THE Department of Labor and Employment has asked Congress for additional budget to hire 200 new labor laws compliance officers to conduct assessment and inspections of at least 1 million small, medium and big establishments in the country, Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Saturday.
Earlier, the Department of Budget and Management approved DOLE’s request to create 36 senior labor and employment officers to reinforce the implementation of the labor laws compliance system in the country.
DoLE will start hiring of personnel for the newly created positions and the successful applicants, who will be under the Office of the Secretary, will be deployed across the country to beef -up the existing 574 labor laws compliance officers across the regions.
Based on the Civil Service Commission minimum qualification standards for senior labor and employment officers with Salary Grade 19, the applicant must be a bachelor’s degree holder, preferably in the field of Mechanical, Civil or Electrical Engineering; Nursing; or Law; and must have two years of relevant experience in engineering, occupational safety and health, labor laws, and human resource policies.
The applicant must also have attended a total of eight hours of relevant training, preferably in labor laws, safety and health, and quality management systems; and a Career Service Professional/Second Level Eligibility passer.
The salary of a labor officer under the 2016 Philippine Salary Standardization Law is P39,151 per month, including a personal emergency relief allowance of P2,000, plus other benefits allowed by the government.
Bello said the new employment officers will be assigned in key regions where non-compliance with labor laws and standards is high.
“These new positions will augment our current corps of labor inspectors in the assessment and inspection of business establishments in the country, particularly on their compliance with Department Order No. 174,” Bello said.