CBA-MANDATED BONUS AMID LOSING PROFITS

Grant of Bonus
2nd DIVISION G.R. No. 180866 March 2, 2010 LEPANTO CERAMICS, INC., vs. LEPANTO CERAMICS EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION PEREZ, J.: Petition for Review on Certiorari Rule 45

COMPANY GAVE SMALLER AMOUNT OF BONUS AND NOT IN CASH DESPITE WHAT THE CBA STATES: We uphold the rulings of the voluntary arbitrator and of the Court of Appeals. Findings of labor officials, who are deemed to have acquired expertise in matters within their respective jurisdictions, are generally accorded not only respect but even finality, and bind us when supported by substantial evidence, more so when findings of both the arbitrator and the Court of Appeals coincide.
As a general proposition, an arbitrator is confined to the interpretation and application of the CBA. He does not sit to dispense his own brand of industrial justice: his award is legitimate only in so far as it draws its essence from the CBA.

A "bonus" is a gratuity or act of liberality of the giver, given in addition to what is ordinarily received by or strictly due the recipient. A bonus is granted and paid to an employee for his industry and loyalty which contributed to the success of the employer’s business and made possible the realization of profits. It is also granted by an enlightened employer to spur the employee to greater efforts for the success of the business and realization of bigger profits.

Generally, a bonus is not a demandable and enforceable obligation. To be enforceable, it must have been promised by the employer and expressly agreed upon by the parties. As the bonus in this case is integrated in the CBA, the same partakes the nature of a demandable obligation. The Christmas bonus due to respondent Association has become a contractual obligation.

A CBA refers to a negotiated contract between a legitimate labor organization and the employer, concerning wages, hours of work and all other terms and conditions of employment in a bargaining unit. The CBA is the law between the parties and they are obliged to comply with its provisions . The CBA provides for the giving of a "Christmas gift package/bonus" without qualification. It did not state that the Christmas package shall depend on the petitioner’s financial standing. If the petitioner and respondent Association intended that the P3,000.00 bonus would be dependent on the company earnings, such should have been expressed in the CBA.

Business losses are a feeble ground for petitioner to repudiate its obligation under the CBA. Any benefit and supplement being enjoyed by the employees cannot be reduced, diminished, discontinued or eliminated by the employer. The principle of non-diminution of benefits is founded on the constitutional mandate to protect the rights of workers and to promote their welfare and to afford labor full protection.

Absent any proof that petitioner’s consent was vitiated by fraud, mistake or duress, it is presumed that it entered into the CBA voluntarily; had full knowledge of the contents; and was aware of its commitments under the contract.

The implementation of the subject CBA provision may further deplete petitioner’s resources. Petitioner’s remedy lies not in the Court’s invalidation of the provision but in the parties’ clarification of the same in subsequent CBA negotiation, per Article 253.