The Single Entry Approach or SENA is a new mode of voluntary arbitration which is being looked upon as a major reform being pushed by the Department of Labor and Employment.
It is part of President Benigno Aquino’s 22-point labor and employment agenda. Particularly in reforming labor arbitration and adjudication systems, streamlining its procedures and removing red tape.
This 30-day conciliation-mediation approach is a product of tripartite consultations and was endorsed in July 2010 by the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council.
Lawyer Elbert Restauro of the National Labor Relations Commission-11 (NLRC-11) says that SENA involves an aggrieved worker filing a request for assistance. The respondent employer will then be invited to a conference where issues (except notice of strikes and unfair labor practice) are discussed and mediated.
In normal procedures, the employee files a complaint and a summons is issued to the employer and will take months to settle.
“The rule of thumb is that we can have two conferences, though if the arbiter feels that the case is nearing a settlement it can go for one more conference.” Restauro said.
In the Davao region for the period of January to March the NLRC handled 43 SENAs with 14 cases being resolved.
SENA can be better appreciated as a mode of voluntary adjudication, says Restauro. The mode can also help resolve backlogs in decided cases. Although, according to Restauro, NLRC-11 is not experiencing any problem in backlogging of cases. [PIA 11]
