PROTECTION OF WORKER’S RIGHTS AND MAINTENANCE OF INDUSTRIAL PEACE ENSURED
LABOR INSPECTION PROGRAM
The objective of the Labor Inspection is to further strengthen the implementation of the visitorial and enforcement powers under the Labor Code, as renumbered, towards securing a higher level of compliance with labor laws and standards, and ensuring continuity and sustainability of compliance at workplaces.
For this purpose, the Secretary of Labor and Employment delegates this function to the Regional Offices with the issuance of a list of Labor Inspectors who are given the authority of conduct inspection which covers all private establishments (including their branches and workplaces) in the regions. The Regional Offices, through the Labor Inspectors, enforce labor laws and social legislation through the conduct of Routine Inspection, Complaint Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Investigation. Upon the discretion of the Secretary, special inspections may be conducted, as may be deemed necessary.
With the provision for mobile devices and gadgets, the DOLE developed an inspection Management Information System. An important feature of the system is data capture and transmittal from the field in real-time, as an electronic checklist is filled-up through the use of mobile devices and gadgets. Data are instantly available for viewing and processing to generate reports, statistics, and summons, including real-time monitoring of decent work indicators, based on the country’s decent work profile.
TECHNICAL SAFETY INSPECTION
Forms:
- SAMPLE FORM (A)
Legal Basis:
- Sample Legal Basis
SINGLE ENTRY APPROACH (SEnA)
Single Entry Approach (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. It was first introduced through Department Order 107-10 and later institutionalized through the enactment of Republic Act 10396 in 2013 providing for a 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation for issues arising from labor and employment (i.e., governed by employee-employer relations). As a form of conciliation-mediation intervention, the main objective is to effect amicable settlement of the dispute among the differing parties wherein a neutral party, the SEnA Desk Officer (SEADO), assists the parties by giving advice, or offering solutions and alternatives to the problems. Labor dispute issues that may be settled through SEnA include, among others:
1. termination or suspension of employment issues;
2. claims for any sum of money, regardless of amount;
3. intra-union and inter-union issues, after exhaustion of administrative remedies;
4. unfair labor practices;
5. closures, retrenchments, redundancies, temporary lay-offs;
6. OFW cases; and
7. any other claims or issues arising from employer-employee relationship (except for occupational safety and health standards, involving imminent danger situation, dangerous
occurrences /or disabling injury, and/or absence of personal protective equipment).
Any aggrieved worker, union, group of workers, or employer may file a request for assistance (RFA) in the regional offices where the employer principally operates. In case of a union or federation representing a local chapter, the request shall be made at the regional/provincial/district office where the union or local chapter is registered.
SEnA sets the period for 30 calendar days of conciliation-mediation. Settlement agreements reached are final and immediately executory. It is binding on all DOLE offices and attached agencies except when these are found to be contrary to law, morals, public order, and public policy.
The parties may choose to elevate the RFA to the appropriate offices of the Department or Voluntary Arbitration when: 1) no settlement is reached within the 30-day timeframe, or 2) when either party is found not complying with the stipulations of the agreement reached.
Forms:
Legal Basis:
- Department Order No. 151-16 : Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA No. 10396, or “An Act Strengthening Conciliation-Mediation as A Voluntary Mode of Dispute Settlement for All Labor Cases”
- Republic Act No. 10396 : “An Act Strengthening Conciliation-Mediation as A Voluntary Mode of Dispute Settlement for All Labor Cases”
TRIPARTISM AND SOCIAL DIALOG
Tripartism is declared as a State policy in labor-management relations. Thus, workers and employers shall, as far as practicable, be represented in decision, consultative and policy-making bodies of the Department. This approach of ensuring that stakeholders’ concerns and inputs are considered promotes greater integration of objectives, means and circulation and processing of information.
Tripartism and social dialogue are exercised through the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC), whether national or local, including industry tripartite councils (ITCs). The TIPC was created in 1990, through Executive Order No. 403, as the main consultative mechanism and advisory body of the social partners—workers, employers and government—on labor and employment lodged with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The TIPC has evolved and expanded to include all interested labor groups for an inclusive social dialogue. Organized at the national, regional, provincial, city and municipal, and industry levels (ITCs), the creation of these tripartite councils was institutionalized through the enactment of Republic Act No. 10395 or the Tripartism Law, which was signed on 14 March 2013.
For tripartism to be optimal, the TIPC functions as an institution for:
- monitoring the full implementation and compliance by concerned sectors with provisions of all tripartite instruments, including international conventions, codes of conduct, and social accords;
- participating in national, regional or industry-specific tripartite conferences which the President or the Secretary of Labor and Employment may call from time to time;
- reviewing existing labor, economic and social policies and to evaluate local and international developments affecting them;
- formulating for submission to the President or Congress, tripartite views, recommendations and proposals on labor, economic and social concerns including the presentation of tripartite positions on relevant bills pending in Congress;
- advising the Secretary of Labor and Employment in the formulation or implementation of policies and legislation affecting labor and employment;
- serving as a communication channel and a mechanism for undertaking join programs among government, workers, employers and their organizations toward enhancing labor-management relations; and
- adopting its own program of activities and rules, consistent with development objectives.
Meanwhile, industry tripartite councils (ITCs) draft and review policies rules and regulations on labor and employment, promotion of productivity improvement programs, decent work principles and serve as sounding board on industry issues particularly in Key Employment Generators (KEGs).
ENFORCEMENT RATES
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION SERVICES (LEES)
The Labor and Employment Education Services (LEES) aims to increase awareness on workers and employers rights and responsibilities, work ethics, values and skills to contribute in fostering a more cooperative labor-management relations and the attainment of decent and productive work.
WORKERS ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (WODP)
WODP promotes the threefold objectives of:
- strengthening trade unions and other workers’ organizations by promoting their capabilities as independent and active partners in the national development;
- empowering workers through the provision of accessible information facilities as well as training, educational, technical, and livelihood assistance; and
- promoting individual and collective initiative as means of enhancing incomes, income opportunities, and employment generation.
SPEEDY AND EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF LABOR JUSTICE (SPEED)
Project SpeED was designed to unclog the dockets of the DOLE offices and agencies involved in case handling. Specifically, the program aims to dispose cases filed before the concerned offices and agencies of the Department within the prescribed process cycle time of case disposition.