The Philippine League of Labor-Management Cooperation Practitioners (PHILAMCOP), Inc., in partnership with the Visayas and Mindanao Regional Conciliation and Mediation Branches of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) recently concluded a well-attended Visayas-Mindanao Cluster Convention on Labor-Management Cooperation (LMC) held at Waterfront Insular Hotel, Lanang, Davao City on 29 November 2022.

Honorable Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte sent his warm welcome message and encouraged the participants to take the Convention as an opportunity to gain further knowledge and better practices to improve labor-management strategies and systems moving forward.

PHILAMCOP President Teofilo S. Colocado, Jr. led the opening of the activity with his introductory remarks, expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the participants and his fervent wish that the Convention would be a means to establish and sustain a more stabilized and strengthened labor-management relations.

In their messages of support, NCMB Executive Director Maria Teresita D. Lacsamana-Cancio and Department of Labor and Employment-XI Regional Director Atty. Randolph C. Pensoy both emphasized the importance of sound relations between labor and management which can be fulfilled through communication, partnership and cooperation.

With the theme “Sustaining Productivity Through LMC”, the Convention centered on the discussion of relevant topics such as Productivity and Safety Culture in the Workplace, Building Blocks to a Productive Workplace and Gender-Fair Language tackled by distinguished resource speakers.

OSH Consultant Engr. Gerhard Anthony A. Gonzales served as the resource speaker on the topic Productivity and Safety Culture in the Workplace. He underscored the value of safety practices in the workplace and its significance in accident prevention, promotion of mental, physical, and social well-being and maintenance of a productive workplace.

This was followed by the presentation of Adventist Medical Center-Manila Vice President for Operations Dr. Ian Kenneth C. Bermeo on Gender-Fair Language. Dr. Bermeo’s discussions centered on the current issues arising from gender stereotyping and discrimination. He likewise emphasized the importance of using gender-fair language in official documents and communications in achieving a gender-sensitive workplace.

RTWPB XI Board Secretary VI Ruby A. Badilles discussed the concept and benefits of productivity in the workplace and how improved productivity translates into higher returns. She presented the National Wages and Productivity Commission’s Productivity Improvement Program (PIP) which can be used by companies through the assistance of the 16 Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards.

In addition to the topics discussed, representatives from Taganito Mining Corporation LMC, 2021 Outstanding LMC winner, were invited to share with the participants the coping strategies and the innovations they instituted as they battled against and triumphed over all sorts of business disturbances during the pandemic.

In closing, Regional Conciliation and Mediation Branch XI Director Aerrine Marie Reyes and PHILAMCOP Vice-President for Management Gina Fe G. Israel expressed their heartwarming messages of appreciation and acknowledgment to the people behind the success of the event and by highlighting that strengthened Labor-Management Cooperation is one powerful way of improving and sustaining productivity in workplaces.

END/ Pia Bianca B. Sambrano