Labour inspection in key sectors
Tripartite Partners in Region IV-A Engage in Dialogue to Improve Labour Inspection in Key Sectors
Last 23-24 June 2016, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region IV-A with support from the ILO through the ILO United States Department of Labor, Labour Inspection Project, gathered tripartite partners in key sectors within the region, in a Regional Labour Laws Compliance Summit in Sta Rosa, Laguna. This Summit was aimed at raising awareness on the recently revised Rules on the Labour Laws Compliance System, otherwise known as DOLE Department Order 131B-16, and gathering feedback and proposals from partners on how to improve labour inspection or the conduct of assessments, particularly in the education, health, construction, and manufacturing sectors, including enterprises situated in export processing zones. The focus sectors for the said Summit were based on the dominant industries or sectors within the region as well as results of regional compliance reports.
This Summit is part of the ILO USDOL Project’s interventions to facilitate the conduct of labour laws compliance campaigns, through various strategies, including tripartite orientation workshops to inform partners on the role of LLCOs, workers and employers at each stage and mode of assessments.
A large part of the discussions focused on the conduct of labour inspections or assessments in enterprises in export processing zones. Similar to other countries,labour inspections in export processing zones in the country remain a challenge due to weaknesses in the legal and regulatory framework,complexity of outsourcing arrangements, low level of appreciation among enterprises on the benefits of labour laws compliance with productivity and weakness of social dialogue structure1. The revised Rules on the LLCS requires the conduct of coordinated inspections in export processing zones.
ILO Regional Specialist in Labour Administration and Labour Inspection, Mr Rene Robert, was present to provide presentations on ILO Convention 81 on Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 and C129 on Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969, as well as good practices in labour inspection in export processing zones. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Atty. Norma Tanag, the Zone Administrator for PEZA in Cavite was also present to provide a presentation on challenges and proposals to improve labour inspection in these zones.
Outputs of this two-day activity include proposals to improve the implementation of the revised LLCS Rules in the focus sectors, inputs towards the development of sector specific inspection manuals to guide LLCOs, proposals on the proposed Memorandum of Agreement between DOLE and PEZA on the conduct of technical safety inspections, proposals for joint guidelines on inspections in export processing zones, and awareness raising activities on LLCS in the zones.