Work stoppage up 37 percent — DOLE

Workers seem to be getting restive over the economic crisis.

Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson said the government has recorded a total of 26 strikes in the first 10 months of the year, which is 37 percent higher than the number of work stoppages last year.

"There were 26 actual strikes declared as of October which is higher than the 19 strikes recorded last year for the same period," he said, citing data from the labor department’s National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).

Based on NCMB data, the strikes affected about 8,496 workers, a figure 88 percent higher than the number of workers who went on strike during the same period a year ago.

The NCMB figures show the actual number of strikes has risen, although the number of strike notices filed during the covered period went down by 14 percent, from 481 in 2004 to only 414 this year.

Labor groups attributed the increase in work stoppages to deadlock in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations, mostly concerning economic packages for workers.

Imson said despite the surge in work stoppages this year, the situation at this time is much better than the previous years.

"It should be noted that not too long ago the industrial landscape of our country was littered with work stoppages," he said, noting that in the 1980s the country experienced three strikes every two days.

Imson said to prevent a similar situation, the government is encouraging employers and labor to pursue active roles in ensuring labor-management cooperation.

"While DOLE continues to play the traditional role of providing third-party assistance in resolving labor disputes, we would rather see labor disputes resolved voluntarily among parties so the government could focus on industrial peace advocacy," he said. — Mayen Jaymalin