The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) launched a hotline – 1349 – to cater workers and employers a 24/7 service on all labor and employment-related inquiries and concerns and it is ensured to be acted upon immediately.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a press briefing that followed a ribbon-cutting ceremony that this is the agency’s response to the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to all government agencies to convey their services and programs effectively to the public.
“It is also one of the priority public service strategies of the department,” Bello said.
He noted that the hotline will also attend to calls from clients inquiring about local and overseas employment opportunities, employees’ rights and benefits, working conditions, wages, labor relations, and post employment issues.
“You can call us for anything. Pwedeng problema, pwedeng suggestion, pwedeng proposal, lalung-lalo na affecting yung mga salaries ng mga empleyado, yung mga kalagayan ng ating mga kababayan na migrant workers; yung mga underpaid na mga empleyado; yung meron kayong nalalaman na katiwalian na nangyayari dito sa aming departamento, tumawag po kayo sa 1349,” Bello added.
The hotline will entertain calls on complaints on illegal recruitment, child labor, “endo” or illegitimate contractualization, and violations on general labor and occupational safety and health standards, according to the DOLE Chief.
“Kasama rin ho diyan ang pagre-report ng mga ibang nangyayaring katiwalian sa aming kagawaran,” he said.
All these reports will be turned over to the appropriate DOLE agencies and other government offices, such as the Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG.
The hotline operates on three shifts per day (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and at least 10 hotline assistance officers per shift are manning the operation.
For domestic calls, a client may press or dial 1800-8888-1349; and for international calls 800-8888-1349.
It is equipped with PLDT Cosmocall’s Managed Contact Center System.
