The Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC), in collaboration with the Department of Labor and Employment – Regional Office 6 (DOLE-RO6), and Western Visayas Occupational Safety and Health Network, Inc. (WVOSHNET), conducted its first mandated 40-hours (5-days) Construction Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) Training for 2016, last Jun. 27-Jul. 1, at the HRT Service Center, Iloilo Science and Technology University, La Paz, Iloilo City.
The training was attended by 50-pax from various private and public organizations. The participants present were contractors, safety officers, management staff, foremen, among others.
Salome O. Siaton, OIC-Regional Director of DOLE-RO6, welcomed the participants and thanked the partners for their full time support towards the achievement of zero accidents in the region. She echoed her experiences on OSH and sadly verbalized that there are those who take OSH for granted. “We can compromise benefits but never the lives of workers,” she said. Let us help one another, not just for compliance but to make Western Visayas a zero accident area, she added.
Engr. Maximo J. Pareja, President of WVOSHNET, Inc., said that their organization will keep on working hand-in-hand with OSHC and DOLE-RO6 to increase schedules of both BOSH and COSH due to high demands in the region;
Melveen M. Melocoton, Admin Officer of OSHC in Region-6, commended the inspiring efforts of WVOSHNET as the extending arm of the OSHC and DOLE-RO6 in most of its activities on OSH.
During the training, the participants were able to embrace the fundamentals of occupational safety and health wherein they discussed topics on occupational safety, industrial hygiene and occupational health. They were also able to learn the roles of a safety officer, legislations, and its career opportunities. Furthermore, they integrated their learnings attained via a safety and health audit at the Atria Avida Storey 1 and Tower 1, Brgy. San Rafael, Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
The COSH training is in pursuance with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and DOLE Department Order 13, series of 1998.