Fewer strikes in 2009 — Labor dep't

Philippine labor strikes posted a new record low of only four last year, none of which took place in Metro Manila, the country’s traditional seat of labor unrest, the Labor department said on Wednesday. The four strikes, which took place amid the slow global economy, were a case fewer than in 2008. Two occurred in Cebu City, while the other two were declared in Regions IV-A and XIII. In a statement, Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque said his department, through the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), had managed to further bring down labor strikes “amidst the debilitating effects of the global financial crisis resulting in a series of job displacements and the devastation brought about by recent typhoons." He cited the board's efforts to speedily resolve labor disputes. Government conciliators, Roque said, had settled actual strikes at an average of 20 days, 23 days faster compared with 43 days in 2008. “The NCMB also disposed all of the work stoppages to attain a 100% disposition rate," Roque said. "As of December 31, 2009, the country was strike and lockout-free. Productive [work days] lost also declined to 6,560 from 38,711 last year as a result of fewer strike incidences, despite the increase in workers affected by strikes," he added. The vastly stabilizing climate on the industrial front was also reflected in the declining number of notices of strike/lockout and preventive mediation cases, he said. The NCMB docketed 285 notices of strike/lockout during the year, 21% lower than in 2008. The board also received 479 new preventive mediation cases, 11% fewer than a year earlier. Roque said he had intervened in only 12 cases last year, only 1.4 percent of the 850 cases handled by the board "as the Office of the Secretary continues to exercise prudence in the use of its power to intervene in labor disputes." Roque has ordered the board to explore all possible options for settlement before and even during the intervention, if the parties are open to further negotiations. Some cases with pending petitions for the secretary’s intervention were settled through mediation, rendering the petitions moot. These included the cases of Bank of Philippine Islands, Purefoods Hormel Company, San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation, Victor Potenciano Medical Center, Republic Cement Corporation, Sagara Metroplastic Industrial Corporation and Toyo Inc. Compounds Corporation. The cases of the The Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association, Inc (AFPSLAI) and Clark Development Corporation were likewise settled through conciliation and mediation, the Labor department said. — GMANews.TV