Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation and Rene Cabati V

UNIVERSAL ROBINA SUGAR MILLING CORPORATION and RENE CABATI v. FERDINAND ACIBO, et al. G.R. No. 186439, 15 January 2014, SECOND DIVISION (Brion, J.) The period denominated in the contract of employment is not the basis in determining whether an employee is seasonal or regular. FERDINAND ACIBO, et al. were employees of UNIVERSAL ROBINA SUGAR MILLING CORPORATION (URSUMCO). Acibo, et al. signed contracts of employment for a given period and after its expiration, URSUMCO repeatedly hired these employees to perform the same duties and obligations. Acibo, et al. filed a complaint before the Labor Arbiter for regularization however it was denied because the LA argued that they were seasonal employees. Seven of the 22 complainants filed an appeal to the NLRC. The latter reversed the LA’s ruling claiming that they were regular employees. The CA affirmed NLRC’s decision but excluded the Acibo, et al. from monetary benefits under the CBA. ISSUE: Whether or not Acibo, et al. are regular employees of URSUMCO. HELD: Plantation workers or mill employees only work on seasonal basis. This, however, does not exclude them from the benefits of regularization. Being in such nature, Acibo, et al. are considered to be regular employees. Regular employment means that there was an arrangement between the employee and the employer that the former will be engaged to perform activities which are necessary or desirable to the usual business or trade of the latter. On the other hand, a project employment is an arrangement for a specific project or undertaking whose termination is determined by the completion of the project. The nature of the employment does not depend solely on the will or word of the employer or on the procedure for hiring and the manner of designating the employee. Rather, the nature of the employment depends on the nature of the activities to be performed by the employee, considering the nature of the employer’s business, the duration and scope to be done. Accordingly, Acibo, et al. are neither project nor seasonal employees. Acibo, et al. were made to perform tasks that does not pertain to milling operations of URSUMCO. However, their duties are regularly and habitually needed in URSUMCO’s

operation. Moreover, they were regularly and repeatedly hired to perform the same tasks. Being repeatedly hired for the same purpose makes them regularized employees. The plantation workers or the mill employees do not work continuously for 1 whole year but only for the duration of the growing or the sugarcane or the milling season. Their seasonal work, however, does not detract from considering them in regular employment.