Key officials from various government agencies and other stakeholders signed on Thursday a memorandum of agreement for the creation of the Negros Oriental Provincial Inter-Agency Coordinating and Monitoring Committee.
The activity was held at the Robinsons Place shopping mall in Dumaguete City as part of the local celebration of Labor Day on Thursday.
The ICMC, created as a sub-committee of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council, will be focused on the implementation of specific guidelines in the handling of labor disputes, said Sandra Delfin, Senior Labor Employment Officer of the Department of Labor & Employment in Negros Oriental.
According to Delfin, the creation of the ICMC as pushed by the National Conciliation & Mediation Board as an offshoot of a labor dispute in Cebu recently during which concerned agencies and other sectors involved apparently were not guided accordingly.
Delfin explained that with the ICMC in place, all involved and concerned in labor disputes would know their roles and responsibilities as well as where they stand in law enforcement, especially during strikes or similar protest actions.
Delfin went on to say that during a labor dispute, the DOLE has jurisdiction in the handling of the case, regardless of action taken.
Governor Roel Degamo, who chairs the TIPC and Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria of Dumaguete City were among those who signed the agreement Thursday.
The TIPC comprises three sectors, namely, labor, management and government.
Other signatories include OIC provincial police director, Sr. Supt. Mariano Natuel, Jr., representatives of the Philippine Association of Detective & Protective Agency Operators, the DOLE, the National Conciliation & Mediation Board, the National Labor Relations Commission, and the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority, among others.
Delfin explained that the PADPAO, a group of private security agencies, has been included in the ICMC because security guards in business establishments and other government and private companies usually get caught in the frontlines during a labor dispute.
The TESDA, meanwhile, is also included in the ICMC to cater to the needs of displaced workers, especially for long-running labor dispute cases that have yet to be resolved, she added.
TESDA comes in and provides livelihood interventions through skills training in the event workers are displaced as a result of a labor dispute, Delfin said.
The ICMC takes effect immediately after the signing of the memorandum of agreement, she added. (PNA/JFP)
