MORE than P1.34 billion in monetary awards were distributed to 19,843 workers nationwide under the government’s labor dispute settlement scheme in 2016, the Department of Labor and Employment said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said as of Nov. 30, 2016, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board settled 5,872 cases through the Labor Dispute Resolution mechanisms that affected more than 19,000 labor workers who later received money to settle their labor row with their employers.
“Alternative dispute resolution is an effective way to provide labor justice in a speedy and impartial approach in resolving labor disputes,” Bello said.
Bello said the settled cases covered 147 notices of strikes/lockouts; 361 in preventive mediation cases; 298 in voluntary arbitration; and 5,054 in Single Entry Approach.
NCMB Executive Director Shirley Pascual reported that among all settled cases, the highest monetary award resulted from the resolution of 298 out of the 550 cases handled through Voluntary Arbitration which amounted to P829.7 million benefitting 302 workers.
A total 147 notice of strikes/lockouts were settled from the 205 cases handled which resulted to P229.9 million monetary awards to 3,236 workers.
Of the 5,615 request for assistance handled through the SeNA, 4,091 were settled resulting to P158 million in monetary awards to 4,566 workers.
A total 361 cases from the 423 handled through Preventive Mediation were settled which resulted to P122.9 million monetary awards to 1,739 workers.
Bello also underscored the increased operation of Labor Management Cooperations and Grievance Machineries in companies to resolve labor disputes through the promotion of good labor-management relations.
“The presence of LMCs and GMs in establishments continues to be one of the factors that resolve plant-level grievances,” Bello added, giving credit to 48 GMs operationalized and 175 GMS instituted in both in organized and unorganized establishments nationwide.
