G.R. No. 162943 - Employees Union of Bayer Phils., FFW vs. Bayer Philippines, Inc.

Petitioner: Employees Union of Bayer Philippines (EUBP), the exclusive bargaining agent of Bayer Philippines’ rank-and-file employees, affiliated with the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), led by President Juanito S. Facundo.
Respondents: Bayer Philippines, Dieter J. Lonishen (President), Asuncion Amistoso (HRD Manager), Avelina Remigio, and Anastacia Villareal.
In 1997, EUBP negotiated a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with Bayer. A deadlock occurred after rejecting Bayer’s 9.9% wage increase proposal. This led to a strike and intervention by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

In November 1997, Avelina Remigio and 27 other union members, unauthorized by EUBP leadership, accepted Bayer’s wage increase proposal. The EUBP grievance committee reprimanded them.
On January 7, 1998, the DOLE Secretary issued an arbitral award ordering execution of a CBA retroactive to January 1, 1997, effective until December 31, 2001, which was registered with DOLE on July 8, 1998.
By August 3, 1998, Remigio’s group, through a company-sponsored seminar, sought to:

This resolution was signed by 147 of 257 union members; a subsequent resolution affirmed these actions.

Both EUBP and REUBP claimed to be the rightful union, competing for recognition and union dues remittance.
Bayer refused to deal with either faction, placing collected union dues in a trust account pending conflict resolution.
EUBP filed a first unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint against Bayer on September 15, 1998, for non-remittance of dues.
Efforts for grievance conferences and mediation between groups were made but failed to resolve the conflict.

Bayer later remitted P254,857.15 in union dues to REUBP Treasurer Anastacia Villareal despite ongoing disputes.
EUBP filed a complaint against Remigio’s group for acts threatening the union’s life; the Labor Arbiter dismissed the first ULP complaint for lack of jurisdiction, ruling the dispute as intra-union in nature. This dismissal was not appealed.
On December 14, 1999, petitioners filed a second ULP complaint against respondents charging Bayer and REUBP with unfair labor practice for organizing a company union, violating the CBA, and duty to bargain collectively.
Despite these complaints, Bayer signed a new CBA with REUBP on February 21, 2000, which was ratified by a majority of employees.
The Labor Arbiter dismissed the second ULP complaint citing lack of jurisdiction due to the intra-union nature of the dispute, a dismissal affirmed by NLRC and the Court of Appeals (CA).

Petitioners filed a Rule 45 petition before the Supreme Court, challenging the jurisdictional rulings and asserting unfair labor practice on Bayer for dealing with REUBP despite an existing CBA with EUBP.
The principal dispute concerns whether Bayer’s negotiation with Remigio’s splinter group constitutes unfair labor practice.

Whether the Court of Appeals correctly ruled on jurisdiction and merits regarding the unfair labor practice complaints.
Whether Bayer, Lonishen, and Amistoso committed unfair labor practice by negotiating and remitting union dues to Remigio’s splinter group despite an existing CBA with EUBP.
Whether the intra-union disputes between EUBP and REUBP fall within the jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC.
Whether the case has become moot and academic due to the expiration of the 1997-2001 CBA and subsequent negotiations.
Whether respondents Remigio and Villareal can be held liable under the unfair labor practice complaint.