Some of us may have hated mathematics in school, woe to those who had to burn the midnight oil to understand the intricacies of numbers and equations. Take for example algebraic expressions, with all its variables, numerators and denominators.

 

There is , however, such a thing as reducingto 'simplest terms' in algerba. What it means is that all computations considered, we are left in the end with a fraction in which the numerator and denominator have no common factor except 1. And that makes the equation easier to understand, at least.

 

Or consider the advice of an American pundit to public speakers: make it plain. In other words, make it simple, precise andconcise - or uncomplicated.

 

Turning now to Single Entry Approach (SEnA), these apply. Introduced by the DOLE [in October 201O through D.O. 107 - 10], the SEnA is a reform measure that seeks not only to promptly resolve labor disputes. It aims to simplify the process of settling wokr-related issues and concerns. From the very words of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz, the SEnA is a "mandatory conciliation and mediation of all labor cases within a 30-day period which effectively avoids litiguous compulsory arbitration and its inconveniences and costs on both workers and employers". This way, labor disputes are prevented from becoming full-blown labor cases.

 

As part of the DOLE's continuous fair and speedy dispute resolution mechanism, the SEnA has so far suceeded in reforming the country's arbitration and case settlement procedure, consistentwith the 22-point labor and employment agenda of President Benigno S. Aquino III.

 

When the SEnA was instituted, more than 300 Single Entry Approach Desk Officers or SEADOs from across the nation were immediately trained to handle requests for assistance. They are now acclaimed for effecting efficient, fair, and speedy response to such requests.

 

While settling disputes is nothing new to the men an dwomen of the Department, the manner now by which these differences between workers and employers are immediately and fairly resolved offers a welcome change that often astounds even the most pessimistic clients.

 

Requests for conciliation and mediation  within a day or two upon filling may soon be a norm in the Department and this would be much to the relief of workers, employers and even case officers who will be liberated from usually tedious and lengthy legal proceedings.

 

While the mechanism allows equal opportunity to both worker andemployer to resolve their issues sans the legal atmosphere, theSEnA encourages cooperation between two conflicting parties for the common end of preventing issues from becoming actual cases. In the end, the SEnA preserves labor and management harmony. It preserves jobs. It redresses complaints. It corrects violations. It restitutes losses and damages. And it saves time, money , and effort of both workers and employers.

 

The beauty of it all is that as the labor arbitration and adjudication systems in the country undergo reforms, procedures are streamllined, red tape is removed, and therefore, integrity and fairnessin the system are restored.  And the public will be one with government in saying that finally, here is a system that is practical, economical, and which certainly works.

 

That is SEnA.

 

(by: Nicon F. Fameronag, Editor, Philippine Labor, Vol. XXX No. 4, September - November 2011)