OVER P770 million worth of monetary benefits were awarded to workers this year with the disposition of their Notices of Strike (NOS), according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In the latest Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) report, DOLE’s National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) Executive Director Maria Teresita D. Cancio said the awarded benefits covered 7,203 workers.
The NOS are filed by the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of the company (SEBA) on the grounds of unfair labor practice (ULP) or bargaining deadlock (BD) if they plan to initiate an authorized work stoppage.
It may also be filed by a legitimate labor organization, but only for ULP cases.
During the first 10 months of the year, NCMB registered 25,871 workers, who were involved in the 143 NOS.
This was 22 percent lower compared to the 33,010 workers covered by 134 NOS in the same period last year.
Most or 112 of the filed NOS this year were already settled, or a 78-percent disposition rate.
Not all of the disposed NOS resulted in the awarding of monetary benefits to workers.
Cancio said they also registered six actual strikes this year from SOCCSKSARGEN, National Capital Region, Northern Mindanao, CALABARZON and Western Visayas.
Only one case was due to a bargaining deadlock involving allowances, overtime pay, and holiday pay, while the rest involved unfair labor practices such as illegal dismissal or harassment of union members.
Four work stoppages were disposed of within the regular process cycle time of 40 days, while the remaining two are still pending.