SSS Employees Association v.

Court of Appeals

FACTS:

• SSS filed a complaint with the RTC-QC for damages and a writ of preliminary injunction against
petitioners and alleged:
o Officers and member of SSSEA staged an illegal strike (barricade entrance to building
preventing non-striking employees from reporting to work & SSS members from
transacting business with the SSS)
o Strike was reported to Public Sector Labor Management Council – ordered to return to
work but strikers refused
o SSS suffered damages as a result of strike
• Petitioners went on strike after SSS failed to act on the union’s demands
o Implementation of the provisions of the old SSS-SSSEA CBA on check-off of union dues
o Payment of accrued OT pay, night diff and holiday pay
o Conversion of contractual employees with 6 months of service to regular employees
o Payment of children’s allowance of Php30.00
o Allegedly acts of discrimination and unfair labor practice
• RTC-QC: issued a TRO pending the resolution of the application for writ of preliminary injunction
o Petitioners filed a motion: court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter
§ Jurisdiction is with DOLE and NLRC for being a labor dispute
o SSS maintained that the employees of SSS are covered by civil service laws not the labor
code so they do not have the right to strike.
§ RTC may enjoin employees from striking
o RTC-QC: denied the motion to dismiss, converted the TRO into an injunction – strike was
illegal. Subsequent MR was denied.
• Petitioners filed a petition for certiorari – referred to Court to Appeals
• CA: promulgated its decision in favor of SSS
o Employees of SSS are government employees = not allowed to strike and may be
enjoined by RTC which has jurisdiction
• Petitioner moved to recall the CA decision which was denied, hence the petition to review the
decision of CA.

ISSUE:
WON the employees of SSS have the right to strike.

RULING:
The court ruled that Government employees may, therefore, through their unions or
associations, either petition the Congress for the betterment of the terms and conditions of
employment which are within the ambit of legislation or negotiate with the appropriate government
agencies for the improvement of those which are not fixed by law. If there be any unresolved
grievances, the dispute may be referred to the Public Sector Labor - Management Council for
appropriate action.
However, employees in the civil service may not resort to strikes, walk-outs and other
temporary work stoppages, like workers in the private sector, to pressure the government to accede to
their demands.
As now provided under Sec. 4, Rule III of the Rules and Regulations to Govern the Exercise of the
Right of Government- Employees to Self- Organization, which took effect after the instant dispute arose,
"[t]he terms and conditions of employment in the government, including any political subdivision or
instrumentality thereof and government- owned and controlled corporations with original charters are
governed by law and employees therein shall not strike for the purpose of securing changes thereof."