In Region 1, SENA desk officer
settles RFA in just one day
Vincent L. Remular
A dismissed cook was able to
report to work the following day after the National Conciliation and Mediation
Board has resolved his request for assistance through the 30-day Single Entry
Approach (SENA) mechanism.
In a report to Undersecretary
Hans Leo J. Cacdac, officer-in-charge of the NCMB, Carmina B. Alonzo,
officer-in-charge of NCMB-Region 1 said Jerry Dioquino, a cook went to the NCMB
satellite office in Dagupan to ask for assistance after he was allegedly
dismissed by Pacita Duran, owner of the New Mangaldan Panciteria, and not paid
any overtime pay and service incentive leave. He also complained that he had no
rest day.
New Mangaldan Panciteria,
located along Rizal Street in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, has 18 workers.
“With the settlement, it was
not just one worker who benefited. The company also benefited by way of
continued and unhampered operation,” said Usec. Cacdac.
Dioquino,
who has been working as cook at the restaurant for twenty years, was assisted by
Helena R. Flores, the SEAD officer at the satellite office. After Dioquino
requested for assistance, she called Ms. Duran for a conference.
During the conference which
took place through a telephone call, Ms. Flores impressed upon the employer the
rights of Mr. Dioquino. The restaurant-owner readily promised payment for the
complainant’s corresponding 13th month pay, service incentive leave and, in
excess of eight hours, overtime pay for work rendered.
She also agreed to allow him to
return to work the following day, provided that the NCMB counsels the worker
about his need to change his attitude towards his work, his employer, and his
peers, to which Dioquino readily agreed.
Ms. Flores then gave the
complainant and Ms. Duran an opportunity to ventilate their issues and concerns
and patch things up.
The SENA is a reform measure
institutionalized by Secretary Baldoz last year through D.O. 107-10 to effect
faster, fairer, and inexpensive settlement of labor issues and to prevent these
issues from maturing into actual labor cases.
Under the SENA, single entry
approach desks (SEADs) have been established in every DOLE officers nationwide
to serve as entry points in speeding up the resolution of all cases affecting
workers and employers. Trained officers, called SEADOs, man the desks. Their
role is to facilitate conciliation-mediation between opposing parties within 30
days.
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