Gabriel v. Secretary of Labor and Employment
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Petitioners, comprising the Executive Board of the SolidBank Union, retained Atty. Ignacio P. Lacsina as union counsel for collective bargaining negotiations. A general membership meeting approved a resolution authorizing a 10% check-off of economic benefits for Atty. Lacsina's fees, to be deducted by SolidBank Corporation from the first lump sum payment under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Procedural History: Private respondents, members of the union, filed a complaint before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for illegal deduction of attorney's fees and quantification of CBA benefits. The Med-Arbiter ordered the refund of illegally deducted attorney's fees. On appeal, the Secretary of Labor modified the order, limiting the refund to members who did not signify conformity to the check-off and deleting the directive for 5% attorney's fees. On motion for reconsideration, the Secretary of Labor affirmed the order with modification, dropping the union counsel as a party and ruling that the workers, through their union, should shoulder the attorney's services expenses, charged to the union's general fund. The Petition: Petitioners filed a special civil action for certiorari, seeking to annul the Secretary of Labor's order, alleging grave abuse of discretion.
Issue(s)
Whether the public respondent acted with grave abuse of discretion in ruling that the workers, through their union, should shoulder the expenses incurred for the attorney's services. Whether the General Membership Resolution authorizing the check-off of attorney's fees satisfied the legal requirements for such assessment.
Ruling
The petition is DENIED. The assailed Order dated June 3, 1994, of respondent Secretary of Labor signed by Undersecretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma is AFFIRMED.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of whether the public respondent acted with grave abuse of discretion: The Court affirmed the ruling that attorney's fees may not be deducted or checked off from any amount due to an employee without their written consent. Article 222(b) of the Labor Code prohibits the imposition of attorney's fees on any individual member of the contracting union, stating that such fees may only be charged against union funds, and any agreement to the contrary is null and void ab initio. The obligation to pay attorney's fees belongs to the union and cannot be shifted to the workers as their direct responsibility. Therefore, the public respondent did not act with grave abuse of discretion in ruling that the workers, through their union, should shoulder the expenses incurred for the services of a lawyer, and that the reimbursement should be charged to the union's general fund or account. No deduction can be made from the salaries of the concerned employees other than those mandated by law. On the issue of whether the General Membership Resolution satisfied legal requirements: The Court held that the General Membership Resolution of October 19, 1991, did not satisfy the requirements of law and jurisprudence for the validity of the ten percent (10%) special assessment for attorney's fees. Specifically, there were no individual written check-off authorizations by the employees concerned, which is a mandatory requirement under Article 241(o) of the Labor Code. This provision explicitly states that no special assessment, attorney's fees, or similar fees may be checked off without an individual written authorization duly signed by the employee, which must specifically state the amount, purpose, and beneficiary of the deduction. The Court reiterated its pronouncements in Palacol vs. Ferrer-Calleja and Stellar Industrial Services, Inc. vs. NLRC, emphasizing that express consent obtained in accordance with the steps outlined by law is required and that no shortcuts are allowed. The Court further cited the ruling in ABS-CBN Supervisors Employees Union Members vs. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, which applied the principle that no deduction must be taken from workers who did not sign the check-off authorization.
Main Doctrine
Attorney's fees may not be deducted or checked off from any amount due to an employee without their individual written consent, specifically stating the amount, purpose, and beneficiary of the deduction, as mandated by Article 241(o) of the Labor Code. Such fees, if agreed upon by the union, must be charged against union funds as per Article 222(b) of the Labor Code.