QUEZON CITY, 7 NOV. (PIA)--The Department of
Labor & Employment (DOLE) awards workplaces who exemplified the new breed
of establishments that are always mindful of the health and safety of their
workers.
Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda
Dimapilis-Baldoz has recently commended the winners of the DOLE’s 9th Gawad
Kaligtasan at Kalusugan (GKK), saying that they have made a huge investment in
the welfare and protection of Filipino workers, and have set
themselves as examples of excellence in Occupational Safety and Health.
“The DOLE celebrates the advances in OSH that it
achieves every time the GKK is held,” she said, noting this was the first time
that GKK nominees were required to submit their Certificates of Compliance with
general labor standards and occupational safety and health as part of the
requirement for nominees to the Awards.
The GKK is one of the five seals of good
housekeeping under the DOLE Incentivizing Compliance Program which aims to
encourage companies to voluntarily comply with general labor laws and occupational
safety and health standards.
It is a biennial award given by the DOLE through
the OSHC to companies and individuals with outstanding occupational safety and
health practices, programs, innovations, and contributions.
“This year’s winners are really the best of the
best. They have raised the bar higher for OSH programs and practices and have
gone from compliance to innovation. I believe this will encourage others to
follow-suit. I hope you will be able to share your best practices to other
establishments,” said Baldoz.
The labor and employment chief noted that most
of the winners of the 2014 GKK are from highly hazardous industries such as the
energy and manufacturing sectors.
“We are giving much attention and priority to
highly hazardous jobs, such as those in the maritime, construction, and mining
because we believe that no life is worth risking in any industry and in any
workplace,” she said.
She further explained that the DOLE puts much
premium on prevention programs, such as OSH education, information
dissemination, and service delivery, especially for vulnerable workers.
Baldoz emphasized the need to prioritize highly
hazardous jobs, such as those in the maritime, construction, and mining
industries, in the DOLE’s occupational safety and health prevention programs to
ensure that all workers are provided with the optimum safeguards to ensure
their safety, health, and welfare.
“The increase in the number of awardees in the
highly hazardous industries is an undeniable proof that these industries
continue to be vigilant in ensuring that their workplaces and workers are safe
and healthy,” she said.
Divided into three categories, this year’s GKK
winners are as follows:
GKK Champions: Institutional Category--Team
Sual Corporation and Sunpower Philippines Module Manufacturing; and Individual
Category-- Engr. Joey Ortega.
GKK Finalists Silver Award: Institutional
Category--Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation -Tabangao Refinery; Toshiba
Information Equipment (Philippines), Inc.; SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc.;
CP Kelcio Philippines Inc.; SN Aboitiz Power-Ambuklao Hydroelectric Power
Plant; and Petron Corporation-Legazpi Depot; and Individual Category--Engr.
Elizabeth Beronio.
GKK Finalists Bronze Award: Institutional
Category-- Shell Philippines Exploration B.V.-Malampaya Onshore Gas Plant;
Western Mindanao Power Corporation; Unilever Philippines, Inc. (Manila Site);
Petron Rosario Terminal; SN Aboitiz Power Benguet, Inc.-Binga Hydroelectric
Power Plant, and Rohm Electronics Philippines, Inc.; and Individual
Category--Engr. Emmanuel Maniquis, Jr.; Engr. Eusebio Timario, Jr.; and Engr.
Teodoro Cahoy.
Early this year, the OSHC required all nominees
from all regions to submit documents, including the DOLE-issued Certificate of
Compliance, for a chance to join the GKK. After the initial screening, a
shortlist of 60 companies and 25 individuals were subjected to on-site
validation.
A team of experts from the OSHC, corresponding
DOLE Regional Offices, Bureau of Working Conditions, and employers’ and
workers’ groups visited company premises to confirm if the safety and health
programs and contributions mentioned in submitted documents were indeed in
place. The team further narrowed the number of entries who proceeded to the
last phase, the final judging and deliberation.
Board of Judges composed representatives from
the Alliance of Filipino Workers, Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines,
Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth),
Safety Organization of the Philippines, Inc., Philippine College of
Occupational Medicine, Occupational Health Nurses Association of the
Philippines, Employees Compensation Commission, National
Wages and Productivity Commission, and Bureau of Working Conditions, conducted
the final judging and deliberation.
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