Wednesday, October 18, 2006 Workers urged to tell Dole
EMPLOYEES who work in an unsafe and unhealthy environment should assert their rights under the Labor Code, a labor official in Cebu said.
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 Director Elias Cayanong made the statement after his office failed to gather strong evidence on the alleged violation of the minimum wage law and work conditions at the mining sites in Argao, Cebu and at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).
Cayanong said they sent an investigation team to the southern town of Argao after the explosion in the mine run by Adlaon Mining Resources Corp.
However, Cayanong said, no mining workers will talk with the team to report any violation of the law regarding benefits and working condition.
One miner died and three others were badly burned during the explosion last Oct. 9 in Barangay Balaas. The blast was allegedly caused by a spark and methane gas.
As to the death of a worker at the CICC last Oct. 11, he said it was an isolated case.
Revencio Adlawan, 33, was a helper of one of the welders at the construction site in Mandaue City.
Dole investigators found no negligence in the implementation of safety measures at the CICC, otherwise not only one but several workers would have been electrocuted.
The contractors of the CICC are also paying their workers P241 per day or P1 above the existing minimum wage, Cayanong said.
“Like the workers in the mining areas of Argao, nobody at the CICC complained about violation of the labor law,” he said, adding that they are investigating further the death of the CICC worker.
Dole is focusing on the promotion of a safe working environment while investigating the death of laborers.
“We are conducting seminars on occupational safety and health programs. This is a one-week course so the workers will know the rules on safety at work,” Cayanong said.
Dole 7 is conducting routine inspections on job sites for the annual and quarterly reports on working conditions.
“If our labor inspectors will find violations committed by employers, they (employers) will be advised to correct these otherwise they will suffer the penalties,” Cayanong said. (EOB)
