Coca-Cola takes dispute with Cosmos workers to CA

Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Incorporated has sought refuge with the Court of Appeals in the midst of an ongoing conflict with terminated employees of its subsidiary, Cosmos Visayas Bottlers, Incorporated.

CCBPI has asked the appellate court to enjoin the Regional Trial Court from enforcing its September 26 order, which denied CCBPI’s request for a temporary restraining order against the members of the CVBI employees union.

In its Petition for Certiorari, CCBPI said RTC Judge Simeon Dumdum acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to excess of jurisdiction when he ruled that there a labor dispute between CCBPI and the union.

Dumdum had said the existence of a labor dispute consequently deprives the court with jurisdiction over the case. The judge said the jurisdiction over the issuance of TRO and injunction then pertains to the National Labor Relations Commission.

CCBPI alleged that Dumdum “isolated and disjoined” a portion of the definition of a labor dispute under Article 212 (1) of the Labor Code and failed to broadly take the statutory definition of a labor dispute in its entirety to come up with a rational view.

CCBPI then asked the CA to issue a TRO over Dumdum’s ruling and eventually issue a Writ of Certiorari to annul it.

CCBPI contended that a labor dispute does not exist between the company and the members of the CVBI employees union within the meaning, scope and intent of the Labor Code. CCBPI also said there is no controversy over matters concerning terms and conditions of employment between CCBPI and the union members.

Likewise, there reportedly is no controversy between CCBPI and the union concerning the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging the terms and conditions of employment.

With these, CCBPI said the phrase “regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer-employee relation” earlier used by the RTC does not apply.

Like in its case before the RTC, CCBPI asked the CA to enjoin the members of the union from staging concerted activities in its Sales Office in Cebu City located in Happy Valley, Banawa, barangay Guadalupe and/or from blocking, impeding or obstructing the ingress to and egress from CCBPI’s plant in Tipolo, Mandaue City.

CCBPI also asked the appellate court to enjoin the union members from preventing, obstructing or stopping its employees and personnel, guests and visitors, delivery trucks and other vehicles, goods and products, and contractors and suppliers from entering or leaving the company’s plant in Mandaue City and sales office in Cebu City.

It further asked the appellate court to prevent the union members from threatening, coercing and intimidating with bodily harm any person or persons entering or leaving CCBPI’s plant in Mandaue City and sales office in Cebu City and from performing any act that would, in any way, prevent, stop, interfere, disturb or disrupt its normal business operations.

Cosmos, the firm that manufactures Jaz and Sparkle colas, used to be owned by former Iloilo congressman Augusto Cejoco but was bought by the Concepcions in the 1990s and subsequently by San Miguel Corporation in 2001. Today, it is the subsidiary of Coca-Cola.

Although the termination takes effect on October 15 yet, the firm had told workers to stop reporting to work beginning September 5 so as to give them time to look for a job. – Joeberth M. Ocao/LPM