Title
Serman Cooperative vs. Montarde
Case
G.R. No. 246760-61
Decision Date
Dec 9, 2020
Serman Cooperative and Wyeth Philippines engaged in labor-only contracting; workers, deemed regular employees, were illegally dismissed, entitling them to reinstatement and backwages.

Case Digest (G.R. No. 246760-61)
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model

Facts:

Parties Involved:
  • Petitioners: Serman Cooperative (Serman) and Wyeth Philippines, Inc. (Wyeth).
  • Respondents: Annalyn E. Montarde and 19 other workers (collectively referred to as the workers).

Background:
Wyeth is a company engaged in manufacturing and selling nutritional products for infants, children, and mothers. Serman is a multipurpose cooperative providing job contracting services. Between April 2003 and December 2012, Wyeth and Serman entered into several service agreements wherein Serman assigned its personnel to Wyeth to perform tasks such as sorting finished goods, cartoning sachets, and preparing raw materials.

Employment Details:
The workers were deployed as Production Helpers at Wyeth between 2006 and 2011. Their contracts were coextensive with Serman’s service agreement with Wyeth, expiring on January 31, 2014.

Dispute:
After the expiration of their contracts, the workers filed complaints for illegal dismissal, regularization, and other claims against Serman and Wyeth. They argued that they were illegally dismissed because:

  • Montarde Group: Their IDs and access cards were confiscated, and they were instructed not to report to work despite the existence of an ongoing service agreement.
  • Pontipedra Group: They were asked to explain their absence from their posts, and after refusing to write an incident report, they were dismissed.

Issues:

  • Whether Serman is engaged in labor-only contracting, making the workers regular employees of Wyeth.
  • Whether the workers were illegally dismissed from their employment.

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

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