'Hold owner, contractor liable for P'que mishap'

MANILA, Philippies - A labor group on Monday called on the Department of Labor and Employment to hold liable the project owner and contractors for an accident at a construction site in Parañaque City last week, where one worker was killed and eight more were hurt.

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines also condemned the grave negligence of those involved in the hospital construction project.

"We are urging the Department of Labor and Employment to ensure that both the project owner and contractors of the hospital construction project are made to face the consequences of their negligence," ALU-TUCP executive vice president Gerard Seno said.

A construction worker was killed and eight others were wounded when an improvised scaffolding collapsed at the Parañaque Premier Medical Center in Barangay San Dionisio.

Seno said project owners and contractors appeared to have ignored indications that the scaffold materials they are using are sub-standard after a similar mishap in the work site happened days before the incident.

"Under existing rules and regulations, both the owners and the contractors are equally liable not only for the death and the injuries sustained by the other workers but also for not enrolling the workers to SSS, Philhealth and other benefits as revealed by workers interviewed by media. The DOLE also needs to check if workers received lawful wages," Seno added.

He said that the incident revives the labor group's urgent call for government to approve the government-labor-management tripartite collaboration in revising current state standards and regulations governing the use of scaffoldings.