DAVAO CITY – A partylist lawmaker says the labor department must make a mining company accountable for alleged violation of labor standards in two accidents and not just annouce known “token” packages for victims.
Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Emmi De Jesus said the Deparment of Labor and Employment “ordered Semirara Mining Corp. its contractors and subcontractors to comply with labor standards following the Valentines’ Day mining accident in 2013 which claimed the lives of 10 workers.”
Six miners had been confirmed dead and three are still missing after a landslide hit a coal mine in Semirara Island in Antique last Saturday.
The company announced that they will give the families of the miners P1 million each and other benefits.
“Three years ago, the DOLE was able to discover safety and labor law violations that included expired registrations of job subcontractors, and repetitious non-compliance with the submission of occupational health and safety standards (OSHS) reports,” she said.
De Jesus said the violations include “employer’s work accident reports, inaction on the proposal of its labor union on the collective bargaining agreement and failure to organize a family welfare committee.”
“Underpayment of minimum wages, 13th month pay, holiday and overtime pays, and service incentive leaves, non-coverage of workers with the Social Security System (SSS), Philhealth and Pag-IBIG also surfaced,” she said.
De Jesus described Dole’s response as “too-late-the-hero”.
“Dole’s putting its offer of livelihood and financial assistance before committing to a probe of violations once again underlies the callousness of the Aquino administration’s cavalier deals with aggrieved workers,” she said.
De Jesus said the (labor) secretary “merely announced to the media similar benefit packages offered to the bereft families and survivors of the Kentex factory fire under the Worker’s Compensation rules provided in the Labor Code.”
De Jesus said a bill she filed, House Bill 4635 or Worker’s Safety and Health Inspection and Employers’ Liability Decree (Worker’s SHIELD) “is now being considered in the House Committee on Labor and Employment.”
De Jesus said that the bill “must be passed in the last year of the 16th Congress to prevent another tragic massacre of workers.”(davaotoday.com)
