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SC: Pregnant PAL pilot illegally dismissed in 1998 strike

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Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Except in the case of the then nine-month pregnant pilot, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the dismissal of some Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) pilots who participated in a strike in 1998 that had been declared illegal. In a 36-page decision promulgated on January 11, 2016, the Court&#x27;s First Division, through the ponencia of Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-de Castro, unanimously dismissed the petition in GR No. 178501 (Rodriguez, et al. v. PAL, and National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)) and partly granted the petition in GR No. 178510 (PAL v. Rodriguez, et al., and Poe). The High Court, however, singled out only Gladys L. Jadie, among Rodriguez, et al., to be illegally dismissed by PAL. It underscored that during the strike, Jadie was already on maternity leave being in her ninth month of pregnancy, making it obvious that she did not join the strike and could not be reasonably expected to report back for work by June 9, 1998 in compliance with the Return-to-Work Order. However, as both the NLRC and the Court of Appeals held, Jadie can no longer be reinstated for the following reasons:&quot;(1) Jadie&#x27;s former position as Captain of the E-50 aircraft no longer existed as said aircraft was already returned to its lessors in accordance with the Amended and Restated Rehabilitation Plan of PAL;&quot;(2) Per Air Transportation Office certification, her license expired in 1998;&quot;(3) the animosity between the parties as engendered by the protracted and heated litigation;&quot;(4) the possibility that she had already secured equivalent or other employment after the significant lapse of time since the institution of the Illegal Dismissal Case; and,&quot;(5) the nature of the business of PAL which requires the continuous operations of its planes and, thus, the hiring of new pilots.&quot;In lieu of reinstatement, Jadie was entitled to separation pay and to receive her benefits prior to her illegal dismissal. &quot;All monetary awards due Jadie shall earn interest of 6% per annum from date of finality of this Decision until fully paid,&quot; the Court said. On December 9, 1997, the Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP) filed with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) a Notice of Strike, on the grounds of unfair labor practice and union-busting by PAL.Despite previous Orders of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary prohibiting all actual and impending strikes and lockouts, ALPAP filed a second Notice of Strike on June 5, 1998 and staged a strike on the same day. The DOLE Secretary immediately called PAL and ALPAP for conciliation conferences on June 6 and 7, 1998 to amicably settle the dispute between them.After his efforts failed, the DOLE Secretary issued a Return-to-Work Order on June 7, 1998, directing the striking officers and members of ALPAP to return to work within 24 hours from receipt. On June 26, 1998, the members of ALPAP reported for work but PAL did not accept them on the ground that the 24-hour period for the strikers to return set by the DOLE Secretary in his Return-to-Work order had already lapsed, resulting in the forfeiture of their employment. Meanwhile, the DOLE Secretary issued a Resolution on June 1, 1999 declaring the strike of June 5, 1998 as illegal and that all ALPAP officers and members who participated therein had lost their employment status. In a flip-flop of decisions among the Labor Arbiter, NLRC and Court of Appeals, the High Court ultimately found no compelling reason to disturb the findings of the NLRC. The High Court further held that, &quot;[t]he significance and weight accorded by the NLRC to the logbook can no longer be gainsaid considering the declarations of the SC in [another] ALPAP case.&quot; Moreover, the logbook entries were corroborated by the photographs showing the petitioners actually participating in the strike. &quot;The objection that the photographs were not properly authenticated deserves scant consideration as rules of evidence are not strictly observed in proceedings before administrative bodies like the NLRC, where decisions may be reached on the basis of position papers only.&quot; The Court also found it noteworthy that &quot;those caught on the photographs did not categorically deny being at the strike area on the time/s and date/s the photographs were taken, but assert that they were there in lawful exercise of their right while on official leave or scheduled off-duty, or in the alternative, that they were already dismissed from service as early as June 7, 1998 and their presence at the strike area thereafter was already irrelevant.&quot;

MANILA - Except in the case of the then nine-month pregnant pilot, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the dismissal of some Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) pilots who had participated in a strike in 1998 that had been declared illegal.

SC: Pregnant PAL pilot illegally dismissed in 1998 strike

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SC: Pregnant PAL pilot illegally dismissed in 1998 strike

Ina Reformina,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 05, 2016 03:06 PM PHT

Read More:

PAL

SC

Philippine Airlines

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employee

job

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Supreme Court

pregnant

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