G.R. No. 120482 - REFORMIST UNION OF R. B. LINER, INC., HEVER DETROS, ET AL., VS. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, R.B. LINER, INC., BERNITA DEJERO, FELIPE DEJERO, RODELIO DEJERO, ANA TERESA DEJERO, AND RODELIO RYAN DEJERO.

Ruling

Accordingly, as a measure of social justice, resumption of employment relations between the parties shall be decreed without however granting any monetary relief considering that both parties had, to a certain extent, engaged in the commission of acts which rendered them undeserving of their prayer for damages and other concomitant reliefs akin to their causes of action. [21] Reformist and its members moved to reconsider the NLRC decision, which was, however, denied on 31 March 1995. [22] The petitioners then came to us with this special civil action for certiorari, citing the following in support thereof: 1. RESPONDENT NLRC GRAVELY ABUSED ITS DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OF JURISDICTION IN FAILING TO GIVE WEIGHT TO THE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE OF THE PETITIONERS SHOWING [AN] ILLEGAL LOCKOUT COMMITTED BY THE RESPONDENTS. 2. RESPONDENT NLRC DENIED SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE TO THE PETITIONERS BY NOT AWARDING THEM THE MONETARY RELIEFS PRAYED FOR. 3. RESPONDENT NLRC ERRONEOUSLY INTERPRETED THE LAW ENUNCIATED BY THE HON. SUPREME COURT GIVING SEPARATION PAY PLUS BACKWAGES TO EMPLOYEES WHOSE REINSTATEMENT TO THEIR FORMER POSITIONS HAVE BEEN RENDERED IMPOSSIBLE BY THE RESPONDENTS. The private respondents insist that the petitioners-employees were validly dismissed for serious misconduct and violations of labor laws and lawful orders of the Labor Secretary, hence not entitled to reinstatement nor separation pay in lieu of reinstatement. This petition must be granted, albeit not on the grounds advocated by the petitioners. The private respondents can no longer contest the legality of the strike held by the petitioners on 13 December 1989, as the private respondents themselves sought compulsory arbitration in order to resolve that very issue, hence their letter to the Labor Secretary read, in part: This is to request your good office to certify for compulsory arbitration or to assume jurisdiction over the labor dispute (strike continuing) between R.B. Liner Inc . . . . and the Lakas Manggagawa sa Pilipinas . . . The current strike by Lakas which started on December 13, 1989 even before Certification Election could be held could not be resolved by the NCR Conciliation-Mediation Division after six meetings/conferences between the parties. [23] The dispute or strike was settled when the company and the union entered into an agreement on 19 January 1990 where the private respondents agreed to accept all employees who by then, had not yet returned to work. By acceding to the peaceful settlement brokered by the NLRC, the private respondents waived the issue of the illegality of the strike. The very nature of compulsory arbitration makes the settlement binding upon the private respondents, for compulsory arbitration has been defined both as "the process of settlement of labor disputes by a government agency which has the authority to investigate and to make an award which is binding on all the parties," [24] and as a mode of arbitration where the parties are "compelled to