Metro Manila – The National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) is again back on its course for another strike-free streak. During the last four months of the first half of 2023, no incidence of work stoppage was experienced nationwide. The last strike incident occurred in February this year from a transportation company in the National Capital Region involving 100 workers. According to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Updates released as of June 2023 by the NCMB, the series of conferences held for the lone actual strike led to an amicable settlement after a month of peaceful talks and negotiations. A total of 130,000 pesos was given to the workers as part of their settlement benefits.

It can be recalled that during the same period in 2022, four cases of actual strikes were declared. With the perseverance and hard work of the Board’s conciliator-mediators and officials who led the parties in deliberately guided talks and negotiations, these cases were also disposed of during the same period.
Since the start of the new administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., only three cases of actual strike have been recorded. This is considered a feat as in 2019, the highest number of actual strikes recorded in the period 2010 – 2022 was 19.

When asked about the factors which led to the decrease of strike incidence, NCMB Executive Director Maria Teresita Lacsamana-Cancio emphasized that though workers and unions have now become more empowered and aware of their rights, they, too, have given their trust to negotiations and dialogues. Thus, they rely on the strength of their partnership to work things out and settle their differences. She was quick to add, however, that the effect of the recent COVID-19 pandemic in the labor set-up could also be a factor in the decline of strike incidence in the country. While it has already been more than three years since the pandemic started, the adverse effect of the public health emergency can still be felt by some companies. This made many workers and unions decide not to stage strikes since it will result in further losses to both workers and the company.

ED Lacsamana-Cancio encouraged workers and management to give conciliation and mediation a chance to work its wonders in their relationship. “NCMB would do everything in its mandate so the gaps and differences between workers and management would be resolved peacefully. This chance can be made possible through conciliation and mediation”, she added.

During the first semester of 2023, the Board likewise exerted efforts in promoting alternative dispute resolution mechanisms through the conduct of plant-level orientation, area-wide seminars and company visits. In such a manner, the flagship bipartite mechanism programs on the establishment of labor-management committees and grievance machineries are introduced and enhanced in companies across the country.

As of June 2023, the NCMB has settled 60 notice of strike cases with P1.044B monetary benefits given to 5,675 workers. Similarly, a total of 166 cases have been settled through preventive mediation resulting in settlement amounting to P173M benefitting 2,388 workers. Furthermore, 721 voluntary arbitration cases were disposed of in the same period with monetary awards amounting to P2.073 benefitting 992 workers.

The Board also handled a total of 1,725 Requests For Assistance (RFA) under its Single-Entry Approach (SEnA) program where 1,107 RFAs were settled as of June 2023. The settlement resulted in the facilitation of P151.2M in monetary claims benefitting 2,094 workers.

END/ianne r. go