Safety non-negotiable: Dole
As the country sees an improved employment rate, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 likewise intensifies workers’ safety and health training in Central Visayas.
In coordination with the Occupational Safety and Health Center Regional Extension Unit (OSHC-REU 7), Dole started a five-day training yesterday ( July 11) on Basic Occupational Safety and Health (BOSH) at the JSU-PSU Mariners’ Court in Cebu City.
“We can never compromise safety at work. Surely, workers’ salaries and wages could still be negotiated, but their safety and health cannot be put into jeopardy, especially for those working in hazardous types of industries,” said Dole 7 Regional Director Elias A. Cayanong in a statement.
“Safety and wellness is something which should be carefully thought of, properly planned out, effectively implemented, and consistently maintained,” the official continued.
The OSHC is an attached agency of Dole that trains safety officers and safety practitioners, especially in industries considered hazardous in nature. For instance, construction safety officers’ main duty is to ensure a safer construction site by prioritizing the safety of construction workers.
Meanwhile, BOSH is one of the mandatory 40-hour training courses required for safety officers under Rule 1030 of the Occupational Safety and Health Standards.
The conduct of safety and health training, he said, is one of the regular programs that the OSHC is tasked to deliver, being constitutionally mandated to safeguard the workers’ social and economic well-being as well as their physical safety and health.
The training of 60 safety offi- cers in the region will commence on July 15.
Dole has been issuing work stoppage orders or the mandated halt of work of any unit, department or entire operation of an establishment “when non-compliance with occupational safety and health standards poses imminent danger to the health and safety of the employees in the workplace.”
In Cebu, the latest work stoppage order was issued on April 3 to Cebu Arrastre and Stevedoring Service Corp. when a crew member of Lite Shipping Corp. was struck by a passing forklift inside the work site, leading to the man’s death.
Last Feb. 20, Dole also issued a work stoppage order in Filinvest’s constructed mall at the South Road Properties, after Dole’s labor law compliance officers observed imminent danger in the site, when workers used only a monkey ladder and canopy structure as a scaffold and platform for the mall’s exterior works.
For a work stoppage to be lifted, parties need to prove compliance.
Employment has improved in April. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the unemployment rate was at 5.7 percent in April, down from last year’s 6.1 percent. Underemployment also dropped from 18.3 percent to 16.1 percent. /
Workers’ salaries and wages could still be negotiated, but their health and safety cannot be put into jeopardy. ELIAS CAYANONG Dole 7 Director