G.R. No. L-9055; November 28, 1958
NATIONAL SHIPYARDS AND STEEL CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. DEOGRACIAS ALMIN, DELFIN HARDIN, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

On July 12, 1954, Deogracias Almin and 35 other security guards employed by the National Shipyards and Steel Corporation (NASSCO) filed a petition with the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR). They alleged that since 1950, they had been required to work on Sundays, legal holidays, and at night without receiving any additional overtime compensation. Initially, one judge of the CIR dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction. However, upon a motion for reconsideration, the CIR en banc, by a vote of three to one, reversed the dismissal and declared that it had jurisdiction to entertain the petition. NASSCO then filed this certiorari proceeding, arguing that after the passage of the Industrial Peace Act ( Republic Act No. 875 ), the CIR’s jurisdiction was limited to matters involving unfair labor practices, cases certified by the President as indispensable to the national interest, or cases causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout, and that the present case did not fall under any of these categories. The respondents countered that they were merely seeking enforcement of the Eight-Hour Labor Law ( Commonwealth Act No. 444 ) before the CIR, which they claimed had the authority to do so.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Industrial Relations retained jurisdiction over claims for overtime compensation under the Eight-Hour Labor Law ( Commonwealth Act No. 444 ) after the enactment of the Industrial Peace Act ( Republic Act No. 875 ).

RULING

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for certiorari. It held that the issue had already been settled by several definitive rulings of the Tribunal. Citing Philippine Association of Free Labor Unions vs. Tan, the Court, through Justice Bautista Angelo, had previously held that even after the approval of Republic Act No. 875 , the jurisdiction of the Court of Industrial Relations extended to disputes involving the Eight-Hour Labor Law. This view was reiterated in other decisions, namely Reyes vs. Tan and Cebu Port Labor Union vs. States Marine Corp. Furthermore, in the recent case of Gomez vs. North Camarines Lumber Co. Inc., the Supreme Court had dismissed a complaint for unpaid overtime wages filed in a court of first instance and directed its submission to the Court of Industrial Relations as the proper forum. Therefore, the CIR correctly assumed jurisdiction over the respondents’ petition for overtime compensation. No costs were awarded.