G.R. No. L-2569; January 13, 1950
Gotamco Lumber Company, petitioner, vs. The Court of Industrial Relations and National Labor Union, respondents.

FACTS

The National Labor Union filed a petition with the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) against Gotamco Lumber Company, raising an industrial dispute over eight demands, including wage increases, overtime pay, vacation leave, and hospitalization benefits. The CIR, after hearing, ordered the company to grant a minimum wage and percentage increases to different categories of workers and employees, effective from a specified date, and to pay 50% additional compensation for overtime work, including on Sundays and legal holidays. Gotamco Lumber Company appealed the CIR’s decision.

ISSUE

1. Whether the CIR has the power to grant wage increases above the minimum wage it fixes.
2. Whether the CIR correctly ordered the payment of overtime compensation for work performed without a permit from the Secretary of Labor.

RULING

1. Yes. The Court upheld the CIR’s authority to fix just and reasonable wages to resolve industrial disputes and prevent strikes. The CIR’s order, which set a minimum wage for unskilled laborers and granted percentage increases to skilled workers receiving above that minimum, was within its implied powers under Section 20 of Commonwealth Act No. 103 . This was effectively fixing minimum wages for different categories of laborers, a power previously affirmed in related jurisprudence.
2. Yes. The Court ruled that the employer, duty-bound under Commonwealth Act No. 444 (Eight-Hour Labor Law) to secure the required permit for overtime work, cannot plead its own neglect as a defense to avoid paying overtime compensation. The employee has a right to assume the employer complied with the law when rendering extra service at the employer’s request. The pari delicto doctrine invoked in earlier cases was not applicable under the current legal framework imposing the duty solely on the employer.
The appealed decision was affirmed.

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