Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III has suspended all labor inspection activities this December to allow the agency to dispose of all pending labor standards cases and prepare the inspection program for 2022.
In DOLE's latest administrative order, Bello directed all regional directors to temporarily cease all labor inspection activities in their respective regions starting Dec. 1.
“However, exempted from the suspension of inspection are Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) COVID-19 Monitoring under Joint Memorandum Circular No. 20-04A of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); complaint inspections; OSH standards investigations; technical safety inspections, such as inspection of boilers, pressure vessels, and mechanical and electrical wiring installation; and inspection of any establishment or industry as I have directed as DOLE Secretary," Bello clarified.
According to the labor chief, these activities should be conducted in strict observance of the minimum public health standards as a precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
DOLE regional directors were also ordered to ensure that all results of inspection activities are uploaded in the Management Information System (MIS) before the end of December.
They were likewise directed to submit the list of recommended Labor Inspectors to be included in the 2022 General Authority and Foreign National Labor Inspectors to prepare for the resumption of inspection activities next year.
"Consistent with the minimum qualification standards, the labor inspector recommended for General Authority must be holding at least a permanent Labor and Employment Officer III plantilla position and must have attended and passed the 10-day basic training course for Labor Inspectors," Bello noted.
Based on DOLE's data, a total of 56,332 establishments were already inspected by labor inspectors as of Oct. 31. The initial compliance rate is at 84.18 percent on general labor standards, 57.93 percent on OSHS, and 95.81 percent on minimum wage.
After the inspected establishments have implemented the necessary corrections, the compliance rate is at 90.47 percent on the general labor standards and 67.01 percent on OSHS.
Among the notable violations on general labor standards pertain to record-keeping, Pag-IBIG coverage, and remittances to Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, and SSS.
Meanwhile, common violations on OSH include the absence of first aider, safety officers, fire safety inspection certificate, registration of establishment, and annual medical report.