ORGANIZED labor on Sunday challenged the and Pasig Navotas Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) to show “judicial courage” by dismissing employers’ petitions against Wage Order No. NCR-27, saying workers should no longer wait for a pay increase because of jurisdictional defects.
In a statement issued ahead of National Heroes Day, the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition urged both courts to remove the judicial barriers to the wage order and allow the statutory wage-setting process to proceed.
“Valor is not measured on the battlefront alone. It can also be found inside the courtroom – in the courage to recognize and correct a mistake, especially when the court realizes it has no jurisdiction,” said FFW President and Nagkaisa chairman Sonny Matula.
Nagkaisa specifically asked the Pasig RTC to grant the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General on behalf of the Department of Labor and Employment, the National Wages and Productivity Commission, and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR.
The coalition wants the court to dismiss the employers’ petition for declaratory relief, dissolve the preliminary injunction, and declare that no restraint remains against implementing Wage Order No. NCR-27.
It made a similar appeal to the Navotas RTC, asking it to dismiss the pending challenge for lack of jurisdiction and allow the legally mandated wage-setting process to run its course.
