G.R. No. L-22392 October 26, 1967
RURAL TRANSIT EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, petitioner, vs. BACHRACH MOTOR CO., INC., BACHRACH TRANSPORTATION COMPANY and COURT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Rural Transit Employees’ Association (Union), composed of employees of Bachrach Motor Co., Inc. (later reorganized as Bachrach Transportation Company), declared a strike in May 1958 due to a labor dispute later certified by the President to the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) as involving national interest. The dispute stemmed from the Company’s practice of accepting freight, both accompanied and unaccompanied by shippers, on passenger buses. The Union contended this practice caused public inconvenience, cramped passenger space, caused delays, and led to loss, damage, or misdelivery of freight for which employees were penalized. The Union’s demands, segregated as Case No. 22-IPA (19), included: (a) commissioning separate freight trucks for unaccompanied freight, and (b) declaring penalties imposed on drivers and conductors for freight issues as unjustified and ordering refunds. The Union argued the practice violated the Company’s certificate of public convenience, citing a letter from the Public Service Commission. The Company defended its practice as allowed under its certificate and imposed penalties only for clear employee negligence. The CIR dismissed the case without prejudice, holding the issue of violation of the certificate of public convenience was within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Industrial Relations had jurisdiction to settle the Union’s demand for a refund of penalties imposed on employees for freight-related issues, which was part of a certified labor dispute, despite involving an ancillary claim of violation of a certificate of public convenience.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court set aside the CIR order and remanded the case for further proceedings. The Court held that the Union’s contention regarding the violation of the certificate of public convenience was merely one ground supporting its demand for a refund of penalties. This demand was a cause of the labor dispute and strike certified by the President as involving national interest. It was within the competence and duty of the CIR to settle this issue to resolve the certified dispute. The issue was not rendered academic by the Company later securing a certificate to operate cargo trucks, as the refund demand remained unsettled. Even if the practice did not violate Public Service Commission rules, the CIR still had to determine the justification for the penalties and the propriety of a refund.