The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) XI through its Mediation Arbitration and Legal Service Unit (MALSU) has successfully facilitated a total of P2, 755, 998 of full settlement to 276 employees of a construction firm in Davao City.

Each of the employees received a total of P19, 971 which is comprised of P12, 363 for 13^th month pay and P7, 908 for holiday pay.

DOLE XI Regional Director Raymundo G. Agravante issued an Order to Pay for the said employees after finding out General Labor Standards deficiencies as a result of the compliance visit conducted by a Labor Laws Compliance Officer. Deficiencies found were no record keeping, non-payment of holiday pay, non-payment of 13^th month pay, and non-coverage under Social Security System, Home Development Mutual Fund, and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

After the firm deposited their full settlement payment last month, affected employees began submitting their claim requests to DOLE XI-MALSU. As of August 31, a total of 67 requests have already been received.

Payment of the compromise settlement of the firm employees will be done in the presence of an authorized DOLE officer pursuant to Article 227 of the Labor Code of the Philippines which states that “Any compromise settlement including those involving labor standard laws, voluntarily agreed upon by the parties with the assistance of the Bureau or the regional office of the Department of Labor shall be final and binding upon the parties.”

“This is just one of the many examples of the efforts exerted by the Department in settling cases and coming up with mutual agreements for both the employees and the employers here in the region,” Director Agravante said.

He added that DOLE XI is also thankful for the cooperation of the management in giving the employees what is due to them.

Moreover, as of July 2017 DOLE XI through its MALSU has already disposed a total of 467 Labor Standards cases and 12 Mediator –Arbitration cases.

Kriztja Marae G. Labrador/LCO-DOLE XI