' salaries and wages. DEL PILAR, however, refused to effect deductions claiming that the non-union employees were not amenable to it.
SECTION 2. The teaching load of teachers shall only be Twenty-Three (23) hours per week effective this school year and any excess thereon shall be considered as overload with pay.
SECTION 3. Overloadpay (sic) will be based on the Teachers' Basic Monthly Rate.
SECTION 4. The ACADEMY agrees to grant longevity pay as follows: P100.00 for every 5 years of continuous service. The longevity shall be integrated in the basic salary within three (3) years from the effectivity of this agreement.ARTICLE VI
VACATION LEAVE WITH PAY
SECTION 1. Every faculty member who has rendered at least six (6) consecutive academic semester of service shall be entitled to the 11th month and 12th month pay as summer vacation leave with pay. They may, however, be required to report [and] undergo briefings or seminars in connection with their teaching assignments for the ensuing school year.
SECTION 2. Non-teaching employees who shall have rendered at least one (1) year of service shall be entitled to fifteen days leave with pay.
Reviewing the records of this case and the law relative to the issues at hand, we came to the conclusion that it was an error on [the] part of [DEL PILAR] not to have collected agency fee due other workers who are non-union members but are included in the bargaining unit being represented by [the UNION]. True enough as was correctly quoted by [the UNION] Art. 248, to wit:On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) affirmed the Arbiter's ruling. In gist, it upheld the UNION's right to agency fee, but did not consider DEL PILAR's failure to deduct the same an unfair labor practice.[6]Employees of an appropriate collective bargaining unit who are not members of the recognized collective bargaining agency may be assessed a reasonable fee equivalent to the dues and other fees paid by members of the recognized collective bargaining agreement: Provided, that the individual authorization required under Article [241], paragraph (o) of this Code shall not apply to the non-members of the recognized collective bargaining agent.As it is, [DEL PILAR's] unwarranted fear re-individual dues [without] authorization for non-union members has no basis in fact or in law. For receipt of CBA benefits brought about by the CBA negotiated with [petitioners], they are duty bound to pay agency fees which may lawfully be deducted sans individual check-off authorization. Being [recipients] of said benefits, they should share and be made to pay the same considerations imposed upon the union members. [DEL PILAR], therefore, was in error in refusing to deduct corresponding agency fees which lawfully belongs to the union.
Anent the proposal to decrease the coverage of the 11th and 12th month vacation with pay, we do not believe that such was done in bad faith but rather in an honest attempt to make perfect procession following the DECS' Manuals. Moreso, it is of judicial notice that in the course of negotiation, almost all provisions are up for grabs, amendments or change. This is something normal in the course of a negotiation and does not necessarily connote bad faith as each every one (sic) has the right to negotiate reward or totally amend the provisions of the contract/agreement.
All told while there was error on [the] part of [DEL PILAR] for the first issue, [it] came through in the second. But as it is, we do not believe that a finding of unfair labor practice can be had considering the lack of evidence on record that said acts were done to undermine the union or stifle the member's right to self organization or that the [petitioners] were in bad faith. If at all, it's (sic) error may have been the result of a mistaken notion that individual check-off authorization is needed for it to be able to validly and legally deduct assessment especially after individual[s] concerned registered their objection. On the other hand, it is not error to negotiate for a better term in the CBA. So long as [the] parties will agree. It must be noted that a CBA is a contract between labor and management and is not simply a litany of benefits for labor. Moreso, for unfair labor practice to prosper, there must be a clear showing of acts aimed at stifling the worker's right to self-organization. Mere allegations and mistake notions would not suffice.
ACCORDINGLY, premises considered, the charge of unfair labor practice is hereby Dismissed for want of basis.
SO ORDERED.[5]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is PARTIALLY GRANTED. The assailed resolution of the NLRC dated April 30, 2004 is hereby MODIFIED. Private respondent Del Pilar Academy is ordered to deduct the agency fees from non-union members who are recipients of the collective bargaining agreement benefits. The agency fees shall be equivalent to the dues and other fees paid by the union members.DEL PILAR filed a motion for reconsideration of the decision, but the CA denied the same on September 28, 2005.[9]
SO ORDERED.[8]
The issue here boils down to whether or not the UNION is entitled to collect agency fees from non-union members, and if so, whether an individual written authorization is necessary for a valid check off.
- IN PROMULGATING THE CHALLENGED DECISION AND RESOLUTION, THE HON. COURT OF APPEALS DISREGARDED THE FACT THAT THE ANNUAL INCREASE IN THE SALARIES OF THE EMPLOYEES WAS NOT A BENEFIT ARISING FROM A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT, BUT WAS MANDATED BY THE DIRECTIVE OF A GOVERNMENTAL DEPARTMENT; and
- CONSIDERING THE ANNUAL SALARY INCREASE OF NON-UNION MEMBERS WAS NOT A BENEFIT ARISING FROM THE CBA, THEIR INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN AUTHORIZATIONS ARE STILL REQUIRED TO ALLOW PETITIONER ACADEMY TO LEGALLY DEDUCT THE SAME FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE SALARY.[10]
Employees of an appropriate collective bargaining unit who are not members of the recognized collective bargaining agent may be assessed reasonable fees equivalent to the dues and other fees paid by the recognized collective bargaining agent, if such non-union members accept the benefits under the collective bargaining agreement. Provided, That the individual authorization required under Article 241, paragraph (o) of this Code shall not apply to the non-members of recognized collective bargaining agent.When so stipulated in a collective bargaining agreement or authorized in writing by the employees concerned, the Labor Code and its Implementing Rules recognize it to be the duty of the employer to deduct the sum equivalent to the amount of union dues, as agency fees, from the employees' wages for direct remittance to the union. The system is referred to as check off.[11] No requirement of written authorization from the non-union employees is necessary if the non-union employees accept the benefits resulting from the CBA.[12]
The employee's acceptance of benefits resulting from a collective bargaining agreement justifies the deduction of agency fees from his pay and the union's entitlement thereto. In this aspect, the legal basis of the union's right to agency fees is neither contractual nor statutory, but quasi-contractual, deriving from the established principle that non-union employees may not unjustly enrich themselves by benefiting from employment conditions negotiated by the bargaining union.By this jurisprudential yardstick, this Court finds that the CA did not err in upholding the UNION's right to collect agency fees.