Work-related sickness, accidents costly

Filipino workers appear to be getting more sickly and prone to work-related accidents.

The Employees Compensation Commission (ECC), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), reported that compensation for work-related illness, injury and death is now costing the agency billions of pesos annually.

ECC executive director Benjamin Vitasa said in 2006 alone, the commission spent P1.94 billion for the payment of work-related medical reimbursements of government and private employees.

Last year, ECC imposed higher premiums so it would be able to pay for work-related compensation, he added.

Brenda Villafuerte, Bureau of Working Condition (BWC) director, said curbing work-related diseases and injuries remains a major problem for the government.

To curb work-related accidents, the DOLE has intensified inspection of commercial establishments nationwide to ensure compliance with technical safety regulations, she added.

In the first semester of the year, 16 percent of the 2,727 commercial establishments inspected were found to be violating technical safety rules, Villafuerte said.

Vitasa said the ECC is pushing for implementation of hazard control practices at workplaces and strengthening of rehabilitation programs for disabled workers.

“Compliance by employers and employees with safety and health standards will reduce the incidence of work-related illness, accidents and deaths,” he said.

Vitasa said a decline in work-related accidents would lead to a drop in ECC claims.

“Less compensation would enable ECC to focus on occupational rehabilitation opportunities for employment and self-entrepreneurship,” he said.

Vitasa said the ECC also extends special economic assistance to occupationally disabled workers through special training programs to equip them for re-employment or to put up businesses.

The ECC is linking up with hospitals and rehabilitation facilities so that a greater number of disabled workers may have access to its occupational therapy services, he added.   – Mayen Jaymalin