By Ferdinand Patinio/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured that the government is committed to provide decent work available to all Filipinos.
“As we continue consultation with stakeholders on fine tuning the policies on fair compensation and security of tenure, we sustain another pillar of decent work – to be free from work related injuries and illnesses,” DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in his message at the 16th National Occupational Safety and Health Congress held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on Tuesday.
With this, the DOLE chief acknowledged the lawmakers for passing Republic Act 11058 or “An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards” (OSHS).
“Our legislators, with the solid backing of Senator Joel Villanueva, crafted Republic Act 11058 which was signed into law by President Duterte earlier this year. The landmark legislation gives premium to compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and penalizes its violation,” he said.
“The law is an expression of the government’s desire to achieve a 100-percent safe and healthy work environment throughout the country. And the Department of Labor and Employment is a mere instrument for the attainment of this desire. Our Labor Inspectors are under strict order to enforce our occupational safety and health regulations,” Bello added.
At the same time, Bello urged those who are pushing for safety and health in workplaces to work with the government to be able to achieve the goal in keeping work areas safe and healthy for employees.
“Thru this Congress, we will appeal to all those advocates of safety and health in workplaces and they can help us in inspecting almost one million business establishments through the country and you know how many Labor Law Compliance Officers we have, we only have less than 1,000. Kaya kailangan namin itong grupo na ito to help us in the inspection of business establishments and see to it that they are compliant with safety and health standard,” he said in an interview.
Last August, President Duterte signed the OSH Law, which ensures a safe and healthful workplace for workers by affording them full protection against all hazards at work.
The law provides that any person who manages, controls, or supervises the work is compelled to ensure that the place of employment is safe for workers, and should be free from hazardous conditions likely to cause death, illness, or physical harm to workers.
It also states that workers may report to their supervisor or employer any work hazard that may be discovered in the workplace, while also being given the right to refuse to work if an imminent danger situation exists that may result in illness, injury, or death.
