THE National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), mandated to resolve labor disputes, and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), whose agrarian reform beneficiaries are mostly NLRC’s clients, linked up to efficiently resolve labor disputes.
According to NLRC, more than a hundred clients file complaints daily against their employers and many of these clients are hacienda workers, at the same time, Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) holders of DAR.
The labor disputes, according to NLRC, usually stemmed from a marred employer-employee relationship in the process of the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of DAR.
NLRC and DAR officials in the province sat down in a dialogue and agreed to become partners in the resolution of labor disputes of ARBs and their employers.
NLRC may seek assistance from DAR to identify the land or hacienda involved, ascertain the status of CARP coverage and its implementation, and determine if complainants are identified as DAR beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, DAR officers can also serve as “Amicus Curriae” or a professional person permitted by the court to advise it in matters of law that directly affect some labor cases at NLRC at the same time give their legal opinion in some gray areas concerning agri-labor cases.
This DAR-NLRC partnership is seen to bolster the confidence of labor arbiters in resolving labor disputes when equipped with the recent and relevant issuances and orders of DAR. (PR)