The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) officially opened on Tuesday, Sept. 6, its call center or “Hotline 1349” which can receive queries and complaints on labor-related concerns.
Hotline 1349 is operated from the DOLE main building in Muralla St. in Intramuros, Manila.
The call center aims to provide workers and employers with 24/7 services on all labor- and employment-related inquiries and concerns and ensure that these are acted upon immediately.
In a press briefing that followed a ribbon-cutting ceremony, DOLE secretary Silvestre Bello III said this is the agency?s response to the directive of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte?s call to step up government services to the public.
“It is also one of the priority public service strategies of the department,” Bello said of the facility, which is equipped with PLDT Cosmocall’s Managed Contact Center System
He said 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.
The DOLE chief further said that the hotline will entertain calls on complaints on illegal recruitment, child labor, “endo” or labor-only contractualization, and violations on general labor and occupational safety and health standards.
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 will also receive reports of corruption in our department,” he said.
Meanwhile, the hotline can also be used to commend the work or achievements of the various agencies attached to the DOLE and its regional offices in responding to client concerns, Bello added.
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.). At least 10 hotline assistance officers per shift are manning the operation.
The officers consist of DOLE employees who have the knowledge and expertise in attending and making the necessary referrals on the concerns of clients.
For domestic calls, a client may press or dial 1800-8888-1349; and for international calls 800-8888-1349. — PNA
