Wednesday, July 27, 2005
High Court sides with Norkis mgt. on wage hike case
By Grecar Nilles
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Companies that are already paying its employees more than the minimum wage should no longer be compelled to implement a labor wage order, even if the company’s collective bargaining Agreement (CBA) binds the management to give an across-the-board increase.
In ruling in favor of the Norkis Trading Co., the Supreme Court (SC) Third Division ruled that the giving of more than the minimum wage is already a compliance of the wage order.
“It would be reasonable and logical, therefore, to infer that those employers already paying their employees more than P165 at the time of the issuance of the order are sufficiently complying with the order,” the SC ruling read.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board released in 1998 a wage order setting the minimum wage at P165 effective August of that year.
Union
When the said order was released, Norkis was already giving its employees P175 per day based on their CBA.
But the employees who are members of the Norkis Free and Independent Union wanted the company to implement the order across-the-board, since their CBA stipulates that the company should grant it to all the employees, regardless of the employees’ salary.
The SC, however, ruled in favor of the company because their demand was “not within the coverage of the wage order.”
“Indeed a ‘double burden’ cannot be imposed upon an employer except by clear provision of the law. It would be unjust, therefore, to interpret (the wage order) to mean that (Norkis) should grant an across-the-board increase,” the SC ruling read.
State policy
“The wage order was intended to fix a new minimum wage only, not to grant across-the-board wage increases to all employees in Region 7,” the SC ruling read.
In ruling in favor of the management, the SC, quoting the Court of Appeals in an earlier decision of the case, said compelling Norkis to grant an across-the-board increase would already be penalizing generous employers.
The SC added that in resolving labor cases, they have always been guided by the State policy enshrined in the Constitution - social justice and protection of the working class.
“Social justice does not, however, mandate that every dispute should be automatically decided in favor of labor. In every case, justice is to be granted to the deserving and dispensed in the light of the established facts and the applicable law and doctrine,” the ruling read.
(July 27, 2005 issue)
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