DOLE suspends Hanjin subcontractor after mishap

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) suspended the operations of a shipyard at the Subic Bay Freeport following an accident over the weekend.

The DOLE Central Luzon office issued a work stoppage order to Binictican I-Tech Corp., a subcontractor of Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. Philippines.

A worker died and three others were seriously injured when they fell from a scaffolding.

Technical safety inspectors said the scaffolding could have tilted due to the concentrated weight of the workers, raw materials and equipment. The bolt of the scaffolding’s bracket was also found sheared.

“Clearly, there was an unsafe working condition because of an overload of workers and their equipment on the scaffolding... Unsafe acts were also observed because of workers’ failure to use safety harness,” DOLE-Central Luzon director Ma. Zenaida Campita said.

Campita said the subcontractor also failed to implement and monitor safety procedures.