’11 shaping up to be the most peaceful year for labor sector

MANILA, Philippines – With almost a zero strike record for the past seven months, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is working hard to set a historical record of 2011 being the most peaceful year in the country’s labor history.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said DOLE’s National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) is exerting all efforts to settle ongoing labor disputes and to prevent new actual strikes this year.

“From January to July, we have only recorded one strike at the Supreme Steel Corp. in Central Luzon on account of unfair labor practice, specifically non-implementation of collective bargaining agreement,” Baldoz pointed out.

“If the present peaceful industrial climate continues until the end of the year, 2011 will go down as the most peaceful year in the country’s industrial relations history, which is in direct contrast to the situation more than two years ago,” Baldoz added.

The lone strike this year, Baldoz said, was way below the recorded eight strikes recorded during the same period last year.

The number of strikes in the country has remained at a single digit level since 2007. Baldoz said this year may turn out to be lowest.

According to Baldoz, 119 notices of strikes have been settled , thus saving more than 121,000 workers nationwide from the adverse effects of work stoppage.

Prior to the establishment of NCMB in 1988, the Philippines was considered the strike capital of Asia. The highest number of strikes in the country was recorded at 581 in 1986

Baldoz attributed the low incidence of work stoppage to the NCMB’s effective mediation-conciliation services as well as the workers and employers’ growing maturity.

The labor chief said reforms in labor dispute settlement that were undertaken under the Aquino administration are yielding positive results with employers and workers now going for less adversarial mode of dispute settlement. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)