Metrolab v. Sec. of Labor

Facts:

Metro Drug Corporation Employees Association-Federation of Free Workers is a labor organization representing the rank and file employees of petitioner Metrolab Industries, Inc. (Metrolab/MII) and of Metro Drug, Inc. The CBA expired. The negotiations for the new CBA ended in deadlock. the Union filed a notice of strike against Metrolab and Metro Drug Inc. The parties failed to settle their dispute despite the conciliation efforts of the NCMB.

The Secretary of Labor Ruben Torres issued an assumption order. The Union filed a motion for reconsideration. During this motion, Metrolab laid off 94 rank and file employees. The Union filed a motion for a cease and desist order to enjoin Metrolab from implementing the mass layoff, alleging that such act violated the prohibition against committing acts that would exacerbate the dispute as specifically directed in the assumption order. Metrolab recalled some of the laid off workers on a temporary basis due to availability of work in the production lines. Acting Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor issued a resolution declaring the layoff of Metrolab’s 94 rank and file workers illegal and ordered their reinstatement with full backwages. Metrolab filed a Partial Motion for Reconsideration. After exhaustive negotiations, the parties entered into a new CBA. The execution, however, was without prejudice to the outcome of the issues raised in the reconsideration and clarification motions submitted for decision to the Secretary of Labor. During the pendency of the motions, Metrolab laid off 73 of its employees on grounds of redundancy due to lack of work. Labor Secretary Confesor issued another cease and desist order. An Omnibus Resolution was thereafter issued denying the motions of Metrolab. The Union filed a motion for execution which Metrolab opposed.

Issues:

Did the Hon. Secretary of Labor and Employment committed grave abuse of discretion and exceeded her jurisdiction in declaring the temporary layoff illegal and ordering the reinstatement and payment of backwages to the affected employees and gravely abused her discretion in including executive secretaries as part of the bargaining unit of rank and file employees

Held:

The Secretary of Labor is expressly given the power under the Labor Code to assume jurisdiction and resolve labor disputes involving industries indispensable to national interest. The disputed injunction is subsumed under this special grant of authority. Metro labs management prerogatives, therefore, are not being unjustly curtailed but duly balanced with and tempered by the limitations set by law, taking into account its special character and the particular circumstances in the case at bench.

On the second issue, the exclusion of managerial employees, in accordance with law, must therefore still carry the qualifying phrase from the bargaining unit in the CBA. The exclusion of executive secretaries should be read together with the qualifying phrase are excluded from membership in the Association of the same Article and with the heading of Attachment I. The latter refers to Exclusions from Scope of Close Shop Provision and provides that [t]he following positions in Bargaining Unit are not covered by the close shop provision of the CBA.

On the main issue, NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in reversing the decision of the Executive Labor Arbiter and in decreeing that PIDIs Service Engineers, Sales Force, division secretaries, all Staff of General Management, Personnel and Industrial Relations Department, Secretaries of Audit, EDP and Financial Systems are included within the rank and file bargaining unit. In the first place, all these employees, with the exception of the service engineers and the sales force personnel, are confidential employees. Their classification as such is not seriously disputed by PEO-FFW; the five (5) previous CBAs between PIDI and PEO-FFW explicitly considered them as confidential employees. By the very nature of their functions, they assist and act in a confidential capacity to, or have access to confidential matters of, persons who exercise managerial functions in the field of labor relations. As such, the rationale behind the ineligibility of managerial employees to form, assist or join a labor union equally applies to them.