A 54-year-old pipefitter, Mr. Wilfredo Montalbo Jr., finished his contract with a construction company last August 2022. Since then, he has not received his final pay. With hopes of finding relief, he then decided to visit the Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office No. IV-A- Batangas Provincial Office (DOLE-BPO) to formally file his request for assistance concerning his unpaid salary from his previous company.

Through DOLE’s newly launched service kiosk, and with the help of DOLE-BPO Senior Labor and Employment Officer, Ms. Ann Jelyn Natividad, Mr. Montalbo was able to file his request.

“Ayos naman pala, may nag-a-assist…Online pala [at] madali lang pala…Sasabihin mo lang ang information, sila na ang nagta-type ng kailangan online…Malaki ang pasasalamat ko. Nagpapasalamat din po ako sa lahat ng nagawa at ‘yung [sa] nag-assist sa akin, maayos,” Mr. Montalbo exclaimed.

Mr. Montalbo is just one of the twenty-three (23) workers from the same construction company who filed their request for assistance under the Single-Entry Approach (SEnA) program and eventually received their final pay.

“After receiving several complaints through e-SENA, we immediately sent a letter to the employer reminding them of the Labor Advisory 06-20. We asked them to expedite or immediately process the final payment of the workers. Kung wala naman problema sa clearance ng separated workers, wala naman sigurong reason not to comply with the advisory,” Ms. Natividad explained.

Labor Advisory No. 06, series of 2020, or the Guidelines on the Payment of Final Pay and Issuance of Certificate of Employment states that final pay shall be released within thirty (30) days from the date of separation or termination of employment unless there is a more favorable company policy, individual or collective agreement thereto.

In total, the company released a total amount of P 447,861.47 pesos worth of money claims to their former workers.

“Our Office is always doing the best effort to settle complaints under the SENA procedure, kahit isa lang or group of workers pa ang complainant,” Ms. Natividad added.

e-SEnA is a free online service that facilitates requests for the conduct of conciliation-mediation. Requesting parties such as individual workers, groups of workers, unions, or employers may file online through https://sena.dole.gov.ph/

by:

APRIL ROSE N. MAGPANTAY
LEO III