Construction bunkhouses under inspection

CEBU CITY – Bunkhouses or buildings offering basic sleeping accommodation for construction workers will be checked by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Central Visayas DOLE Director Cyril Ticao said labor inspectors will now be checking bunkhouses in construction sites to determine whether these structures are compliant with the safety standards or not.

“Most certainly, we would be sending our labor inspectors to various construction sites, and this time we would be checking not only the safety compliance in so far as the construction project is concerned but also the sleeping quarters provided to the workers,” he said.

Ticao cited the collapse of the bunkhouse constructed by JE Abraham C. Lee Construction and Development Inc. which killed five workers and injured 55 others in March. The incident was a result of the glaring negligence of safety standards by JE Abraham Lee Construction as the sleeping quarters did not pass the prescribed safety requirements, he said.

“That bunkhouse was very uncomfortable for the workers. They could not stand up inside and all they could do was either sit or lie down. The fact that it collapsed sent a clear message that it was never suitable to be a sleeping quarter,” Ticao said.

Department Order No. 13, or the Guidelines Governing Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Industry, states that employers are to provide workers the following to ensure humane working conditions: adequate supply of safe drinking water; adequate sanitary and washing facilities; suitable living accommodation for workers, and as maybe applicable, for their families; and separate sanitary, washing and sleeping facilities for men and women workers.

Ticao underscored the importance of providing suitable living conditions to workers during the Industry Tripartite Council in Construction meeting last March 12. “Construction is definitely one of the major industries that the DOLE is eyeing on for inspection. Sana naman hindi na sila maghintay na ma-inspect pa namin. Dapat sundin nalang kung ano ang nakasaad sa batas,” he said.