Industrial peace and workplace harmony gets boost with signing of Mandatory ConciliationMediation Law Date Posted: May

2nd, 2013 02:54 AM

Industrial peace and workplace harmony gets boost with signing of Mandatory Conciliation-Mediation Law President Benigno S. Aquino III has reaffirmed the role of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board in the preservation of industrial peace and workplace harmony with his signing into law of Republic Act No. 10396, or the Mandatory Conciliation-Mediation Law, Labor Undersecretary Rebecca C. Chato said at the launching of the 2013 Best Practices Awards on Workplace Harmony and Productivity in Quezon City recently. President Aquino gave conciliation-mediation a boost with the signing into law of R.A. 10396 last March 14, 2013, institutionalizing conciliation-mediation as a voluntary mode of dispute settlement for all labor cases, Usec. Chato said. The article on conciliation-mediation shall be inserted as article 228 of Presidential Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, she said. R.A. 10396 provides that all issues arising from labor and employment shall be subject to mandatory conciliation-mediation. Only cases and complaints that are not resolved at the mandatory conciliation-mediation stage will be elevated to compulsory arbitration, or to the appropriate DOLE office, upon endorsement by the duly authorized officer. The act also provides that any or both parties involved in the dispute may pre-terminate the conciliationmediation proceedings and request referral or endorsement to the appropriate DOLE agency or office. Both parties may also agree to refer the unresolved issues to voluntary arbitration. The signing into law of mandatory conciliation-mediation is a manifestation of its effectiveness in resolving issues and disputes, Chato further said. The law complements the Labor Management Committees or Councils and the grievance machineries at the work place, she added. The mandatory conciliation-mediation law is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2918 and House Bill No. 6686 which was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on January 28, 2013. END/Gillian Pearl L. Guerrero