SSSEA v. Court Of Appeals
Social Security System Employees Association (SSSEA) v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 85279, July 28, 1989
- Labor Law
- Procedural (Remedial Law)
- right to strike
- government employees
- civil service
- Social Security System
- government-controlled corporation
- injunction
- jurisdiction
- Regional Trial Court
- NLRC
- Public Sector Labor-Management Council
- right to self-organization
- Executive Order No. 180
- Memorandum Circular No. 6
I. Facts of the Case
The Social Security System Employees Association (SSSEA) and several of its officers went on strike against the Social Security System (SSS) after the SSS failed to act on the union's demands. The SSS sued in the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City for damages and an injunction to stop the strike and order the strikers back to work. The dispute is whether SSS employees may strike and whether the RTC could enjoin the strike.
The SSSEA made demands on the SSS: implementation of the CBA provisions on check-off of union dues, payment of accrued overtime, night differential and holiday pay, conversion of temporary or contractual employees with six months or more of service into regular employees, and payment of the P30.00 children's allowance. The union also complained of salary deductions and alleged discrimination and unfair labor practices. The SSS did not act on these demands.
June 9, 1987
SSSEA officers and members staged a strike and barricaded the entrances to the SSS Building. Non-striking employees could not report for work and SSS members could not transact business. The Public Sector Labor-Management Council ordered the strikers to return to work, but they refused.
June 11, 1987
The SSS filed a complaint for damages with a prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction in the RTC of Quezon City. It asked that the strike be enjoined, the strikers be ordered back to work, and the strike be declared illegal. The RTC issued a temporary restraining order the same day.
Petitioners moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter. The SSS opposed the motion and reiterated its prayer for an injunction.
July 22, 1987
The RTC denied the motion to dismiss. After finding the strike illegal, it converted the restraining order into an injunction upon the posting of a bond. The motion for reconsideration was denied on August 14, 1988 (as stated in the decision).
Petitioners filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with preliminary injunction in the Supreme Court, docketed as G.R. No. 79577. On October 21, 1987, the Third Division referred the case to the Court of Appeals. Petitioners moved for reconsideration.
March 9, 1988
The Court of Appeals dismissed the petition. It held that SSS employees are government employees who may not strike, that the strike could be enjoined, and that the RTC had jurisdiction over the complaint for damages.
June 29, 1988
The Supreme Court denied the motion for reconsideration in G.R. No. 79577 as moot and academic. Petitioners' motion to recall the CA decision was also denied. Petitioners then filed this petition for review of the CA decision.
February 6, 1989
On the SSS's motion, the Supreme Court issued a TRO. It enjoined petitioners from staging another strike or pursuing the notice of strike filed with DOLE on January 25, 1989, and ordered the status quo maintained.
May 5, 1989
Petitioners filed a petition for preliminary and mandatory injunction to stop the SSS from withholding bonuses and benefits. They annexed a Civil Service Commission order of this date granting salaries and benefits to non-suspended SSSEA officers.
II. Issues
Whether or not employees of the Social Security System have the right to strike.
Whether or not the Regional Trial Court, rather than the NLRC or the Public Sector Labor-Management Council, has jurisdiction over the SSS complaint and may enjoin the strike and order the strikers to return to work.
Whether or not the Supreme Court may issue a writ of preliminary prohibitive and mandatory injunction to compel the SSS to pay the withheld bonuses and benefits.
III. Ruling
Whether or not employees of the Social Security System have the right to strike.
SSS employees have no right to strike. The SSS is a government-controlled corporation with an original charter, so its employees are in the civil service and the strike was illegal.
How the Court reasoned
- The Constitution recognizes the right of government employees to organize. It is silent on the right to strike, and the framers meant to limit the right to forming unions without a right to strike.
- Since no law allows government employees to strike, they are barred from doing so by Memorandum Circular No. 6 and by E.O. No. 180, which implies the prohibition.
- The SSS is a government-controlled corporation created by an original charter (R.A. No. 1161). Its employees therefore belong to the civil service.
- Because they are in the civil service, they are covered by the prohibition against strikes. Their strike on June 9, 1987 was illegal.
- Government employees are not left without remedy. They may petition Congress, negotiate on terms not fixed by law, or bring disputes to the Public Sector Labor-Management Council.
- What they may not do is resort to strikes, walk-outs and other work stoppages like private-sector workers to pressure the government.
“This being the case, the strike staged by the employees of the SSS was illegal.”
Rule applied
Art. XIII, Sec. 3 and Art. IX(B), Sec. 2(1) and (5), 1987 Constitution; Executive Order No. 180; Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 6, s. 1987; Republic Act No. 1161
Whether or not the Regional Trial Court, rather than the NLRC or the Public Sector Labor-Management Council, has jurisdiction over the SSS complaint and may enjoin the strike and order the strikers to return to work.
The RTC had jurisdiction and could validly enjoin the strike and order the strikers back to work. The NLRC has no jurisdiction over the dispute, and the Public Sector Labor-Management Council cannot issue injunctions.
How the Court reasoned
- The NLRC handles disputes between private employers and employees under the Labor Code. SSS employees are government employees, so the NLRC has no jurisdiction over this dispute.
- The Public Sector Labor-Management Council has jurisdiction over government labor disputes under E.O. No. 180. It has no power to issue injunctions.
- With no other body able to grant an injunction, the RTC may act under its general jurisdiction in B.P. Blg. 129, which covers cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of another tribunal.
- The strike was prohibited by law, so an injunction may be issued to restrain it.
- The Court of Appeals therefore did not err in finding that the RTC acted within its jurisdiction in enjoining the strike.
“The strike staged by the employees of the SSS belonging to petitioner union being prohibited by law, an injunction may be issued to restrain it.”
Rule applied
Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended (general jurisdiction of the RTC); Executive Order No. 180; Labor Code provisions on NLRC jurisdiction
Whether or not the Supreme Court may issue a writ of preliminary prohibitive and mandatory injunction to compel the SSS to pay the withheld bonuses and benefits.
The Court refused to issue the injunction compelling the SSS to release the withheld bonuses and benefits. The claim is extraneous to the issues in this case, and the remedy is to execute the Civil Service Commission order if it is final.
How the Court reasoned
- The claim for withheld bonuses and benefits is not part of the issues raised in the petition. These concern the legality of the strike and the RTC's jurisdiction.
- Petitioners relied on a Civil Service Commission order granting salaries and benefits to non-suspended SSSEA officers.
- If that order is final, petitioners' remedy is to seek its execution. They cannot ask this Court to enforce it through a preliminary mandatory injunction in this case.
Rule applied
Civil Service Commission order of May 5, 1989; rules on the scope of relief in a petition for review
Doctrines
Government employees, including employees of government-controlled corporations with original charters such as the SSS, have the right to organize but not the right to strike, absent legislation granting it.
Civil service employees may not resort to strikes, walk-outs and other work stoppages to pressure the government. Their remedies are to petition Congress, negotiate on terms not fixed by law, or refer disputes to the Public Sector Labor-Management Council.
The NLRC has no jurisdiction over strikes by government employees. The Public Sector Labor-Management Council cannot issue injunctions, so the RTC may enjoin an illegal strike under its general jurisdiction in B.P. Blg. 129.
Final Disposition
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED and the decision of the Court of Appeals is AFFIRMED. The Court did not grant the application for preliminary and mandatory injunction to compel the SSS to pay the withheld bonuses and benefits.
Notes
The decision states the denial of the motion for reconsideration as August 14, 1988, which seems inconsistent with the chronology. The motion to dismiss was denied July 22, 1987, and the case reached the CA in 1988.