Philippine Blooming Mills Employment Organization vs.

Philippine Blooming
Mills Co., Inc. and Court of Industrial Relations (1973)

Facts – Union officers of the Philippine Blooming Mills Co. Inc. (PBM) were
dismissed for allegedly violating the no strike-no lockout provision of their
collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after staging a mass demonstration at
Malacañang.

PBMEO was set to stage a mass demonstration at Malacañang on March 4, 1969

against abuses of the Pasig police, where employees on the first, regular, and third
shifts will participate. PBMEO informed company two days before the said
demonstration and asked to excuse all the workers participating.

But a day before the demonstration, PBM said the rally should not prejudice normal
office operations, thus employees without prior filing of a leave of absence who fail
to report for the first and regular shifts on March 4 shall be dismissed for violating
their CBA.

However, union officers said there was no violation because the demonstration was
against the Pasig police and not the company. They added that the rally was an
exercise of their freedom of speech.

In a decision penned by Judge Joaquin Salvador of the Court of Industrial Relations,

eight of the Philippine Blooming Mills Employment Organization (PBMEO) officers
were found guilty of bargaining in bad faith and were thus removed as employees of
PBM.

PBMEO filed a motion for reconsideration, which CIR dismissed the motion for
passing two days late from the 10-day deadline the court allowed.

Issue – Whether or not CIR and PBM Co. Inc. violated PBMEO’s freedom of
expression and assembly on the grounds that PBM Co. illegally dismissed its
employees for participating in a mass demonstration.

Held – VIOLATED. The rally was not against the company and therefore there is no
violation of the “no strike-no lockout” provision of their CBA. To charge PBMEO of
bargaining in bad faith extends the jurisdiction of the CBA and inhibits freedom of
speech. The company failed to protect its employees from the Pasig police’s abuse of
power, went to the extent of dismissing their employees, and instead prioritized
material losses. Moreover, CIR could have easily accepted the motion for
reconsideration. Procedural rules do not supersede the Constitution and may be
overruled in a bid to achieve justice, especially in cases of free speech.
Concepts and Terminologies

CBA – collective bargaining agreement; a contract between a company and its

employees that lays out work hours, wages, and other terms and conditions of
employment

Strike – right of employees to refuse to go to work; cessation of work

Lockout – right of employers to suspend work and to refuse to hire workers