DOLE to set up OSH Network in Western Visayas
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in collaboration with Occupational Safety & Health Center (OSHC), its attached agency, will conduct a Regional Zero-Accident Program or ZAP Conference which aims to establish a project called Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Network in Western Visayas on December 11, 2009 at the Iloilo Grand Hotel.
The DOLE will form a regional core group to be composed of participants from the tripartite sectors– government, management and labor, and the media task to spearhead the networking with their own groups in promoting for Zero-accident in workplaces.
The media plays a significant role in the campaign for accident-free workplaces and in raising public awareness on OSH issues and problems.
DOLE 6 Director Aida M. Estabillo said the OSH Network would be established as an innovative solution and strategy aimed at eliminating all forms of hazardous conditions and practices in the workplace to safeguard the workers’ safety and health and increase companies’ productivity.
Estabillo added that this project would be implemented through training and orientation of major stakeholders on the implementation of OSH in their companies.
The DOLE has been at the forefront in promoting workplace safety and health and protecting workers’ welfare through the conduct of safety inspection which is considered as traditional mode of monitoring companies’ compliance on general labor standards laws.
It has implemented a wide range of programs to increase the rate of companies’ compliance on OSH standards, yet despite of its massive efforts, several gaps continue to limit the Department’s capability to implement OSH programs to a large number of companies and working population.
We hope that, through this project, we could answer the gaps and reach out to all stakeholders, including workers in the informal economy, Estabillo said.
