GOOD NEWS
NATIONAL CONCILIATION AND MEDIATION BOARD
08 JANUARY 2016

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz urged the NCMB to intensify its efforts and commitment in promoting labor and management cooperation, grievance machinery, and conciliation-mediation during the 28th anniversary celebration of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board on January 4, 2016 held at the NCMB conference room in Quezon City.

“The NCMB has come a long way from the time when there were ineffective labor-management enforcement and malfunctioning grievance settlement,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz emphasized the Board’s role as front liners in maintaining industrial peace particularly citing the Board’s immense efforts in establishing labor-management cooperation and grievance machineries.

In terms of prevention, Baldoz said that conciliation-mediation is vital in preserving the good relationship between management and union by providing a forum in which both parties may voice out and address issues and concerns.

She also encouraged the Board’s personnel, particularly its Conciliator-Mediators, to always grab the opportunity to look for solutions in settling labor disputes so that any argument brought forth will end up in the signing of an agreement.

“Parties who reach settlement through conciliation-mediation or through third party intervention return to the workplace without ill feelings,” Baldoz said.

“The Board has been imaginative and creative in settling disputes and preventing notices of strike from maturing into an actual strike through conciliation-mediation” she added.

Baldoz attributed the country’s economic stability and growth to NCMB in upholding industrial peace.

“There is really no reason for the Board not to soar high like an eagle,” Baldoz said.

“I wish the Board will intensify its efforts and commitment in delivering its services in 2016,” she added.

Baldoz also underscored the need for the Board to be prepared to address incoming issues.

The NCMB has declared only five work stoppages in 2015, maintaining single digit level since 2007.

The low number of strike incidence was attributed to the establishment of bi-partite plant-level workplace cooperation and partnership mechanisms (LMCs) and labor dispute settlement mechanisms or grievance machineries (GMs) within companies.

In the same period, the NCMB facilitated 289 new LMCs, 254 new GMs and reached 4,461 companies through its promotional activities.

On January 30, 1987, President Corazon C. Aquino signed Executive Order 126 creating the National Conciliation and Mediation Board.

The NCMB absorbed the conciliation, mediation and voluntary arbitration functions of the Bureau of Labor Relations to regulate labor strikes and create a climate of mutual trust and cooperation between management and workers.

END/ Gillian Pearl L. Guerrero