EN BANC
G.R. No. L-28607 May 31, 1971
SHELL OIL WORKERS' UNION, petitioner,
vs.
SHELL COMPANY OF THE PHILIPPINES, LTD., and THE COURT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, respondents.
J.C. Espinas, B. C. Pineda, J. J. de la Rosa & Associates for petitioner.
Siguion Reyna, Montecillo, Belo & Ongsiako for respondent Company.
Separate Opinions
BARREDO, J., concurring:
To be sure, a dissent from the opinion ably written by Our learned colleague, Justice Fernando, may not be entirely without some degree of plausibility. To begin with, the basic conclusion of fact of the Court of Industrial Relations in the appealed decision, which by law and the previously unbroken line of decisions of this Court on the point, We cannot lightly set aside, seem to be logical and supported by evidence not seriously disputed. Withal, when it is considered that there is nothing in the record to show that in acting as it did in this case, respondent Shell Company, Ltd. was not, actuated by any anti-union, much less anti-labor motive but by purely economic reasons of sound management, and, in fact, petitioner does not even suggest any such purpose, one must have to hesitate and deliberate long and hard before giving assent to a pronouncement that this respondent is guilty of unfair labor practice, such as to legalize the strike declared by petitioner against it. I take it, however, that in a larger sense this is a policy decision, and all things considered, particularly the constitutional injunctions on social justice and protection to labor, I prefer to err, since the juridical considerations and equities in this case appear to my mind and conscience to be in equipoise, on the side of labor, who, as I see it, acted in the same good faith that management did. I must hasten to add though, that in thus referring to labor, I do not have in mind the union leaders involved in this case to whom the Court of Industrial Relations has attributed personal reasons for their attitude, but I am thinking more of those security guards who felt uncertain about ultimate consequences of their transfer ordered by respondent and naturally found nothing to hold on was the protection of the collective bargaining agreement which they had a right to assume insured the substantial continuance of the terms and conditions of their employment contemplated in said agreement at the time it was entered into.
Contrary to the conclusion of the distinguished writer of the main opinion, I regret to say that the record amply supports the finding of the Industrial Court that the transfer of the eighteen security guards concerned was not a violation of the collective bargaining agreement between petitioner and said respondent. The more I go over the considerations of the appealed decision, the more I am convinced not only that the move was never tinged by any anti- labor hue but also that respondent had from the very beginning taken petitioner and its duly authorities representatives in its long study and deliberation of the problem, which took years, and had, in fact, consulted them on various aspects thereof. It is not denied that the maintenance of security is not the only aspect of its multifarious departments it has decided to contract out; petitioner did not object to the previous ones. Indeed, it is safe, to conjecture that petitioner has always seen the point of respondent, principally the economy it would achieve and the consequent benefits labor might gain thereby. In this connection, I particularly note that there is nothing in the record indicating that there is factual basis for petitioner's claim that the security guards herein involved would surely suffer economic loss as a result of their questioned transfer; respondent made it plain that overtime and other benefits accruing to them as security guards would likewise be given to them in their new positions. And in answer to petitioner's almost rhetorical question, why were said guards being given additional hourly pay and lump sum bonuses, if respondent did not feel, that their rights were being violated, it is perhaps not unreasonable to suppose that management simply felt that as the company was to save money by contracting out its security maintenance, it was but proper that the affected sector of labor' should share a part of its savings.
All these, however, do not mean, on the other hand, that petitioner's strike should necessarily be held to be illegal.ℒαwρhi৷ It is always a wholesome attitude in cases of this nature to give but secondary importance to strict technicalities, whether of substantive or remedial law, and to constantly bear in mind the human values involved which are beyond pecuniary estimation. As a general rule, labor's most potent and effective weapon is the strike, and it is but natural that when things appear to be dimming on the negotiation tables, labor should almost instinctively take a striking posture. In other words, the determination of the legality or illegality of a strike, particularly in this enlightened era of progressive thinking on labor-management relations is something that cannot be achieved by mere straight-jacketed legalistic argumentation and rationalization; the process is broader and deeper than that, for to do justice in deciding such an issue, it is imperative that utmost consideration should be given to the particular circumstances of each case, with a view to having the most comprehensive understanding of the motivations of the parties, in the light of human needs on the part of labor, and in the perspective of the orderly and economical conduct of business and industry, on the part of management. In this particular case, for instance, I cannot agree that respondent has violated its collective bargaining agreement with petitioner, but, on the other hand, I am not ready to conclude that for this reason, the strike here in question was consequently illegal. I hold that the two strike votes taken by the members of the petitioning union were both premised on the sincere and honest belief that there was a legal breach of the said agreement. That now I find, as the Industrial Court did, that technically and in truth, there was no such infringement did not of necessity stamp the said strike with the stigma of illegality.
It may not be amiss to add at this juncture, to allay and disabuse possible apprehension that the main opinion may conceivably produce in some quarters, that I do not discern in it any prejudice on the part of Justice Fernando, strictly pro-labor and anti-management. Precisely, I am giving my concurrence to the judgment in this case because I am convinced that, fundamentally he has also viewed the situation at hand in the light of the above considerations, even if our respective approaches and articulation of views have to differ, since I do not own all the perspectives whence he gives support to his conclusions, because I personally do not find any necessity to resort to other authorities, when I feel that plain reasoning, predicated on commonly accepted principles and reliance on one's proper sense of justice can suffice for the occasion.
I also concur in the sanctions ordered in the main opinion. The Court has individualized the respective responsibilities of the strikers herein involved because such exactly is what the justice of the situation demands. The reinstatement of those relatively innocent cannot be but only fair and equitable and the approval of the lay-off of those found to have acted beyond the requirements of the circumstances is founded on sound policy. In simple terms, I hold that the mere fact that a strike is not illegal, and I want to emphasize here that there is, in my opinion, a large shade of difference between a strike that is really justified and legal and one that is merely held not to be illegal, cannot be an excuse for resort to violence. Even picketing which is the sister remedy of strikes is not supposed to be completely unrestrained and unrestricted, and unprovoked violence, threats and duress of more or less grave nature employed by strikers against person and property are twice removed from what can be judicially tolerated.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
