Flashcards Studio
Practice bar questions and get clear AI feedback on every answer.
Question
Orion Light Manufacturing (OLM), a private factory with 260 workers, is represented by the Orion Workers Union (OWU), the exclusive bargaining agent. After months of bargaining over a new collective bargaining agreement focusing on overtime rules and hazard pay, OWU calls a two-day peaceful strike with a gate picket and a partial stoppage in two production lines. The union has given written notice of the strike to the employer and to the Department of Labor and Employment, and has sought assistance from the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) for resolution. There is no violence or property damage. The strike ends when management agrees to a meeting to resume negotiations. The employer contends the strike is unlawful for two reasons: (i) the plant is an essential service and strikes by workers in essential services are prohibited, and (ii) the strike involves only a portion of the plant rather than the entire plant, which the employer argues renders it unlawful. (a) Identify the controlling doctrine governing strikes in the Philippines. (b) Distinguish between a lawful strike and an unlawful strike under the Labor Code. (c) Apply the doctrine to the facts: Is the OWU strike lawful? Are there potential liabilities for the union or the employer?