35 labor dispute cases mediated

THE National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) Davao region handled 35 labor dispute cases from January to June this year.

In a power-point presentation of the mid-year NCMB report, it showed that their office handled 19 cases for conciliation-mediation, 14 single entry approach (Sena) and two cases for voluntary arbitration (VA).

The office said it facilitated a total of P45,881,364.35 monetary benefits involving 5,371 workers.

From the 19 cases for conciliation-mediation (con-med), seven were for a notice of strike with 1,491 workers who got P3,100,000 monetary benefits in return.

In NCMB’s official website, conciliation is defined as “a mild form of intervention by a neutral third party, the conciliator-mediator, relying on his persuasive expertise,” while a mediation is also a “mild intervention by a conciliator-mediator, whereby he starts advising the parties or offering solutions or alternatives to the problems with the end in view of assisting them towards voluntarily reaching their own mutually acceptable settlement of the dispute.”

The other 12 cases of the 19 con-med were for preventive mediation, which facilitated P3,513,262 monetary benefits involving 3,172 workers.

According to the NCMB, a preventive mediation is an “alternative dispute resolution mechanism resorted to by NCMB conciliators-mediators to effect settlement of labor disputes in lieu of notice of strike.”

The NCMB also handled 14 Sena involving 64 workers with P268, 102.35 monetary benefits.

“Sena is an administrative approach to provide a speedy, impartial, inexpensive and accessible settlement procedure of all labor issues or conflicts to prevent them from ripening into full blown disputes,” the NCMB defines.

Two voluntary arbitration, on the other hand, were also recorded by the NCMB with P39,000,000 which involves 644 workers. (ANC)