Happy holidays to all OSH advocates

DOLE releases OSH Law IRR

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) during its 85th Anniversary released the  Department Order No. 198 series of 2018 entitled "Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11058 [An Act Strengthening Compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof]. This is the act that requires all private establishments to formulate and implement comprehensively their safety and health policies and programs or be penalized with administrative fines upon inspection and investigation of the DOLE.

The popularly called "OSH Law" revamped the 1989 Occupational Safety and Health Standards as Amended. With this, private establishments are now subject to administrative fines brought about by negligence and refusal to comply with the rules under the OSH Standards. The law also revised the classification of workplaces and the qualifications of its safety officers.

The OSHC-REU6 will be conducting a series of conferences to inform all safety advocates, human resource managers and employers on the IRR of the OSH Law in the early months of  2019. With this strategy, the regional unit will be expecting a surge of requests for 8-hours orientations, 40-hours basic mandated OSH training, and applications for OSH practitioner accreditation. //MM

OSHC-REU6 receives DOH Golden Award

With the active participation of the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) on the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP) of the Department of Health-Center for Health Development Western Visayas, the regional unit was awarded the golden award during the DOH-CHD WV Regional Recognition of Partners and Stakeholders last December 7, at the EON Centennial Resort, Jaro, Iloilo City.

Melveen Melocoton, Regional Focal of OSHC-REU6, received the award during the event.

The partnership existed since 2017 when the regional unit was invited for a series of collaboration on "TB Advocacy in Business Community/Workplace." The involvement of the OSHC became an integral part of the DOH's advocacy in the elimination of TB via collaborative meetings/awareness activities with various stakeholders and the development of assessment checklists and strengthening of referral systems for the proper documentation of all TB cases in the entire region.

The regional unit also became an active member of the Center for Infection Control and Treatment, Inc. (CICAT) as a mark of its commitment towards public-private partnership in the advocacy of occupational safety and health, and addressing occupational health issues in the entire region.

With the release of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 11058, entitled "An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof," all private companies covered must have well formulated and implemented comprehensive OSH programs especially on TB in the workplace or be penalized with administrative fines upon thorough inspection and investigation by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). //MM