THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) moved further ahead in enhancing the competencies and aptitude of its compliance officers as it stepped up nationwide inspection of business establishments to check compliance with laws and labor standards.
In administrative order 356, Secretary Silvestre Bello III reconstituted its capacity building committee, the panel responsible for planning and designing the development program for Dole’s labor laws compliance officers (LLCO).
The new panel is now headed by Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod of the Labor Relations, Special Concerns and Financial Service Cluster, and co-chaired by Undersecretary Bernard Olalia of the Regional Operations and Human Capital Development.
“Enhancing the competence and aptitude of our LLCOs is one of our priorities to effectively reinforce the implementation of the labor laws compliance system in the country,” Bello said.
The Bureau of Working Conditions and Human Resource Development Service have been tasked to develop the curriculum, administer the training and monitoring of the performance of the LLCOs, and conduct capacity building programs based on the results of the needs assessment of the compliance officers.
LLCOs are mandated to conduct plant-level joint assessment of compliance by employer and workers’ representatives; initiate awareness-raising and capacity-building of both employers and the workers and unions, and provide free technical assistance on productivity or compliance with technical safety and occupational safety and health standards.
Dole has already trained 55 volunteer labor inspectors and is currently hiring 36 new senior labor and employment officers.
Dole is also requesting Congress for additional 200 new LLCOs to complement the existing 541 LLCOs who conduct assessment and inspection of around 937,554 small, medium and big business establishments in the country.
As of July 19, a total of 63,752 workers were already regularized and more workers are expected to enjoy their right to security of tenure as compliance orders were already issued to various establishments, which were inspected by the LLCOs. (PR)