G.R. No. 114521 & G.R. No. 123491 November 27, 1998
CCBPI POSTMIX WORKERS UNION, petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and COCA-COLA BOTTLERS, PHIL., INC., respondents. / COCA-COLA BOTTLERS PHIL., INC., petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, CCBPI POSTMIX WORKERS UNION, et al., respondents.

FACTS

The CCBPI Postmix Workers Union staged a strike on April 20, 1987, due to a bargaining deadlock. The company filed a petition to declare the strike illegal, arguing the union violated the mandatory seven-day strike ban under Article 264(f) of the Labor Code. The Labor Arbiter initially dismissed the petition, finding substantial compliance. However, the NLRC reversed this, declaring the strike illegal and ruling that the union officers lost their employment status. Consequently, the company terminated eight employees believed to be union officers. The union contested this, filing a complaint for illegal dismissal on behalf of five of these employees—Martin Gumarang, Luisito Piedad, Edmar Basco, Victoriano Jumalon, and Juanito Dayao—asserting they were not union officers during the strike. The Labor Arbiter dismissed their complaint, but the NLRC, on reconsideration, ordered their reinstatement with backwages, finding no proof they were officers.

ISSUE

Whether the five dismissed employees, as ordinary union members, could be lawfully terminated for mere participation in an illegal strike absent proof of commission of illegal acts during the strike.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the NLRC’s decision ordering reinstatement. The Court reiterated the established doctrine distinguishing the liability of union officers from that of ordinary members in an illegal strike. A union officer who knowingly participates in an illegal strike may be terminated. However, an ordinary striking worker may not be dismissed for mere participation in an illegal strike; there must be clear and convincing proof that he committed illegal acts during the strike. The company failed to discharge this burden of proof. The Certification from the Bureau of Labor Relations indicated the dismissed employees were not union officers at the time of the strike. The company’s reliance on its internal memorandum and the union’s subsequent listing of officers was insufficient to overcome this official certification and prove the employees held office during the strike. Since they were considered ordinary members and there was no evidence they committed illegal acts, their dismissal was unjustified. The Court emphasized that the loss of employment status is a severe penalty reserved for union officers responsible for the illegal strike, not for rank-and-file members who merely joined it.