ILOILO City – A total of 372 affected workers in Negros Occidental received P7,624,207.51 money claims for regular holiday pay and special day premium, provisions of minimum wage and payments of 13th month, retirement and separation benefits, among others through the Single Entry Approach (SEnA).
These workers were from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which temporarily laid off their employees and closed establishments due to the coronavirus disease 2019.
As a result, 284 requests for assistance (RFAs) for mediation through SEnA were filed, of which 129 were settled and 155 were disposed of.
“We appreciate the efforts of our SEADOs (SEnA Desk Officer) in providing immediate assistance to the affected workers as well as the compliance of the business owners to labor standards. Despite the pandemic, we were able to ease the burden of the workers and still maintain a healthy working relationship between the workers and management,” said Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Regional Office No.VI regional director Cyril Ticao.
DOLE- Negros Occidental Field Office (NOFO) head Mary Agnes Capigon explained that the number of RFAs swelled due to the suspension of acceptance of RFAs after the issuance of the DOLE Department Order No. 213, Series of 2020 or the Prescribing Guidelines in the Prescription of Actions and the Suspension of Reglementary Periods to File Pleadings, Motions and Other Documents on May 5, 2020. It was extended until September 2020 due to the implementation of the modified enhance community quarantine.
DOLE-NOFO has been sharing half of the total number of RFAs handled in Western Visayas since the institutionalization of SEnA in 2010. Among the workers served by the program were from the agricultural sector and are living in the far-flung areas of the province.(DOLE 6/PN)
