800 dismissed PNCC workers won’t get jobs back

The Philippine Star

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has dismissed for lack of merit a petition for reinstatement by the 800 workers dismissed from the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC).

"We already issued a no-reinstatement order," Labor Secretary Arturo Brion told reporters in an interview.

In a separate order, DOLE also junked the PNCC employees’ complaint accusing the PNCC management and the Skyway O & M Corporation (SOMCO) of illegally terminating their employment.

"We find no legal basis under the pleadings filed to implead third parties (PNCC and SOMCO)," Labor Undersecretary Luzviminda Padilla pointed out.

Padilla said the PNCC and SOMCO cannot be prosecuted for charges of illegal termination based only on an allegation and without a compelling reason.

According to Padilla, the PNCC employees were merely "forum shopping" when it tried to include the PNCC and SOMCO in their complaint of unfair labor practices before the DOLE-National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).

The PNCC employees initially accused the PNCC Skyway Corp. (PSC) of committing unfair labor practices by illegally terminating them.

Earlier, the Paranaque Regional Trial Court (RTC) junked a petition of the PNCC employees for a court order to stop a foreign-owned firm from operating the Skyway.

With the dismissal of their petition, the 800 PNCC employees were officially terminated from their jobs. Mayen Jaymalin