Palace, DOLE eye criminalizing work safety violations

Malacañang yesterday supported proposals to criminalize violations of fire and building codes and occupational safety standards following the fire that gutted a slipper factory in Valenzuela City, killing 72 mostly contractual workers.

Presidential Communica-dismissed tions Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the executive department supported the position taken by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on such proposals.

“We reiterate the strong stand taken by the government through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the need to criminalize non-compliance with laws and

regulations pertaining to occupational safety and health,” Coloma said.

He said the latest fire incident made it “imperative” for stringent laws.

“According to Sec. Baldoz, there is need to put more teeth to existing regulations that were promulgated in 1978 and contain no criminal penalties,” Coloma pointed out.

DOLE has called on Congress “to seriously see our plea for the enactment of these measures in a positive light, and that is for the ultimate welfare and protection of our workers and the delivery of labor justice by punishing heartless employers.”

Baldoz noted that there are three legislative measures in Congress on occupational safety and health, including the proposed act Criminalizing Non- Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS).

According to Baldoz, the proposed measures strengthening safety and health standards are part of the package of proposals from the Tripartite Labor Code Reform Committee to amend the Labor Code.

“Our approach to modernize the Labor Code is to advocate for priority legislation. OSHS is one of the priorities. I could not overemphasize its importance – and the timeliness of our plea to our lawmakers – in the light of accidents in our workplaces, some of which have injured and claimed the lives of our workers,” Baldoz pointed out.

Baldoz said the existing Occupational Safety and Health Standards, promulgated in 1978 and amended in 1989, contains no criminal penalties.

She noted that decades of changes in the business environment, work processes and innovations in product and services technologies have also changed our workplaces, particularly with regards to occupational safety and health.

Many provisions in the OSHS, she said, require amendment and update to make them attuned to the times.

Coloma added Malacañang also supports Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago in Senate Bill 2530 seeking to criminalize violations of the fire safety standards.

Coloma said the government is willing to provide the families of the Valenzuela fire victims with legal assistance.

An inter-agency task force made up of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Justice and National Bureau of Investigation, DOLE and the Department of Health has been directed to conduct a thorough investigation of the Valenzuela fire.