DOLE encourages voluntary compliance
ILOILO CITY - The Department of Labor and Employment no longer conducts inspections on small, micro and large enterprises but encourages voluntary compliance on wages and other labor standards and workplace improvement to spur their productivity and growth.
The issuance of Administrative Order 296, as Labor Standards Enforcement Framework (LSEF), totally overhauls the exercise and application of the visitorial power of the Secretary of Labor, as represented in the region by labor inspectors, by expanding the reach of the Department through a voluntary approach.
The new approach encourages self-inspection and voluntary compliance with wage and other labor standards via a multi-pronged approach: a voluntary compliance via self-assessment for large firms with 200 and more workers, including unionized establishments with certified collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs); inspections on medium sized firms with 10 to 199 workers and effect restitution/corrections if there are violations; and advisory services to small firms with less than 10 workers including registered barangay micro-business enterprises.
"Establishments not covered by inspection under the new framework would still be subjected to such should there be complaint filed in the Office," said DOLE Western Visayas director, Carlos L. Boteros. He added that when a company does not comply with labor standards, there is simply no choice for the government but to enforce compliance in accordance with the law.
Several strategies are being adopted to effectively implement this framework: training and advisory visits (TAVs) to assist small and micro enterprises chart their own improvement program geared at improving productivity and facilitate voluntary compliance with labor standards; and the delegation of technical safety inspection to the local government units pursuant to Article 165 of the amended Labor Code of the Phils., Rule 1980 of the Occupational Safety Standards, Adm. Order 155, Series of 2003, and the MOA between the Department and the appropriate LGUs, among others.
As of June this year, DOLE Western Visayas has conducted seven TAVs to some 361 establishments while another one is slated on August 4 at Eon Centennial Plaza Hotel at the corner of Jalandoni and Ledesma streets, Iloilo City.
The disproportionate number of labor inspectors to the number of establishments in the entire Philippines prompted the DOLE to shift its approach from regulatory to developmental.
According to DOLE, the National Statistics Office data showed that in 2003 there were 719,420 establishments throughout the country of which 41,768 are in Western Visayas.
While the number of establishments has increased tremendously, the number of inspectors in the entire Department did not. The department has only 15 inspectors—8 in Panay and 7 in Negros Occidental—thus, giving Western Visayas a ratio of 2,785 establishments per inspector.
Through the LSEF, the government wants establishments in the country to do better by conducting self-inspection and facilitating voluntary compliance even before any inspection, not only for them to avoid litigation, but also compliance to reinforce productivity and sound business and work site practices
The issuance of Administrative Order 296, as Labor Standards Enforcement Framework (LSEF), totally overhauls the exercise and application of the visitorial power of the Secretary of Labor, as represented in the region by labor inspectors, by expanding the reach of the Department through a voluntary approach.
The new approach encourages self-inspection and voluntary compliance with wage and other labor standards via a multi-pronged approach: a voluntary compliance via self-assessment for large firms with 200 and more workers, including unionized establishments with certified collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs); inspections on medium sized firms with 10 to 199 workers and effect restitution/corrections if there are violations; and advisory services to small firms with less than 10 workers including registered barangay micro-business enterprises.
"Establishments not covered by inspection under the new framework would still be subjected to such should there be complaint filed in the Office," said DOLE Western Visayas director, Carlos L. Boteros. He added that when a company does not comply with labor standards, there is simply no choice for the government but to enforce compliance in accordance with the law.
Several strategies are being adopted to effectively implement this framework: training and advisory visits (TAVs) to assist small and micro enterprises chart their own improvement program geared at improving productivity and facilitate voluntary compliance with labor standards; and the delegation of technical safety inspection to the local government units pursuant to Article 165 of the amended Labor Code of the Phils., Rule 1980 of the Occupational Safety Standards, Adm. Order 155, Series of 2003, and the MOA between the Department and the appropriate LGUs, among others.
As of June this year, DOLE Western Visayas has conducted seven TAVs to some 361 establishments while another one is slated on August 4 at Eon Centennial Plaza Hotel at the corner of Jalandoni and Ledesma streets, Iloilo City.
The disproportionate number of labor inspectors to the number of establishments in the entire Philippines prompted the DOLE to shift its approach from regulatory to developmental.
According to DOLE, the National Statistics Office data showed that in 2003 there were 719,420 establishments throughout the country of which 41,768 are in Western Visayas.
While the number of establishments has increased tremendously, the number of inspectors in the entire Department did not. The department has only 15 inspectors—8 in Panay and 7 in Negros Occidental—thus, giving Western Visayas a ratio of 2,785 establishments per inspector.
Through the LSEF, the government wants establishments in the country to do better by conducting self-inspection and facilitating voluntary compliance even before any inspection, not only for them to avoid litigation, but also compliance to reinforce productivity and sound business and work site practices
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