FACTS:

The Philippine Transport and General Workers Organization (Union) filed a petition for certification election on May 12, 1989, seeking to be the bargaining agent for a group of employees of M.Y. San Biscuits, Inc. The med-arbiter of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) dismissed the petition for lack of merit, stating that there was no employer-employee relationship between the parties.

The Union filed a complaint for underpayment of wages, non-payment of 13th month pay, service incentive pay, COLA, damages, and attorney's fees before the NLRC Branch. The labor arbiter dismissed the complaint on the same ground that there was no employer-employee relationship.

The Union appealed to the NLRC and the Secretary of DOLE. The DOLE Secretary reversed the med-arbiter's decision, finding that there was an employer-employee relationship. The petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration, but it was denied.

The petitioner then filed a petition for certiorari with the Court, arguing that the DOLE Secretary had no jurisdiction to determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship and that this authority is vested in the NLRC. The Court required the respondents to comment and issued a temporary restraining order.

The main issue in the petition is whether the DOLE Secretary has jurisdiction to determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship, which the Court ruled in the affirmative.

ISSUES:

1. Whether the med-arbiter or the Secretary of Labor and Employment has the authority to determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship between the parties in a petition for certification election.

RULING:

1. The Secretary of Labor and Employment has the authority to determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship between the parties in a petition for certification election. The Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR), of which the med-arbiter is an officer, has the original and exclusive authority to act on all disputes, grievances or problems arising from or affecting labor-management relations in all workplaces whether agricultural or non-agricultural. Therefore, the med-arbiter has jurisdiction to determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship. The determination made by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in this case is valid.

PRINCIPLES:

• The Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) has the original and exclusive authority to act on all disputes, grievances or problems arising from or affecting labor-management relations in all workplaces whether agricultural or non-agricultural. (Article 226, Labor Code)