MORE than 1,000 workers in Eastern Visayas received monetary claims amounting to P15.6 million after successfully mediating their labor-related concerns through the labor department’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA).
In a report, the labor department’s regional office in Eastern Visayas said that 82 percent of the total 812 requests for assistance (RFAs) filed last year under SEnA program were resolved amicably.
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 or actual labor cases.
Of the 812 RFAs received last year, 665 were fully settled, giving the region a settlement rate of 82%, way higher than the prescribed target of 70%. The remaining 147 RFAs were either withdrawn by the requesting parties, referred to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) or referred to other government offices.
The RFAs received in 2021 were mostly on underpayment of wages, non-payment of 13th month pay, holiday pay, among others.
DOLE Regional Office 8 Director Henry John S. Jalbuena lauded the efforts of all the Single Entry Assistance Desk Officers or SEADOs from different field offices for their efforts to resolve labor concerns through amicable means.
“I would like to commend all our SEADOs for really putting their hearts to the different programs of the department particularly to the SEnA program”, said Jalbuena.
