LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III warned he will revamp incompetent and dishonest labor inspectors and officials amid complaints they have turned deaf and blind on violations of labor and safety standards in workplaces.
“I will reorganize some of the people in the department, including labor inspectors,” Bello said.
Bello said the erring labor inspectors will also face administrative charges if found guilty of accepting bribes from employers.
“There are reports that some labor inspectors are blind and are turning a deaf ear on the violations of different companies and employers. One example of this violation is the current working state of sales ladies who were prohibited to take short breaks on their duties,” he said.
Bello said the Labor department will continue to fight for the rights and protection of the workers as he urged the public to report to or file a complaint at Hotline 1349 on erring labor inspectors.
He cited as example reports of private hospitals requiring nurses to pay for them to undergo training and gain experience.
“This is a clear violation of labor standards. What kind of policy is that? Hospitals should be screened properly by our labor inspectors,” he said.
“For our inspectors to allow that is the highest form of incompetence and dishonesty,” Bello added.