(case

 no.  517)  

TUCP v. NBC
G.R. No. 49677, 173 SCRA 33
May 4, 1989
Art. III, Section 8; Right to Form Association

FACTS:
The National Housing Corportation (NHC) was organized pursuant to Executive Order
No. 399. Under Art 459, various government organizations owned the stocks of NHC. The
petitioner Trade Unions of the Philippines and Allied Services (TUPAS) expressed a desire to
conduct an election to determine the exclusive barganining representative of the NHC. The
petition of TUPAS was denied because the workers of the organization, as a government-owned
and/or controlled corporation (GOCC), are prohibited from organizing themselves for purposes
of collective bargaining with management.

ISSUE:
1. Whether or not holding elections among workers of the NHC is allowed given that NHC
is a GOCC without an original charter.

HELD:
1. Yes.

The petitioner is covered by the Labor Code because the Civil Service laws do not cover
those GOCC’s organized under the general corporation law. Generally speaking, most of the
word’s countries today now entertain public service unions. The employees of their governments
even form their own associations.

These employees usually do not bargain or demand for higher wages because such wages
are already fixed in the budget; however, they do acquire a forum where, inter alia, professional
and self-development is promoted and encouraged. Moreover, these organizations serve as
watchdogs of their own bosses so that when graft and corruption may be committed by higher
management, the unions no longer fear such oppression by virtue of the armor of self-
organization that become the own allies of the public for detecting and exposing graft and
corruption.

In this case, the Court held that workers of GOCC’s with original charters are not able to
unionize for the purpose of collective bargaining with top management; however, the workers of
GOCC’s that have been created under the general corporation law may unionize themselves for
collective bargaining as in this case.

Prepared by: Jason L. Sy 1