Sulong Dignidad Party-list has urged the Department of Labor and Employment to review the occupational safety protocols for workers and impose stiff penalties on employers, after reports showed that some establishments did not observe proper evacuation procedures when a 6.1-magnitude earthquake hit Pampanga, Metro Manila, and neighboring provinces on Monday.
Sulong Dignidad president and first nominee lawyer Rico Paolo Quicho encouraged workers who were not allowed to evacuate their offices to file complaints with DOLE and provide specific information to help the agency to act on the issue.
“The safety of our workers should always be our number one concern. Business establishments should be aware of safety protocols in times of emergencies, and we need to make sure that stiff fines are given to violating employers,” Quicho said.
“To the workers who were forbidden to evacuate during the earthquake, we can file a complaint with the DOLE so the government can act on it,” he added.
Quicho cited Republic Act No. 11058 or An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards, which requires employers to respond to possible hazards in the workplace and inform workers of these accordingly.
“Under this law, employees are allowed to refuse to go to work if they think that their workplaces are unsafe and dangerous,” Quicho said.
“Employers or establishments who do not follow this law can be fined and penalized,” he added.
According to reports, workers from business process outsourcing firms and malls were among those who were not allowed to evacuate during the quake.
Some workers were also made to resume work right after, without waiting for the structural integrity of the buildings to be checked.