Backwages under a return-to-work order after assumption of jurisdiction practice question

The City Electric Cooperative (CEC) is an electric utility in Metro Sur. Its employees, represented by the CEC Employees Union (CEU), went on strike after a dispute over the company’s rehabilitation plan. The Secretary of Labor assumed jurisdiction over the dispute on February 1, 2020, and issued a return-to-work order on the same day, directing all striking employees to immediately return to work and CEC to readmit them under the same terms and conditions as before the strike. The employees reported to the CEC premises but were not given any work, and CEC did not pay their salaries or benefits for the period covered by the order. On April 15, 2022, the Secretary of Labor issued a resolution upholding the validity of CEC’s retrenchment program but ordered CEC to pay backwages to the affected employees for the period from February 1, 2020, until the date of the resolution. CEC argues that since there was no illegal dismissal and it allowed the employees to enter the premises, no backwages should be awarded. Should the award of backwages be sustained? Explain.