DOLE-7 awards P24M to workers under SENA

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-7) has awarded to workers over P24 million under the Single Entry Approach (SEnA) program for the first six months of the year.

DOLE-7 OIC regional director Lilia A. Estillore said, in a statement, that as of June 30, 2022, a total of P24,028,073.44 was released to around 1,106 workers, who lodged a request for assistance thru SEnA.

Estillore said the amount covered the workers’ monetary claims that centered mostly on underpayment of wages, maternity claims, and non-payment of 13th month pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, service incentive leave, and overtime pay, among others.

Estillore said that the positive outcome of the SEnA program, resulted from the collective efforts of the Department’s field offices that handled a total of 1,485 requests for assistance (RFAs) for the first semester of the year.

The amount of settlement and the number of workers benefited 461 workers amounting to P9,031,808.72 from the TriCity Field Office which covers the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu; 256 workers amounting to P6,697,662.66 from Negros Oriental Field Office (NOFO); 138 workers amounting to P4,141,58.21 from Cebu Provincial Field Office; 240 workers amounting to P3,938,368.85 from Bohol

Field Office; and 23 workers amounting to P219,075 from Siquijor Field Office.

Under SEnA, DOLE-7 said that conflicts arising from employer-employee relationship are expected to get settled within 30 calendar days through conciliation and mediation proceedings.

It added that from January to June 2022, the average duration for the designated Single Entry Approach Desk Officers (SEADOs) to settle the assigned RFAs only lasted for about five days.

“The SEADOs ensured that RFAs filed and received are being acted upon immediately and the resolutions to work-related concerns are arrived at, at the earliest possible time without necessarily having to wait for 30 days as the maximum period set for settling workers’ concerns,” said Estillore.

She added that apart from DOLE, also offering SEnA services are some of the Department’s attached agencies, namely: the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB-7); Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-7); Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA-7); National Labor Relations CommissionRegional Arbitration Branch (NLRCRAB-7); and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA-7). —