Brion reports peaceful labor front for first half of 2006
Labor Secretary Arturo D. Brion said that the conciliation-mediation and advocacy
efforts of the National Conciliation and
Mediation Board (NCMB) for the first half of 2006 has resulted in a
generally peaceful labor
front and the
facilitation of an estimated P
156-M in Collective Bargaining Agreement
(CBA) economic packages benefiting 2,351 workers.
Citing a
report submitted by
NCMB Officer-in-Charge Reynaldo R. Ubaldo, Brion
that only nine actual strikes or work stoppages were declared
during the first six months
of 2006,
affecting only 949 workers,
compared to the same period last
year where 13
actual strikes were declared, affecting
4,835 workers. The Board was
able to contain the number
of strikes resulting to mandays lost
for this year
of only 27,387, much lower than
last year’s first semester of
44,500.
Of the nine
actual strikes, five occurred in the
National Capital Region, one
in
Organized
labor filed some 179 notices of
strike (NOS) for conciliation this
semester, 29% lower than the 253 notices of strike filed during the same period last year.
Brion
lauds the conciliator-mediators and officials
of the NCMB for the 97% strike prevention rate in 2006. In
2005, the Board reported a 96%
strike prevention rate for the same period.
Majority of the NOS cases filed were
from the NCR, followed by Region 4A, Region 3,
Central Visayas Region (Cebu),
with the other regions receiving less than
10 Notices during the period.
Brion noted that the
labor sector has availed more of
the NCMB preventive mediation (PM) services,
with a total number of requests of 314, involving some 71,723
workers. The number of PM cases this semester is slightly
lower by 2% than last year’s figure.
The Board was able to settle
76% of such PM cases.
This translates to an estimated
economic package of P12 M
benefiting 286 workers,
and some P27 M in separation packages for
3,471 workers affected by
retrenchments and closures of business.
Out of
416 CBAs expiring this year, 28 or 7% were brought for
conciliation-mediation initiated through
NOS (11) and PM (17).
Secretary Brion views this as a positive development. He
gives due credit to former
Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas’
able leadership and
unrelenting commitment to
sustain industrial peace, through alternative dispute resolution
processes, and to advocate workplace
relations enhancement.
As a result, more and more labor
relations practitioners are recognizing
the benefits of conciliation-mediation for both sides in any type of labor
dispute, as well as the adoption and implementation of proactive
mechanisms at the workplace to improve organizational communication, such as labor-management cooperation
programs, and effective
grievance handling of CBA-related and personnel policy-related issues.
The Board reports that some 1,000
companies throughout the country, and their
respective employees’ unions are
implementing various programs
to enhance harmonious workplace
relations. In tandem with the Philippine League of LMC Practitioners, Inc. (PHILAMCOP), the Board
continues to provide capability-building or training services in
companies with LMCs, mostly members of the 18 regional LMC practitioners associations
which compose the PHILAMCOP, and through
some provincial LMCs.
Likewise,
members of the Philippine Association on Voluntary Arbitration (PAVA),
Inc. handled a total of 75
voluntary arbitration cases, one case higher than
the VA cases handled during the same period last year.
Professionalization of accredited
voluntary arbitrators is
undertaken by the NCMB through a
series of retooling workshops, to improve settlement rates, either through
decisions or amicable settlements.
The Department works with various employer organizations, professional groups, chambers of commerce, trade unions, church groups, funding agencies, research and training service providers to
ensure the maintenance
of industrial relations climate conducive to foreign
and domestic investments.
As he
buckles down to work as the new head
of the Department, Brion vows
to uphold the DOLE’s
commitment for continuous
service improvement in all its
seven major services and has directed
his management team at the
Department to implement
a strategic results-oriented plan,
using a single team approach,
proactively focusing on
the Filipino workforce.