INTL SCHOOL ALLIANCE OF EDUCATORS v.
QUISUMBING The Constitution, in the Article on Social Justice and Human Rights, exhorts Congress to "give
G.R. No. 128445 / June 1, 2000 / KAPUNAN, J. / LABOR International Labor Organization
Conventions
Nature Petition for Review of a DOLE order
Petitioners International School Alliance of Educators (ISAE)
Respondents Hon. Leonardo Quisumbing, as Sec. of Labor and Employment, et. al
Case Brief.
International School Inc. grants benefits and a higher salary (25% higher rate) to foreign-hires
due to justifications of displacement and limited tenure. The petitioner ISAE, labor union for
faculty of the School, contests this policy as discriminatory to Filipinos or local-hires. The Court
strikes the policy down insofar as the higher salary rate is concerned, citing local and
international law to say that the requirement of humane conditions of work include giving
equal pay for equal work.
Case Doctrine.
Equal pay for equal work.
Facts.
Private respondent International School, Inc., pursuant to Presidential Decree 732,
is a domestic educational institution established primarily for dependents of foreign
diplomatic personnel and other temporary residents.
International School hires both foreign and local teachers, classified respectively as
foreign-hires and local-hires. Based on (a) the teachers domicile; (b) home
economy; (c) the country which the teacher owes economic allegiance; and (d) if
the individual was hired abroad specifically for the School, and if the School is
responsible for bringing the teacher to the country. If any of these is answerable
with the Philippines, the teacher is a local-hire. Otherwise, a foreign-hire.
The School grants housing, transportation, shipping costs, taxes, home leave travel
allowance to foreign-hires, and even pays them with a salary rate 25% higher than
for local-hires. They reason out that this is because of the significant economic
disadvantages that foreign-hires suffer due to being dislocated and to limited
tenure.
When negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement were held, petitioner
International School Alliance of Educators, "a legitimate labor union and the
collective bargaining representative of all faculty members" of the School, contested
the difference in salary rates between foreign and local-hires, which led to a
deadlock. ISAE subsequently filed a notice of strike.
The DOLE Acting Secretary Trajano decided in favor of the School, and Secretary
Quisumbing subsequently denied petitioners motion for reconsideration.
o Trajano contends that the principle of equal pay for equal work does not
apply in this case because foreign-hires are required to deal with different
nationalities and cultures, apart from dealing with the issues of
displacement and limited tenure.
Petitioner claims that the point-of-hire classification employed by the
School is discriminatory to Filipinos and that the grant of higher salaries to
foreign-hires constitutes racial discrimination.
Issue.
1. WON the policy of point-of-hire classification and the grant of higher salaries to foreign-
hires is discriminatory YES
2. WON foreign-hires belong to the same bargaining unit as local-hires NO
Ratio.
1. WON the policy of point-of-hire classification and the grant of higher salaries to foreign-
hires is discriminatory YES
highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people
to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities." Article 19 of the Civil
Code requires every person, "in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties,
[to] act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith."
International law likewise proscribes discrimination. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against
Discrimination in Education, the Convention (No. 111) Concerning Discrimination in Respect
of Employment and Occupation all embody the general principle against discrimination.
In fact, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights states (Art. 7)
that favorable conditions of work include fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal
value without distinction of any kind."
Following this, the Philippines, through its Constitution and the Labor Code, has incorporated
the principle as part of its national laws. The relations between labor and capital should be
regulated. The entitlement of labor to humane conditions of work extend to the way workers
are treated by their employers.
The need to recruit foreign-hires should not hinge on the enticement of a salary system that
is prejudicial to local-hires. Apart from this, dislocation and limited tenure are already
adequately compensated for with the benefits granted to the foreign-hires. The point-of-hire
classification is invalid.
2. WON foreign-hires belong to the same bargaining unit as local-hires NO
A bargaining unit is "a group of employees of a given employer, comprised of all or less than
all of the entire body of employees, consistent with equity to the employer indicate to be the
best suited to serve the reciprocal rights and duties of the parties under the collective
bargaining provisions of the law." Factors to be considered are the following:
(a) Will of the employees foreign-hires did not show any intention of grouping with
local-hires;
(b) Affinity and unity of employees interest;
(c) Prior collective bargaining history the 2 groups were always treated separately;
(d) Similarity of employment status benefits given to foreign-hires separate them from
local-hires.
Decision.
Petition granted in part. DOLE orders insofar as granting higher salaries to foreign-hires
reversed and set aside.
Notes.
Definitions of salary
Blacks: a reward or recompense for services performed
Songco v. NLRC: compensation for services rendered