G.R. No. 244695 - Manggagawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas vs. PLDT, Inc.

PLDT, Inc. (PLDT) is a telecommunications corporation that engaged contractors and subcontractors for various operations.
Manggagawa sa Komunikasyon ng Pilipinas (MKP) is the exclusive bargaining agent of PLDT’s rank-and-file employees.
Negotiations over the Collective Bargaining Agreement led to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) conducting a “Special Assessment and Visit of Establishment” (SAVE) at PLDT under Administrative Order No. 648 (2016).

The DOLE Assessment Team inspected PLDT’s offices in the NCR, interviewing 1,104 employees and contracted workers and 37 contractors’ representatives.
The December 5, 2016 SAVE Report found indications of labor-only contracting:

PLDT set hiring requirements, conducted initial applicant evaluations, trained contractor employees, and supervised schedules, overtime, leaves, and work outputs.
PLDT could recommend the termination or replacement of contractor workers and those workers performed tasks similar to regular PLDT employees.

The Report also found multiple contractors in violation of general labor standards (unpaid overtime, holiday pay, service incentive leave, unauthorized deductions).

Ruled that DOLE has jurisdiction over labor-only contracting claims and may order regularization.
Declared several contractors as labor-only contractors and ordered PLDT and those contractors to:

Regularization of 7,344 contractor workers from initial deployment.
Cancellation of DO 18-A registrations.
Solidary payment of unpaid benefits (reduced to PHP 51,801,729.80 on reconsideration).

PLDT and MKP moved for reconsideration; PLDT then petitioned the Court of Appeals (CA).

Upheld regularization only of contractor workers performing installation, repair, and maintenance of PLDT lines (core activities).
Set aside orders to regularize workers in janitorial, messengerial, IT, BPO, sales, medical/dental/engineering services.
Remanded to DOLE-NCR RD for factual determinations on regularization effects and monetary awards.

Held Secretary Bello committed grave abuse of discretion: his findings rested on anecdotal evidence (interviews of

Whether the CA correctly applied Rule 45’s limitation to questions of law, i.e., jurisdiction and grave abuse of discretion, in labor cases.
Whether Secretary Bello and DOLE-NCR RD had jurisdiction to determine the existence of employer-employee relationships under Article 128 of the Labor Code.

Whether PLDT and its contractors engaged in labor-only contracting, warranting regularization of contractor workers.
Whether specific groups of contractor workers (janitorial, IT, BPO, sales, professional services) should be deemed regular employees of PLDT.

Whether the “straight computation method” used by DOLE was arbitrary and should be revisited.