Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said yesterday in a press release that efforts of the DOLE to encourage companies to voluntarily comply with core labor standards, have started to pay off as complaints received by the DOLE Call Center against companies not paying the 13th month pay had drastically declined in 2011.

The DOLE measures include its “no compromise" policy in the 13th month pay compliance, the press release said. From 564 complaints in 2010, the first year of the current administration, received only 55 complaints in 2011, a reduction of 90.6 percent, Baldoz said, noting that the complaints came from workers in the National Capital Region.

Baldoz explained this is one indication that employers are heeding the DOLE's exhortation to employers to voluntarily comply with core labor standards, particularly in the payment of the 13th month pay and other social security benefits. The DOLE Call Center operates from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, through hotline number is (02) 527-8000, the press release said. Citing a report of the Labor Communications Office, Baldoz said that of the total 55 complaints received before 24 December 2011, the deadline for the payment of the 13th month pay, only 37 were considered valid complaints because the rest of the callers did not disclose their employers' names.

For the valid complaints, our call center staff immediately called the employers complained of and explained to them the rules and their obligations stipulated under the Labor Code, the press release said. Baldoz further said 29 of the 37 valid complaints were resolved through the DOLE’s mandatory 30-day Single Entry Approach dispute settlement system.

This involved calling both parties to mediation conferences to arrive at a settlement. Three of the complaints were immediately resolved through mere phone calls made by the call center action officers. The 13th month pay is mandated by law. It is a core labor standard requiring all employe