Hospital ordered to pay workers
The Court of Appeals (CA) in Cebu has ordered the Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House. Inc. (CPCMHI) to pay its employees’ backwages during their alleged illegal lockout, following a labor dispute.
Associate Justice Germano Francisco Legaspi, in his 10-page penned decision, ruled that the National Labor Relations (NLRC) is correct in its ruling when it ordered the CPCMHI to pay the Cebu Maternity Hospital Employees Independent Union Association of Democratic Labor Organizations backwages from March 16 to April 22, 2016.
“We find that public respondent did not commit grave abuse of discretion in ordering CPCMHI to pay backwages to the employees,” the decision reads.
There is grave abuse of discretion, the appellate court added, “when the power is exercised in an arbitrary or despotic manner by reason of passion or personal hostility, and must be so patent and so gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or to a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined or to act at all in contemplation of law,” where it did not exist in the herein case.
In 2016, the CPCMHI filed a petition for certiorari before the appellate court seeking for the nullification of the NLRC’s ruling.
The NLRC, in its decision and resolution, has ordered CPCMHI to pay its employees’ backwages during their alleged illegal lockout from March 16 to April 22, 2016.
However, CPCMHI declined to pay backwages claiming that during that period, the hospital was temporarily closed, adopting the “no work, no pay” policy.
STRIKE AND LOCKOUT
The CPCMHI said that due to the union’s impending strike over the alleged non-approval of daily wage increase, the CPCMHI, commonly known as the Cebu Maternity Hospital, temporarily ceased operations on January 28, 2016.
Nonetheless, the hospital continued paying the salaries of all its employees, whether they participated in the strike or not.
CPCMHI however, said starting March 16, 2016, it will adopt a “no work, no pay” policy.
The union on March 17, 2016, filed a complaint before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) against the hospital for illegal lockout.
They alleged the security guards prevented them from entering the hospital premises on March 16, 2016 and told that the hospital will be closing operations by order of the management.
On April 23, 2016, the hospital resumed operation after the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued an order.
In its order, DOLE directed the employees to return to work and directed CPCMHI to readmit the employees under the same terms and conditions existing before the lockout.
WAGE INCREASE
During the conferences before the NCMB, the parties agreed to implement a P4 daily wage increase for the years 2015 and 2016.
In December 2014, the union sent a letter to CPCMHI proposing for a daily wage increase of P30 and P20 for the next two years, respectively.
The negotiation started on January 20, 2015.
In one of the negotiations, allegedly a counter-offer of P20 to P25 daily wage increase was brought up, which CPCMHI agreed.
However, the union alleged CPCMHI later denied that there was an agreement.
On April 27, 2015, the union members started wearing read sash with message asking for the implementation of P20 to P25 wage increase.
It was on April 27 and May 3, both in 2016, that the parties agreed to implement a P4 daily wage increase for the years 2015 and 2016. The CPCMHI promised to pay the wage increase differential.
However, the CPCMHI reportedly declined to pay the backwages of its employees from March 16, 2016 to April 22, 2016 citing the hospital suspended its operation.
In its decision, the appellate court ruled the hospital is still liable to pay the backwages because the lockout was rendered illegal after they failed to comply with the requirements of the same.
“CPCMHI’s belief that it was performing an act of self-preservation is not a substitute for the stringent requirements laid down by the law. Its failure to comply with the requirements set by Article 278 of the Labor rendered the lockout illegal,” read the decision.
The CA said the requisites for a valid lockout include a lockout notice filed with the NCMB at least 15 days before the intended date of the lockout if the issues raised are unfair labor practices, or at least 30 days if the issue involves bargaining deadlock.
A lockout must be approved by majority vote of the members of the Board of Directors of the corporation or association, or of the partners in a partnership, obtained by secret ballot in a meeting and it must be reported to the NCMBDOLE Regional Branch at least seven days before the intended lockout.
SEPARATION PAY
Meanwhile, 24 construction workers, mostly coming from the southern part of Cebu Province and Negros Oriental, collectively received P524,230 at the Department of Labor and Employment-7 recently.
The monetary reward served as payment for separation pay and underpayment of wages of affected workers.
The monetary benefits received by each worker ranged from P4,000.00 to P42,000.00.
The workers have lodged a request for assistance (RFA) at DOLE7 under its Single Entry Approach (SEnA) program and in less than 10 days and after a series of mandatory conferences conducted, both parties (the workers and the concerned companies) successfully arrived at a mutually agreed resolution to the concerns raised.
DOLE-7 Regional Director Alvin M. Villamor, in a statement, said that they want to raise awareness among their customers, workers or employers, that the Department is promoting the SEnA, as a mechanism to settle disagreements, concerns, and issues in the workplace before they would become full-blown labor disputes.