ALU-TUCP, Representing Members: ALAN BARINQUE, with 13 others, namely: ENGR. ALAN G. BARINQUE, ENGR. DARRELL LEE ELTAGONDE, EDUARD H. FOOKSON, JR., ROMEO R. SARONA, RUSSELL GACUS, JERRY BONTILAO, EUSEBIO MARIN, JR., LEONIDO ECHAVEZ, BONIFACIO MEJOS, EDGAR S. BONTUYAN, JOSE G. GARGUENA, JR., OSIAS B.…
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 109902
- Promulgated: 1994-08-02
- Ponente: Feliciano, J.
Doctrine
The controlling test for project employees is whether employment was fixed for a specific project whose completion or termination was determined at engagement, not the length of service.
Service beyond one year does not convert project employees into regular employees; the one-year proviso in Article 280 applies to casual employees, not project employees.
Facts
Petitioners filed a Petition for Certiorari challenging NLRC Resolutions that declared them project employees of respondent National Steel Corporation and denied reconsideration.
Petitioners had been employed by NSC in connection with its Five Year Expansion Program (FAYEP I & II) for varying lengths of time and were later separated from service.
The classification of petitioners as project or regular employees was dispositive because project employment is co-terminous with the project, unlike regular employment which continues until legally terminated.
Issues
Whether petitioners are properly characterized as project employees rather than regular employees of NSC.
Ruling
The Petition for Certiorari is dismissed for lack of merit; the NLRC Resolutions dated 8 January 1993 and 15 February 1993 are affirmed.
Keywords
G.R. No. 109902, Petition for Certiorari, project employees, regular employees, National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), Labor Arbiter, unfair labor practice, regularization, monetary benefits, Article 280 Labor Code, Regular and Casual Employment, fixed for a specific project or undertaking, termination of service, grave abuse of discretion, excess of jurisdiction, co-terminous with the project, specific project or undertaking, duration and scope of the project, project, petitioners