EMPLOYERS CONFEDERATION OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. NATIONAL WAGES AND PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION
G.R. No. 96169 September 24, 1991
Facts:
On October 15, 1990, the Regional Board of the National Capital Region issued Wage Order No. NCR-01, increasing the minimum wage by P17.00 daily in the National Capital Region. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) moved for reconsideration; so did the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP). ECOP opposed.
On October 23, 1990, the Board issued Wage Order No. NCR01-A, amending Wage Order No. NCR-01. It provides that all workers and employees in the private sector in the National Capital Region already receiving wages above the statutory minimum wage rates up to one hundred and twenty-five pesos (P125.00) per day shall also receive an increase of seventeen pesos (P17.00) per day.
ECOP appealed to the National Wages and Productivity Commission contending that the board's grant of an "across-the-board" wage increase to workers already being paid more than existing minimum wage rates (up to P125.00 a day) as an alleged excess of authority. ECOP further alleges that under the Republic Act No. 6727, the boards may only prescribe "minimum wages," not determine "salary ceilings." ECOP likewise claims that Republic Act No. 6727 is meant to promote collective bargaining as the primary mode of settling wages, and in its opinion, the boards can not preempt collective bargaining agreements by establishing ceilings.
On November 6, 1990, the Commission promulgated an Order, dismissing the appeal for lack of merit. On November 14, 1990, the Commission denied reconsideration. ECOP then, elevated the case via petition for review on certiorari to the Supreme Court.
Issue:
The main issue in this case is whether Wage Order No. NCR-01-A providing for new wage rates, as well as authorizing various Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards to prescribe minimum wage rates for all workers in the various regions, and for a National Wages and Productivity Commission to review, among other functions, wage levels determined by the boards is valid.
Ruling:
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the National Wages and Productivity Commission and Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and denied the petition of ECOP.
The Supreme Court held that Republic Act No. 6727 was intended to rationalize wages, first, by providing for full-time boards to police wages round-the-clock, and second, by giving the boards enough powers to achieve this objective. The Court is of the opinion that Congress meant the boards to be creative in resolving the annual question of wages without labor and management knocking on the legislature's door at every turn.
.
G.R. No. 96169 September 24, 1991
Facts:
On October 15, 1990, the Regional Board of the National Capital Region issued Wage Order No. NCR-01, increasing the minimum wage by P17.00 daily in the National Capital Region. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) moved for reconsideration; so did the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP). ECOP opposed.
On October 23, 1990, the Board issued Wage Order No. NCR01-A, amending Wage Order No. NCR-01. It provides that all workers and employees in the private sector in the National Capital Region already receiving wages above the statutory minimum wage rates up to one hundred and twenty-five pesos (P125.00) per day shall also receive an increase of seventeen pesos (P17.00) per day.
ECOP appealed to the National Wages and Productivity Commission contending that the board's grant of an "across-the-board" wage increase to workers already being paid more than existing minimum wage rates (up to P125.00 a day) as an alleged excess of authority. ECOP further alleges that under the Republic Act No. 6727, the boards may only prescribe "minimum wages," not determine "salary ceilings." ECOP likewise claims that Republic Act No. 6727 is meant to promote collective bargaining as the primary mode of settling wages, and in its opinion, the boards can not preempt collective bargaining agreements by establishing ceilings.
On November 6, 1990, the Commission promulgated an Order, dismissing the appeal for lack of merit. On November 14, 1990, the Commission denied reconsideration. ECOP then, elevated the case via petition for review on certiorari to the Supreme Court.
Issue:
The main issue in this case is whether Wage Order No. NCR-01-A providing for new wage rates, as well as authorizing various Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards to prescribe minimum wage rates for all workers in the various regions, and for a National Wages and Productivity Commission to review, among other functions, wage levels determined by the boards is valid.
Ruling:
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the National Wages and Productivity Commission and Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and denied the petition of ECOP.
The Supreme Court held that Republic Act No. 6727 was intended to rationalize wages, first, by providing for full-time boards to police wages round-the-clock, and second, by giving the boards enough powers to achieve this objective. The Court is of the opinion that Congress meant the boards to be creative in resolving the annual question of wages without labor and management knocking on the legislature's door at every turn.
.
The Court's opinion is that if Republic No. 6727 intended the boards alone to set floor wages, the Act would have no need for a board but an accountant to keep track of the latest consumer price index, or better, would have Congress done it as the need arises, as the legislature, prior to the Act, has done so for years. The fact of the matter is that the Act sought a "thinking" group of men and women bound by statutory standards. The Court is not convinced that the Regional Board of the National Capital Region, in decreeing an across-the-board hike, performed an unlawful act of legislation. It is true that wage-firing, like rate-fixing, constitutes an act Congress; it is also true, however, that Congress may delegate the power to fix rates provided that, as in all delegations cases, Congress leaves sufficient standards. As this Court has indicated, it is impressed that the above-quoted standards are sufficient, and in the light of the floor-wage method's failure, the Court believes that the Commission correctly upheld the Regional Board of the National Capital Region.
No comments:
Post a Comment