SC rules against builder in project-hiring dispute

THE Supreme Court (SC) has upheld an appeals court decision that ordered a construction firm to reinstate five workers after it had failed to prove that the terms of their hiring was on a project basis only.

In a 13-page resolution released on Feb. 17, the tribunal said Spraycrete Corp. did not establish that it had hired Mario Dugang, Jose Ramos, Hermenejildo Tac-an, Jr., Vicente Remoto and Bernabe Rellesiva for project employment only after it left them on floating status in 2015.

“For the proper characterization of the employment status, it is important to determine the fact of a notice on the duration and scope of the project, which must have been made at the time of the hiring,” it said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez