OLDARICO S. TRAVEÑO vs.BOBONGON BANANA GROWERS MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE
FACTS:
Petitioner Oldarico Traveño and his 16 co-petitioners worked at a banana plantation at Bobongan Santo Santo Tomas, Tomas, avao avao del !orte. !orte. Someti Sometime me in "###, "###, the$ the$ %iled %iled three three separa separate te compla complaint intss %or illega illegall dismissal, individ&all$ and collectivel$, with the !'() against said respondents incl&ding respondent ole *sia Philippines as it then s&pposedl$ owned T*)O(, %or &npaid salaries, overtime pa$, 1+th month pa$, service incentive leave pa$, damages, and attorne$s %ees. answ answer ered ed %or %or itse itsel% l% and and T*)O T*)O( ( deni denied ed that that the$ the$ hire hired d peti petiti tion oner ers/ s/ That That it had had an arrangement with several several landowners %or them to e0tend %inancial %inancial and technical technical assistance to them %or %or the development o% their lands into a banana plantation on the condition that the bananas prod&ced therein therein wo&ld be sold e0cl&sivel$ e0cl&sivel$ to T*)O( and it was the landowners landowners who worked worked on their own %arms and hired laborers to assist them and that the landowners themselves decided to %orm a cooperative in order to better attain their b&siness obectives/ The )ooperative %ailed to %ile a position paper despite d&e notice, prompting the 'abor *rbiter to consider it to have waived its right to add&ce evidence in its de%ense.!othing was heard %rom respondent ole *sia Philippines. SS234 5hether or not and P sho&ld be held solidaril$ liable with )ooperative %or petitioners illegal dismissal and mone$ claims. 3'4 !o The$ are not solidaril$ liable. Petition is dismissed. There is no 3(-33 relationship between petitioners and )ooperatives co-respondents. did not %arm o&t to the )ooperative the per%ormance o% a speci%ic ob, work, or service. nstead, it entered into a Banana Prod&ction and P&rchase *greement 7)ontract8 with the )ooperative, &nder which the )ooperative wo&ld handle and %&nd the prod&ction prod&ction o% bananas and operation o% the plantation covering lands owned b$ its members in consideration o% s commitment to provid providee %inanc %inancial ial and techni technical cal assist assistanc ancee as needed needed,, incl&d incl&ding ing the s&ppl$ s&ppl$ o% in%orm in%ormati ation on and e9&ipment in growing, packing, and shipping bananas. The )ooperative wo&ld hire its own workers and pa$ their wages and bene%its, and sell e0cl&sivel$ to all e0port 9&alit$ bananas prod&ced that meet the speci%ications agreed &pon. To the )o&rt, the )ontract between the )ooperative and , %ar %rom being a ob contracting arrangement, is in essence a b&siness partnership that partakes o% the nat&re o% a oint vent&re. The r&les on ob contracting are, there%ore, inapposite. &rther, petitioners claim o% emplo$ment relationship with the )ooperatives herein co-respondents m&st be assessed on the basis o% %o&r standards, vi:4 7a8 the manner o% their selection and engagement 7!o emplo$ment contract was/ 7b8 the mode o% pa$ment o% their wages/ 7c8 the presence or absence o% the power o% dismissal/ and 7d8 the presence or absence o% control over their cond&ct. ;ost determinative among these %actors is the so-called
