Asia Union (Union) is the certified bargaining agent of the rimk-and-file employees of Asia Pacific Hotel (Hotel).
The Union submitted its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiation proposals to the Hotel. Due to the bargaining deadlock, the Union, on December 20, 2014, filed a Notice of Strike with the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB). Consequently, the Union conducted a Strike Vote on January 14, 2015, when it was approved.
The next day, waiters who are members of the Union came out of the Union office sporting closely cropped hair or cleanly shaven heads. The next day, all the male Union members came to work sporting the same hair style. The Hotel . prevented these workers from entering the premises, claiming that they violated the company rule on Grooming Standards.
On January 16, 2015, the Union subsequently staged a picket outside the Hotel premises and prevented other workers from entering the Hotel. . The Union members blocked the ingress and egress of customers and employees to the Hotel premises, which caused the Hotel severe lack of manpower and forced the Hotel to temporarily cease operations resulting to substantial losses.
On January 20, 2015, the Hotel issued notices to Union members, preventively suspending them and charging them with the following offenses: (1) illegal picket; (2) violation of the company rule on Grooming Standards; (3) illegal strike; and (4) commission of illegal acts during the illegal strike. The Hotel later terminated the Union officials and members who participated in the strike. The Union denied it engaged in an illegal strike and countered that the Hotel committed an unfair labor practice (ULP) and a breach of the freedom of speech.
[a] Was the picketing legal? Was the mass action of the Union officials and members an illegal strike? Explain. (2.5%)
[b] Rule on the allegations of ULP and violation of freedom of speech. Explain. (2.5%)
Suggested answer only. Not an official answer and not legal advice.
[a] The picketing was illegal, and the mass hair-cropping constituted an illegal strike. [b] The Hotel committed no ULP or free speech violation.
Article 279 of the Labor Code prohibits picketing that obstructs free ingress or egress. Concerted mass actions designed to breach grooming rules and disrupt operations constitute an illegal strike. Disciplining erring employees is a valid measure of self-preservation, not ULP.
Here, union members blocked entrances and exits, forcing the hotel to temporarily close. Their mass head-shaving was a calculated scheme to defy grooming standards and paralyze operations. Thus, the Hotel validly suspended and terminated the erring participants.
Therefore, the picket and mass action were illegal, and the Hotel committed no ULP or free speech violation.
This is not an official scoring system and carries no weight with the Supreme Court or any bar review provider. It measures how much of the suggested answer's wording your response covers, not whether your reasoning is correct. For practice only.
Quick check
Which of the following acts renders picketing illegal under the Labor Code?
Under Article 279 of the Labor Code, picketing becomes illegal when strikers obstruct free ingress to or egress from the employer's premises.
Why was the mass head-shaving of union members considered an illegal strike in hotel jurisprudence?
Mass hair-cropping aimed at defying hotel grooming standards and inflicting damage on hotel operations is a concerted work disruption constituting an illegal strike.
What is the effect of an employer preventively suspending workers who participated in an illegal strike and blocked hotel premises?
Disciplining erring employees who engage in illegal strike activities is a legitimate measure of self-protection and management prerogative.
Which requirement is essential for an employer's act to be classified as an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP)?
An act constitutes unfair labor practice only if it transgresses or interferes with the workers' constitutional right to self-organization.
When is peaceful picketing protected under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech?
Picketing as a phase of free speech is protected only when conducted peacefully without resorting to illegal acts, violence, or blockade.
Learn more about these topics
1. Illegal Strike
A strike is any temporary stoppage of work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an industrial or labor dispute. While workers have the right to engage in concerted activities, a strike must comply with mandatory statutory procedural requirements and employ lawful means. Concerted mass actions, such as mass head-shaving or hair-cropping designed to violate company grooming standards and disrupt hotel operations, constitute an illegal strike rather than a protected expression of grievance.
2. Unfair Labor Practice
Unfair labor practices are acts that transgress the constitutional right of workers to self-organization and collective bargaining. An employer's disciplinary action against employees, such as preventive suspension or dismissal, does not constitute an unfair labor practice if it is executed in response to illegal strike activities or willful violations of lawful company rules. Employers possess the inherent right of self-preservation and management prerogative to discipline erring workers to protect their business operations.
3. Freedom of Speech
The constitutional right to freedom of speech and peaceful picketing is not absolute and is subject to statutory regulation. Picketing becomes unlawful when strikers commit acts of violence, coercion, or intimidation, or block the free ingress to and egress from the employer's premises. Employees cannot invoke freedom of expression to justify concerted actions that deliberately defy company grooming policies, disrupt business operations, and obstruct public thoroughfares.