Senator Raffy Tulfo has taken to task the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for failing to improve its slow process in resolving labor disputes.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment which he chairs, Tulfo said the problem has been persistent for decades now.
Tulfo urged the NLRC to boost its performance to ensure a timely and effective resolution of the laborers’ complaints,
In the same hearing, NLRC chair Gerardo Nograles admitted that labor cases were taking more than a year to be resolved due to the delay of the Post Office to issue the service of summons.
But Tulfo insisted that the NLRC cannot blame the Post Office because the agency could have personally served the summons to the companies who are on the receiving end of complaints, to hasten the process.
Nograles also told the senators that based on their records, a labor arbiter has nine months to decide a case.
He noted that there are processes to be followed.
He also related that an arbiter handles at least 27 cases.
Due to this, they plan to hire more arbiters to address the backlog.
“Sometimes, we really have many cases, but we are doing our best. That’s why, I have instructed them to finish the cases within nine months,” Nograles said.
Citing their records, he said within three months, their labor Arbiters decided 54 percent of cases being handled, and for 9-month period, 91 percent.
He further stated that only 19 percent of labor cases had been decided over a Nine-month period.
Tulfo likewise urged the NLRC to address the problem on fixers in the agency, saying, “baka pwedengi linis-linisin nyo na po ‘yang NLRC dahil napakadaming fixers diyan.”
Conceding the alarming number of fixers in the NLRC, Nograles said that they are working hard to address the issue and stop the proliferation of fixers.
The also expressed dismay over the failure of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to protect laborers’ right by ensuring that they are properly compensated.
To guarantee that employees are aware of their rights, Tulfo suggested to require companies to put up a signboard in their respective workplaces detailing employees’ privileges and what they ought to receive.
He committed to work hand in hand with NLRC and DOLE to effectively address labor issues.