PICKETING

CHAPTER XVIII
Economic Weapons
Right to peaceful concerted activities
 Meaning of Picketing
Picketing is the marching to and fro before
the premises of an establishment involved in a
dispute, generally accompanied by the
carrying and display of a sign, placard or
banner bearing statements in connection with
the dispute [Teller, Labor Disputes and
Collective Bargaining, Vol. I, p. 320]
Is the right to picket is absolute?
The Right to picket is not absolute.
Persons or employees engaged in
picketing are forbidden from:
(a) Committing any act of violence, coercion,
or intimidation;
(b) Obstructing the free ingress to and egress
from the employer’s premises; and
(c) Obstructing public thoroughfares.
Article 269 of the Labor Code provides that:

“ART. 269. Prohibited Activities- x x x (e) No

person engaged in picketing shall commit any
acts of violence, coercion, or intimidation or
obstruct the free ingress to and egress from
the employer’s premises for lawful purposes,
or obstruct public thoroughfares.”
 Can the obstruction placed by picketing
employees be summarily removed?

In Public Properties- Obstructions in public

properties, such as streets, sidewalk, alleys,
may be summarily removed by the local
governments, through their respective law
enforcement authorities without consulting
with the Department of Labor
 Can the Secretary of labor restrain the employer
from imposing sanctions against the union officers
who knowingly participated in the illegal strike?

If the strike is declared illegal, the secretary of Labor

cannot restrain or enjoin the employer from
imposing the appropriate sanctions against the
union officers who knowingly participated in the
illegal strike and against any striking employee who
committed illegal acts during the strike. Since the
strike is illegal, the employer has the right to take
disciplinary action against the union officers who
participated in it and against any member who
committed illegal acts during the strike [PAL v.
Secretary of Labor and Employment, 193 SCRA 223]
Liability for Damages Arising From
Illegal Strike
The local union and not the mother
federation is liable for damages resulting from
illegal strike. The reason is because the
mother federation is a mere agent of the local
union [Filipino Pipe v. NLCR, 318 SCRA 68].
Can injunction issue against strikes?
As a general rule, a strike cannot be enjoined
even if it may appears to be illegal because
strike is a weapon that law grants the
employees for their protection and
advancement of their interest. [Caltex v.
Lucero, 4 SCRA 1196].
 Exceptionally, a strike may be enjoined:

(a) If declared against an industry indispensable

to national interest;
(b) If staged by employees who are not
accorded the right to strike.
(c) If staged on other non-strikeable issues.

NOTE: Illegal acts committed during a strike

may be enjoined.
Who my issue injunction against
strikes?
• Secretary of Labor and Employment – in
strikes against an industry indispensable to
the national interest [Art. 268(g), Labor
Code].
• National Labor Relations commission- in
the other exceptional cases [ Art. 224.(e),
Labor Code]. and Employment, because
these obstructions are considered as
nuisances per se.
 In Private Properties- Obstructions in points
of egress and ingress in private properties
during a labor dispute may be removed only
upon injunctive order from the National Labor
Relations Commission. They cannot be
summarily demolished by law enforcement
authorities [Guidelines on Removal of Illegal
Blockades at Factory Gates].
 Can picketing be enjoined?
General Rule- Picketing cannot be enjoined
because it is part of the freedom of speech
guaranteed by the Constitution.

Exceptions- Injunction against picketing,

however, may issue under the following
certain exceptional circumstances:
(a) If Necessary to protect the rights of third
parties or innocent by-standers [PAFLU v.
Cloribel, 27 SCRA 465 ];
(b) If the picketing is carried out through the
use of violence and other illegal acts
[PAFLU v. Barot, 99 Phil. 1008];
(c) If the picketing is carried out through the
use of illegal means [Mortera v. CIR, 79
Phil. 345].
 The legal basis for such injunction is Article
269(e) of the labor Code, which expressly
provides that: “no person engaged in picketing
shall commit any act of violence, coercion or
intimidation or obstruct the free ingress to or
egress from the employer’s premises for lawful
purposes, or obstruct public thoroughfares.”
The Innocent By-Stander Doctrine
The right to picket may be regulated at the
instance of third parties or innocent
by-standers if it creates an impression that a
labor dispute to which they have no
connection or interest, exists between them
and the picketing union. Under this situation,
courts can confine or localize the picketing to
the disputants and insulate establishments
with no industrial connection or interest to the
dispute.