The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is seeking a zero backlog of labor cases by March 31, 2010 following the launching last Friday of Project SpeED, or Speedy and Efficient Delivery of Labor Justice program.

Acting Secretary Romeo C. Lagman said Project SpeED was conceptualized to streamline and monitor the disposition of cases lodged in DoLE’s line agencies to ensure that these are resolved within, if not faster, than the prescribed period of time set by the DoLE. The DoLE line agencies are the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA), Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR), Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) and DoLE Legal Service.

Undersecretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz, who is in charge of the program, said Project SpeED does not seek to overlap the functions of dispute resolution agencies but only to set in place a strategy to maximize conciliation and settlement of cases.

“We will not take over the functions of these agencies. There is no overlapping. We are only here to check the cases they dispose, what year… so that by March 2010, there will be zero backlog,” she said.

Lagman clarified however, that zero backlog does not mean that there will be no more cases pending in the agency.

He explained that this only means that by March, there will be no more cases older than one year pending before the Labor office. This means that by March next year, there should be no more cases older than April 2008 still awaiting resolution.

There are currently 36,000 to 38,000 cases pending at a time before the six line offices of the DoLE awaiting resolution, he said. Cases in the POEA usually take six months to resolve while those lodged before the NLRC usually take longer at nine months to 16 months.

Aside from Project SpeED, the DoLE also launched Project Jobs Fit to address employment mismatch in the country, Project Green Workplace Advocacy to address climate change concerns, Project Kabuhayan Starter Kits for OFWs, Project Nego Kart to assist ambulant vendors, Project Kabataan Ito for unemployed IT-literate youth, and Project Ready Tech-Go to implement the DoLE Information Systems to improve the DoLE’s delivery of public services.