Cagayan de Oro City – the Department of Labor and Employment has granted the Labor Laws Compliance Award to the Philippine Veterans Development Corporation (PhiVeDeC) Industrial Estate, the country’s largest Industrial zone with three thousand hectares of industrial lands.]
All 76 companies and contractors were conferred with Labor Laws Compliance award by DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz at the PhiVeDeC headquarters in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental.
Dante Carlito, Port Manager of Mindanao International Container Terminal congratulated all companies and contractors as the PhiVeDeC became the first economic zone in Mindanao that achieved such feat, and the 4th in the country.
“We must give to our workers what is due to them, we must give their benefits full and on time and we must take it upon ourselves to apply to the labor laws,” Carlito said.
“It does not matter whether you are a small of big companies, we must give it all to our workers,” Carlito said.
Lawyer Jackey Mateo of the provincial government of Misamis Oriental said that the achievement “shows good faith in labor management and sincerity of the companies and their contractors to their labor practices.”
Baldoz said that when President Benigno Aquino, III gave her the DOLE portfolio, she then look for ways to change the image of DOLE as labor management partner, instead of being a Labor police.
“It used to be that when our labor law compliance officers visit companies, they are not allowed to enter because they thought we are looking for faults in their labor practices,” Baldoz said.
“Companies look to us as very regulatory, which also breeds corruption because companies not complying with labor laws will surely provide settlement under the table,” Baldoz added.
Under the new system, DOLE innovates its role as labor partners and allow companies to see labor laws not as deterrent in doing business but as a reward.
In turn, innovations in labor practices eliminate corruption, she said.
“To be able to ease in doing business in the country, all companies are assessed for labor compliance. We make the system transparent for the business establishments,” Baldoz said.
As a reward to the labor compliant companies, services at DOLE are given free, “We have to do our job at no cost, we train, mentor and assist you in the labor system,” Baldoz said.
Companies who gain Labor compliant Certificates are exempted from annual assessments and inspection for two years.
Baldoz added that the system allows companies to be good business citizens, that not following the labor code is not only illegal but is immoral as well.
Baldoz said that companies which are labor compliant tend to be more productive and enjoys good working relation with its employees.
“They get loyalty from their workers, they tend to be more productive,” Baldoz said.
Baldoz said that prior to the granting of the GSP+ in the country, labor officers from the EU have inspected the working conditions of the workers in the country.
“They deliberated and it went through the council in the EU before it passed,” Baldoz shared.
Baldoz added that the EU is very particular in the working conditions of the workers. “They have very high standards; they inspected the standard salaries, working conditions, occupational safety, health and working environment,” Baldoz said.
As a direct result of the GSP+, more than 6 thousand products from the country are now exported to the EU market free of tariff.
“So you see, if companies are labor-law compliant, they and their workers benefits much and these companies have self-instituted that they are compliant, we made the industrial peace possible,” Baldoz said.
Northern Mindanao has for the last 15 years enjoyed a mature relationship between workers and its employers and has not seen any labor strikes in the last 18 years.