Friday, November 02, 2007 Davao strike-free in past 2 years By Carlo P. Mallo
DAVAO region has been strike-free in the past two years, but this is not a tell-tale sign that there is no labor-management dispute happening in the region.
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom said cases on labor disputes continue to flood the regional office of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) even with the absence of labor strikes in the region.
Ligutom said regional labor arbiters received an average of 30,000 labor cases nationwide.
Meanwhile, Davao City Representative Prospero Nograles said both labor and management sectors in the region chose to settle disputes through negotiations and come up with "win-win" solution rather than go on strike.
"But being strike-free is not tantamount to the absence of labor disputes. It's just that both the labor and the management would rather opt to undergo an adjudication process," Nograles said.
He said "illegal termination" remains the leading reason in labor disputes.
"Over 80 percent of the cases filed before the NLRC are because of illegal termination," Nograles said.
He added: "These cases are filed by those who belong to the rank and file and even bank managers."
