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SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION SUPERVISORS AND EXEMPT EMPLOYEES UNION ISSUE/S:

AND ERNESTO L. PONCE, President, petitioners, vs. HON. BIENVENIDO E. 1. WON S3 and S4 and the exempt employees of the company are considered confidential
LAGUESMA IN HIS CAPACITY AS UNDERSECRETARY OF LABOR AND employees, hence ineligible from joining a union. –NO.
EMPLOYMENT, HONORABLE DANILO L. REYNANTE IN HIS CAPACITY AS MED- 2. WON the employees of the three plants constitute a single bargaining unit. –YES.
ARBITER AND SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION, respondents.
G.R. No. 110399. August 15, 1997 RULING:
Joyce Simon 1.The said employees, supervisors and the exempt employees, are not vested with the powers
Ponente: J. Romero and prerogatives to lay down and execute management policies and/or to hire, transfer,
Topic: Eligibility for Membership; Special Groups of Employees suspend, layoff, recall, discharge or dismiss employees. They are, therefore, not qualified to be
EMPLOYER: San Miguel Corporation Magnolia Poultry Products classified as managerial employees who, under Article 245 of the Labor Code, are not eligible
EMPLOYEE: Supervisors and Exempt Employees of SMC Magnolia Poultry Products to join, assist or form any labor organization.
Plants of Cabuyao, San Fernando and Otis. Said employees do not fall within the term “confidential employees” who may be
prohibited from joining a union. Confidential employees are those who (1) assist or act in a
DOCTRINE. confidential capacity, (2) to persons who formulate, determine, and effectuate management
Confidential employees are those who (1) assist or act in a confidential capacity, (2) policies in the field of labor relations. The broad rationale behind this confidential employee
to persons who formulate, determine, and effectuate management policies in the field of rule is that employees should not be placed in a position involving a potential conflict of
labor relations. An important element of the “confidential employee rule” is the employee’s interests.
need to use labor relations information. Thus, in determining the confidentiality of certain In the case at bar, supervisors 3 and above may not be considered confidential
employees, a key question frequently considered is the employee’s necessary access to employees merely because they handle “confidential data” as such must first be strictly
confidential labor relations information. classified as pertaining to labor relations for them to fall under said restrictions. The
An employee may not be excluded from appropriate bargaining unit merely because information they handle are properly classifiable as technical and internal business operations
he has access to confidential information concerning employer’s internal business data which has no relevance to negotiations and settlement of grievances wherein the interests
operations and which is not related to the field of labor relations. of a union and the management are invariably adversarial. Since the employees are not
classifiable under the confidential type, they may appropriately form a bargaining unit for
purposes of collective bargaining.
FACTS.
1. Petitioner union filed before the DOLE a Petition for Direct Certification or Certification
Election among the supervisors and exempt employees of the SMC Magnolia Poultry 2. An appropriate bargaining unit may be defined as “a group of employees of a given
Products Plants of Cabuyao, San Fernando and Otis. employer, comprised of all or less than all of the entire body of employees, which the
2. The Med-Arbiter issued an Order ordering the conduct of certification election among the collective interest of all the employees, consistent with equity to the employer, indicate to be
supervisors and exempt employees of the SMC Magnolia Poultry Products Plants of best suited to serve the reciprocal rights and duties of the parties under the collective
Cabuyao, San Fernando and Otis as one bargaining unit. bargaining provisions of the law.
3. SMC filed a Notice of Appeal, pointing out the Med-Arbiter’s error in grouping together A unit to be appropriate must effect a grouping of employees who have substantial,
all three (3) separate plants into one bargaining unit, and in including supervisory levels 3 mutual interests in wages, hours, working conditions and other subjects of collective
and above whose positions are confidential in nature. bargaining.25
4. USec. Laguesma, granted SMC’s Appeal and ordered the remand of the case to the Med- It is readily seen that the employees in the instant case have “community or mutuality of
Arbiter for the determination of the true classification of each of the employees sought to interests,” which is the standard in determining the proper constituency of a collective
be included in the appropriate bargaining unit. bargaining unit.
5. Upon petitioner-union’s motion, Laguesma granted the reconsideration prayed for and It is undisputed that they all belong to the Magnolia Poultry Division of San Miguel
directed the conduct of separate certification elections among the supervisors ranked as Corporation. Although they belong to three different plants, they perform work of the same
supervisory levels 1 to 4 (S1 to S4) and the exempt employees in each of the three plants nature, receive the same wages and compensation, and most importantly, share a common
at Cabuyao, San Fernando and Otis. stake in concerted activities. Geographical location can be completely disregarded if the
6. SMC filed an MR. communal or mutual interests of the employees are not sacrificed
7. Laguesma granted the motion. It ruled that S3 and S4 Supervisors and the so-called DECISION: Petition GRANTED. PETITIONERS WON
exempt employees are admittedly confidential employees and therefore, they are not DISPOSITIVE PORTION: WHEREFORE, the assailed Order is hereby SET ASIDE and the
allowed join or assist a labor union for purposes of collective bargaining. Consequently, Order of the Med-Arbiter is REINSTATED under which a certification election among the
they are not allowed to participate in the certification election. supervisors (level 1 to 4) and exempt employees of the SMC Magnolia Poultry Products Plants
8. Hence this petition. of Cabuyao, San Fernando, and Otis as one bargaining unit is ordered conducted.

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