G.R. No. 125561 March 6, 1998.
NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS IN HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES (NUWHRAIN) — THE PENINSULA MANILA CHAPTER (Interim Union Junta), MELVIN COWAN, SERAFIN TRIA, JR., PORPERIO YAPE, LINDA GALVEZ, BENJAMIN ESTEVES, LUTHER ADIGUE and RAYMUNDO VANCE, petitioners, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and THE PENINSULA MANILA, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner NUWHRAIN — The Peninsula Manila Chapter (the Junta) is a faction that arose from intra-union disputes within the recognized rank-and-file union (the Union) at The Peninsula Manila (the Hotel). The Junta, claiming irregularities in the signing of the 1991 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by the incumbent Union officers led by Rudolpho Genato, conducted an impeachment proceeding, removed the Genato group, and proclaimed itself as the Interim Union Junta. It then held an election, resulting in a new set of officers led by Melvin Cowan, which the Hotel, the Union’s national office, and the Genato group refused to recognize. The Junta filed two notices of strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) based on alleged unfair labor practices (ULP) by the Hotel, including discrimination and bias in favor of the Genato group. The NCMB dismissed both notices, ruling the grounds were non-strikeable intra-union disputes, and ordered the conversion to preventive mediation. Despite the dismissals and pending related cases (a petition for injunction by the Genato group and an interpleader petition by the Hotel), the Junta staged a wildcat strike on October 13 and 14, 1993, allegedly triggered by the dismissal of a Junta member, Sammie Coronel. The strike disrupted Hotel operations. The Secretary of Labor certified the dispute to the NLRC for compulsory arbitration. The Hotel filed a petition to declare the strike illegal and dismiss the strikers. The NLRC consolidated this with a subsequent illegal dismissal case filed by the Junta after the Hotel dismissed 15 Junta officers. The med-arbiter in the interpleader case had earlier declared the Junta’s formation and the impeachment illegal, upholding the Genato group as the legitimate officers.

ISSUE

Whether the National Labor Relations Commission committed grave abuse of discretion in declaring the strike held on October 13 and 14, 1993, illegal and in upholding the dismissal of the 15 Junta officers.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled that the NLRC did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The strike was illegal. The general rule is that a strike based on a non-strikeable ground is illegal. While an exception exists where employees believe in good faith that ULP acts exist, such belief must be warranted by the circumstances. Here, the circumstances did not warrant a good faith belief in ULP. The alleged grounds for the strike were previously dismissed by the NCMB as non-strikeable intra-union disputes. The specific incident triggering the strike, the dismissal of Sammie Coronel, was a matter of management prerogative on discipline, not ULP, and proper remedies (like filing an illegal dismissal case or using the CBA grievance machinery) were available instead of an unlawful strike. The Junta’s claim of good faith was unjustified. Consequently, the strike being illegal, the dismissal of the 15 officers who knowingly participated in it was valid. The Court affirmed the NLRC decision, finding its factual conclusions substantiated by the records.