GR 143341; (May, 2004) (Digest)
G.R. No. 143341 ; May 28, 2004
SAN JUAN DE DIOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION EMPLOYEES UNION-ALLIANCE OF FILIPINO WORKERS, ET AL., petitioners, vs. SAN JUAN DE DIOS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, INC. (HOSPITAL) and NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, respondents.
FACTS
San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation, Inc. dismissed employee Rodolfo Calucin, Jr., an officer of the petitioner Union, for habitual tardiness. The Union filed a Notice of Strike, alleging illegal dismissal, unfair labor practices, and CBA violations, and subsequently staged a strike. The Secretary of Labor issued a Return-to-Work Order and certified the dispute to the NLRC. The striking members initially defied the order but later entered into an agreement with management to return to work and submit the dismissal issue to voluntary arbitration. However, the Foundation later filed a petition to declare the strike illegal, citing defiance of the RTWO and alleged commission of illegal acts during the strike.
ISSUE
The primary issues were: (1) whether the strike was illegal, and (2) whether the dismissal of Calucin, Jr. was valid.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the rulings of the NLRC and the Court of Appeals, declaring the strike illegal and upholding the dismissal. On the first issue, the strike was illegal because it was staged after the Secretary of Labor had assumed jurisdiction and issued a certification order, which is expressly prohibited under Article 263 of the Labor Code. The Union’s defiance of the Return-to-Work Order further solidified the strike’s illegality. The subsequent agreement between the parties did not retroactively legalize the strike, as the illegal acts had already been committed.
On the second issue, the Court found that Calucin, Jr.’s dismissal was for a just cause. The employer sufficiently established through company records that he incurred habitual tardiness, constituting gross and habitual neglect of duties under Article 282(b) of the Labor Code. The Court upheld the factual findings of the NLRC, which found no evidence of bad faith or discrimination, noting that another employee cited for comparison had different circumstances. The NLRC’s findings, being supported by substantial evidence, are accorded respect and finality. Consequently, the petitioners, as union officers who knowingly participated in the illegal strike, were validly dismissed.