All the way to the Supreme Court
Emeterio Sd. Perez
CONRADO A. Lim courageously fought HMR Philippines in a court battle that took him all the way from a labor arbiter to the Supreme Court.
In a decision written by Associate Justice Jose M. Catral Mendoza, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lim. Associate Justices Antonio T. Carpio, Presbiterio J. Velasco Jr., chairperson, SC Third Division; Martin S. Villarama Jr. and Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen agreed with him.
The SC “partially granted the March 30, 2012 decision of the Court of Appeals, in CA-G.R. SP No. 112708 is reversed and set aside. Respondent HMR Philippines, Inc. is ordered to pay petitioner Conrado A. Lim:
(1) back wages computed from the time the petitioner was illegally dismissed on Feb. 3, 2001 up to his actual reinstatement, with a monthly base pay in the amount of Pl5,125;
(2) the unpaid 10% annual salary increase from 1998-2000 in the amount of P49,650;
(3) 13th month pay;
(4) vacation pay in accordance with the personnel policy handbook;
(5) the cash value of his unused sick leaves;
(6) holiday pay, provided that the labor arbiter finds that such is not yet included in the base pay;
(7) moral damages in the amount of P50,000;
(8) exemplary damages in the amount of P20,000; |
(9) attorney’s fees equivalent to 10% of the total amount due to the petitioner; and
(10) legal interest of 12% per annum of the total monetary awards computed from July 27, 2007 to June 30, 2013, and 6% per annum from July 1, 2013 until their full satisfaction.
The labor arbiter is ordered to compute the total monetary benefits awarded and due the petitioner in accordance with this decision.”
Money claims
The case filed by Lim against HMR Philippines involved “the computation of the backwages of an illegally dismissed employee,” according to the Supreme Court.
Court records traced back to Feb. 8, 2001 when Lim sued HMR for illegal dismissal and money claims against his employer. As the lone petitioner, he also included in his suit two other HMR workers, namely Teresa G. Santos-Castro, Henry G. Bunag and Nelson S. Camiller, who were identified as company officers.
Lim didn’t win all the way to the High Court because “the labor arbiter (LA) dismissed the complaint for lack of merit.” However, this didn’t stop him from pursuing his case against HMR.
“On April 11,2003, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) …reversed the LA and declared Lim to have been illegally dismissed,” the records showed.
The NLRC ruled that “the dismissal of herein complainant-appellant was illegal and the respondent appellee company is hereby ordered to reinstate immediately the said employee to his former position without loss of seniority and other privileges.”
The NLRC added: “Furthermore, the company is hereby ordered to pay the complainant-appellant his full backwages, reckoned from his dismissal on February 3, 2001 up to the promulgation of this Decision.”
Due Diligencer’s take
The SC ruling went against HMR Trading House or HMR Philippines, which Due Diligencer decided to take up in this piece as decades ago, casual employees or workers were called “extras”. Despite the term, regularization was automatic after six months.
If decades ago an “extra” deserved to become regular employee, this may not be true today. The proliferation of contractors who supply the workers needed by big companies has been frustrating efforts towards the regularization of employees.
Who are these contractors? It’s up to the government to make a survey to determine how these contractors make money at the expense of workers.
The case of Lim versus HMR shows us how persistence pays off in the end. One needs the patience to wait in waging a legal battle. Don’t mind even if a company is at a big advantage because it has at its disposal the services of in-house lawyers. If it wants to, it can even tap outside lawyers to argue its case.
The High Court issued its decision on August 4, 2014. This means Lim’s fight for justice lasted for 13 years, five months and 27 days. Lim persisted and his long wait was not in vain. |
Who among today’s workers would have the courage to sue their employers as Lim did? Just asking.
esdperez@gmail.com
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