AROUND 4 million workers benefited from the workplace inspection of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) last year.
In a statement issued last Sunday, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III disclosed these were the employees of 90,327 establishments subjected to inspections.
According to Bello, more than 600 DOLE personnel inspected these companies for compliance to general labor standards (GLS) and occupational safety and health standards (OSHS).
GLS includes the employer’s implementation of 13th month pay, overtime and holiday pay while OSHS covers a company’s anti-Covid measures.
Labor Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresita S. Cucueco earlier reported that OSHS compliance last year improved to 70 percent compared to 50 percent to 60 percent the year before as more companies became aware of the provisions of the Republic Act 11058 or the OSH Law of 2018.
Last Wednesday, the DOLE finally started its regular workplace inspections this year with Bello’s issuance of Administrative Order (AO) 11, Series of 2022.
To note, DOLE regularly suspends such inspections every December to allow its offices to “dispose of all pending labor standards cases and prepare the inspection program for 2022.”
Under AO 11, Bello stressed that only the assigned 485 Hearing Officers mandatory conferences after the lapse of the correction period for violations of general labor standards, occupational safety and health standards and contracting or subcontracting rules.
Erring companies are usually given a period to correct their GLS or OSHS deficiencies before they are sanctioned by DOLE.
Bello tasked 115 regional office personnel to become “sheriffs” to implement decisions related to GLS and OSHS compliance.