DOLE forges pact with NGAs, LGUs on construction safety

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO , Pampanga, June 10 (PIA) — Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Office 3 recently led the forging of a Memorandum of Agreement and Joint Administrative Order (MOA-JAO) on Construction Safety held at the DOLE Regional Office 3 Conference Room, Regional Government Center, here in a bid to ensure safety and health of workers in the construction industry in Central Luzon.

“The implementation of the inter-agency MOA-JAO on Construction Safety, inked by the DOLE, together with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Interior and Local government (DILG), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), and all Local Government Units (LGUs) in the region, is an offshoot of Department Order No. 13, which provides the “Guidelines Governing Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Industry,” said DOLE-3 director Raymundo G. Agravante.

Agravante disclosed that among those who inked the MOA-JAO included San Fernando City Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez, Regional Director Antonio V. Molano (DPWH), Assistant Regional Director Abraham Pascua (DILG), Regional Director Blesila A. Lantayona (DTI), Atty Nilo Martin (PRC), and representatives of the different local government units in the region.

“Workplace safety is something that we should always ensure from the start of any business venture, particularly in hazardous industries like construction. Being accident-free entails doing our part from the very beginning,” said Agravante in his keynote message.

Meanwhile, Mayor Rodriguez, who is also president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, urged all stakeholders to be resilient and competitive by adhering to the MOA-JAO.

“The incident in SM San Fernando serves as an eye opener for all of us. This MOA-JAO must be a vehicle that must be institutionalized in all government agencies in enforcing safety and health at the workplace. I salute the DOLE’s initiatives in uplifting the working conditions of our workers here in the region,” says Rodriguez.

The mayor was referring to an incident that transpired at the ongoing construction of the SM City building in the city proper of San Fernando were seven workers were injured after a vertical beam being filled with cement collapsed.

As a pledge of commitment, Director Lantayona of the DTI expressed her support by saying “We want to start things right, we need to train workers, we need to support the construction industry.”

Director Molano, who has undergone numerous trainings on occupational safety and health by the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), assured all stakeholders that the DPWH will do its part in enforcing all contractors to have safety and health programs.

Director Pascua, on the other hand, said that the DILG is strictly enforcing all LGUs to require all contractors to have a safety and health plan before issuing them building permits.

Agravante expressed his warm thanks to all leaders in the signing of the first MOA-JAO held in the regions, saying, “Our signatures affixed in this MOA will seal our commitment to be part of this noble endeavor and we at the DOLE are very happy that we will start to provide the best possible service we can do to our labor and management sectors in the construction industry.” (WLB with reports from Jerry M. Borja/DOLE3)