Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 323, November 2000

Case No 1914 (Philippines) - Complaint date: 06-JAN-97 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 75. During its previous examination of this case in June 1999 [see 316th Report, paras. 76-79], the Committee had once again urged the Government to ensure that the 1,500 or so leaders and members of the Telefunken Semiconductors Employees' Union (TSEU) who were dismissed further to their participation in strike action from 14 to 16 September 1995 were reinstated immediately in their jobs under the same terms and conditions prevailing prior to the strike with compensation for lost wages and benefits. The Committee had noted that its recommendation was in conformity with the Orders for Reinstatement issued by the Government's Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) [see 308th Report, para. 668], as well as a Supreme Court decision which became final and executory on 6 April 1998. The Committee had further noted that, in the light of this development, the Secretary of Labor and Employment had issued a Writ of Execution on 26 August 1998 directing the immediate reinstatement of the workers in the company's payroll in the event that actual or physical reinstatement was impossible, but that the company's continued refusal to reinstate said workers led to its filing a series of motions aimed at delaying the execution of the said Writ. Finally, the Committee had noted the Government's statement that the Secretary had issued an Order directing the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) to compute individual wages of the striking workers reckoned from 27 June 1996 up to the actual date of their reinstatement, that a writ of execution would be issued to satisfy said claims and that the Government would update the Committee on any action taken by the BWC relative to the Order.
2. 76. In a communication dated 17 August 2000, the Government states that the DOLE was furnished with a copy of a Petition for Review on Certiorari filed by the TSEU with the Supreme Court seeking the: (a) annulment of the Court of Appeal's decision; (b) dismissal of the case for illegal strike; (c) actual and physical reinstatement of all striking officers and members of the union; and (d) payment of back wages to the union officers/members. The Government adds that, acting on the Petition for Review on Certiorari filed by the union members, the Supreme Court issued a resolution dated 14 June 2000, requiring respondents to file comment on the said petition. Private respondents and the Office of the Solicitor General for Public Respondents filed their motion for extension of time to file comment dated 20 and 19 July 2000, respectively.
3. 77. The Committee takes note of this information. However, it profoundly regrets that over five years have elapsed since the first Order for Reinstatement of around 1,500 TSEU leaders and members was issued (27 October 1995) and that three years have elapsed since the Supreme Court handed down a decision (12 December 1997) ordering the immediate reinstatement, without exception, of all the TSEU workers concerned. In this respect, the Committee once again reminds the Government that it is responsible for preventing all acts of anti-union discrimination and that cases concerning anti-union discrimination should be examined rapidly, so that the necessary remedies can be really effective. An excessive delay in processing cases of anti-union discrimination, and in particular a lengthy delay in concluding the proceedings concerning the reinstatement of trade union leaders and members dismissed by the enterprise, constitute a denial of justice and therefore a denial of the trade union rights of the persons concerned [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, paras. 738 and 749]. The Committee therefore urges the Government to guarantee expeditious and effective protection against acts of anti-union discrimination and insists that it make every effort to ensure that the approximately 1,500 TSEU leaders and members who were dismissed further to their participation in strike action in September 1995 are reinstated immediately in their jobs under the same terms and conditions prevailing prior to the strike with compensation for lost jobs and benefits. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard.