CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) accomplished in 2018 a record settlement rate of labor disputes in Central Luzon through its Single Entry Approach (SENA).
DOLE Regional Director Zenaida Angara-Campita said the high resolution rate can be attributed to the settlement of 2,234 out of 2,250 requests for assistance (RFAs) which paved the way for 5,787 workers to have their monetary claims amounting to over PhP160 million.
“The remaining 16 RFAs were referred to the National Labor Relations Commission, thus, translating to a 100% overall disposition rate of RFAs handled for the year 2018,” Angara-Campita added.
Bulacan recorded the highest settlement which amounted to PhP79.49 million for 1,068 workers.
This was followed by Pampanga with PhP41.20 million for 2,800 workers; Tarlac- PhP 20.42 million for 659 workers; Zambales- PhP9.21 million for 545 workers; Nueva Ecija- PhP3.61 million for 244 workers; and Aurora- PhP 1.46 million for 56 workers.
In addition, the Regional Office also settled cases with claims amounting to PhP 43,043.39 covering three workers.
“Our regional and field offices continue to improve the process cycle time in the settlement of claims which averages to 3.8 days against the 30-day standard under the SENA program,” Angara-Campita said.
SENA is a flagship mediational program of DOLE which aims to resolve labor disputes speedily and inexpensively.