G.R. No. 95405 - SEMIRARA COAL CORPORATION, VS. HON. SECRETARY OF LABOR, SEMIRARA COAL CORPORATION SUPERVISORY UNION (SECCSUN) AND SEMIRARA COAL CORPORATION UNION OF NON-MANAGERIAL EMPLOYEES (SCCUNME). D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, on May 29, 1989 the Med-Arbiter issued an Order directing the conduct of a certification election among the non-managerial (supervisors and junior staff) employees of the petitioner with the following choices: Semirara Coal Corporation Union of Non-Managerial Employees (SCCUNME); No Union. [5] On June 23, 1989, petitioner appealed from the aforesaid Order on the sole ground that the "Honorable Med-Arbiter erred in considering the petitioner union as vested with legal personality to seek certification election as the exclusive bargaining agent of the corporations supervisory employees." [6] In his Resolution of August 3, 1989, the Secretary of Labor dismissed the appeal of petitioner and directed the immediate conduct of a certification election. Petitioner's motion for reconsideration of the said resolution was denied. On December 6, 1989, respondent Semirara Coal Corporation of Supervisory Union (SECCSUN) , which was granted a certificate of registration on September 11, 1989, filed an Ex-Parte motion for intervention in the certification election sought by respondent SCCUNME. [7] During the hearing of the petition for certification election on January 4, 1990, the private respondents, SCCNME, SECCSUN, and the petitioner voluntarily agreed to hold a consent election. [8] However, on or about February 2, 1990, petitioner, instead of submitting the required list of eligible voters pursuant to a prior undertaking, sent a telegram to Med-Arbiter Claudio Sigaya, Jr., informing the latter that petitioner could not submit a list of non-managerial supervisors since all the supervisors are performing managerial functions. The pertinent portion of said telegram stated: "Further to our communication earlier made to your Office to the effect that we can not submit a list of non managerial supervisors because all of our supervisors are performing managerial function based on following definition of R.A. 6715 x x x" [9] On February 5, 1990, private respondent SCCUNME filed a Manifestation and Motion withdrawing its consent to the intervention of private respondent SECCSUN. On the same date, petitioner instead of submitting the list of eligible voters requested by the Med-arbiter, filed a Manifestation and Motion alleging that its supervisors are not eligible to participate in the certification election because they are managerial employees within the contemplation of Section 4 (o) of the Rules and Regulation Implementing Republic Act No. 6715. In so claiming, petitioner presented a copy of a company memorandum [10] dated August 29, 1988, allegedly vesting in the supervisory employees of petitioner the power to discipline the subordinates. To support its portion on the matter, the petitioner likewise submitted samples of the standard form of the company disciplinary memorandum. In its Order, dated April 18, 1990, Med-Arbiter Claudio M. Sigaya Jr. declared that the so-called supervisory employees of Semirara Coal Corporation are managerial employee