FUND FOR JOB SAFETY LAW PUSHED IN HOUSE

A party-list lawmaker on Thursday called for a higher budget for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in 2019 to ensure the full implementation of the recently-signed Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) law. Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus said it would be impossible for DOLE to conduct safety inspections across the country, as mandated by the OSH law, with only about 800 labor inspectors covering more than 900,000 establishments. She made the call as the House appropriations committee conducted its deliberation on DOLE’s P13-billion proposed budget for 2019.