DOLE to implement P268-M online labor inspection system

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will implement a P268-million online labor inspection system in August that is expected to reduce cases of labor abuse.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the program was formed with assistance from the International Labor Organization (ILO) to ensure the protection of worker’s wages and benefits.

DOLE’s 600 labor law compliance inspectors will use the system to report in real time their assessments of business establishments. Inspectors will be able to focus on areas and industries where incidence of abuses is high.

“The system features real time data capture and transmittal from the field using electronic checklist stored in mobile devices and gadgets,” Baldoz said.

The program covers “joint assessment of compliance of general labor standards, safety and health, child labor, freedom of association, collective bargaining and maritime labor regulations, consistent with the ILO Maritime Labor Convention (in) 2006,” she added.

Child labor

DOLE’s announcement of the online labor inspection came amid a report by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showing that there are about 5.5 million child laborers aged five to 17 in the country, and three million of them are exposed to poor working conditions.

The ILO also noted that the dropout rate among primary school students went up over the last three years, from an average of 5.99 percent during the period 2007 to 2008 to 6.28 percent in 2009 to 2010.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano expressed alarm over the NSO report, saying that child labor should no longer exist in the country with the economy now growing at a commendable pace.

He also said that there is a correlation between the rise in child labor and the hike in dropout rates.

“It is truly disheartening to find out that while the government tries to provide free elementary and high school, orphaned children and those from poor families still opt to work and abandon school due to worsening poverty situation that leads to high prices, lack of jobs, and low income,” Cayetano noted.

The lawmaker urged the government to create more opportunities for Filipino families to address the rising number of child laborers in the country, particularly those who drop out of school to work in hazardous conditions.

He said the government must provide more jobs and programs to address poverty and the related issues of child labor and high dropout rates.

“If the parents of these children have jobs and the means to provide for their families, these children would not have to resort to working just to help make ends meet,” Cayetano said.

–  With Marvin Sy