KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/15 May) –Giant fruit producer Dole Philippines, Inc. (Dolefil) bagged the Kapatiran sa Industriya (KAPATID) Award given by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, besting more than two dozen contenders across the country, the company said on Sunday.
The KAPATID Awards is a biennial awards activity of ECOP established in 1995, and aims to recognize the fruitful and beneficial outcome of good and harmonious relationship of management and workers.
Over the years, the KAPATID Awards has evolved into a comprehensive search for best workplace policies and programs highlighted by management-worker cooperation for better labor relations; product and service quality and improved productivity; enhanced relationship with workers, their families, and the society; and the ability of the enterprise to foresee future economic and socio-political changes through long-term planning and sustainability.
“This award is for all our employees, our business partners and the community. Without your support, we wouldn’t have made this achievement,” Simon Denye, Dolefil vice president and managing director, said in a statement.
President Benigno Aquino III conferred the award on Dolefil, a company based in nearby Polomolok, South Cotabato, during the National Conference of Employers (NCE) held early this month in Pasay City.
Rene Soriano , KAPATID Awards 2011 executive committee chairman, said more than 28 companies in the Philippines were nominated this year and only 11 were chosen as finalists and were acknowledged during the first day of the NCE.
The companies vying for KAPATID Award underwent a series of panel interviews, with judges composed of experts from different sectors of society: Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, International Labor Organization (ILO) Manila Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson, Dean Jorge Sibal of UP-School of Labor and Industrial Relations, Antonio Asper from the Federation of Free Workers and David Balangue from the Makati Business Club.
“There were many good contestants, but what we’ve found with Dole, they were able to put the four packages together: they looked at how they can work with their employees, management coming together, their services to society and their communities. There were many participants but Dole edged out and did a very good job. I think Dole has a lot to be proud of,” Johnson, ILO Manila Director, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Among the other finalists who vied for the coveted KAPATID Awards were Nestle Philippines, Toyota Motor Phils., SM Retail, IBM Philippines, Bridgestone Precision, Amkor Technology, AGC Flat Glass Phils., Inc., HEDCOR, ADD Research Paints and Chemicals, Inc., RCM Manufacturing, Inc., Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO), and Absolute Service, Inc.
In 2009, Dolefil also received Special Citations for Social Accountability and Productivity and Quality from the same award-giving body. (Bong S. Sarmiento/MindaNews)