Dole 11 safety program lauded
LABOR Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday lauded the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole 11) for the completion of its own Occupational Safety and Health Program and Safety Policy.
“An injury-and accident free workplace has always been a quest and responsibility of the Dole. This quest and responsibility applies to both workers in the private sector, as well as to the Dole’s own personnel. We believe that compliance with occupational safety and health standards should always start in our own backyard,” said Baldoz.
Dole 11 director Joffrey Suyao reported to Baldoz that the regional office’s “Green our Dole” program committee had conceptualized the safety program in February this year.
“The first draft was completed in August and we launched the program on September 15,” he said in his report.
The program, encapsulated in a manual, was formulated in a bid to instill a culture of safety and health in the regional office.
Suyao, as chair of the regional office GODP committee, is assisted by assistant regional director Veberando Cebrano, vice chair.
The committee has for its members safety officers who each acts in his respective field, from mediator to safety first aiders, among the few.
“The Dole, through its agencies and regions, recognizes and bears the responsibility for employees’ safety and health. There is a constant need for joint effort between the Department and its people for a more effective delivery of service to its clients,” Baldoz said.
The regional office’s Health and Safety manual
consists of Safety and Health Promotion and Education. It sets-out the responsibilities of personnel in the office in assuring that safety is implemented at all times. It also requires the development of a safety bulletin to inform personnel of different health-related concerns in the workplace. It also assigns persons responsible of maintaining the bulletin.
The manual also discusses procedures and requirements in cases of accidents in the workplace, and the appropriate investigation on the matter; health programs for the employees; adequate housekeeping for each offices; emergency contingencies; emergency flow chart of procedures in cases of fire, earthquake, bomb threat or incidence, typhoon or storm, flood or inundation, and robbery threat; analysis of job hazards; and the appropriate penalties for offenses or violations of the Manual’s provisions.