Pagadian City, June 19 (PIA) --The construction industry
in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), consisting of the provinces of Zamboanga del
Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay, and the chartered city of
Zamboanga, has adopted a voluntary code of good practices recently in a bid to
ensure voluntary compliance of the industry with all general labor standards
and occupational safety and health standards, promote harmonious
labor-management relations, and enhance industry productivity and
competitiveness.
The voluntary code of good practices, the second in the region after that of the fishing and canning industry which was signed last year, was adopted by the Zamboanga City Construction Industry Council (ZCCITC) during the 1st DOLE 9 Intermediaries Council Summit held at the Zamboanga Ecozone with DOLE Acting Secretary Lourdes M. Trasmonte acting as witness.
It is the 38th voluntary code of good practices adopted by various industries throughout the country since Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz crafted and implemented the reform in 2010, aimed at minimizing government intervention in the affairs of private sector businesses and at fostering harmonious labor-management relations.
Trasmonte expressed delight over the adoption by the ZCCITC of its own voluntary code of good practices, saying that this augurs well for the future of the regional construction industry and will benefit workers, management, and the people of the region.
"You have now a code that will provide you guiding principles in pursuit of harmonious relations at the workplace and of voluntary compliance with labor laws and occupational safety and health standards that will benefit not only your industry but the people of the region as a whole," Trasmonte said.
One of the objectives of the code is to promote social partnership by establishing a bi-partite agreement among workers and management through labor-management cooperation which will look into issues and concerns of the industry.
The voluntary code of good practices, the second in the region after that of the fishing and canning industry which was signed last year, was adopted by the Zamboanga City Construction Industry Council (ZCCITC) during the 1st DOLE 9 Intermediaries Council Summit held at the Zamboanga Ecozone with DOLE Acting Secretary Lourdes M. Trasmonte acting as witness.
It is the 38th voluntary code of good practices adopted by various industries throughout the country since Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz crafted and implemented the reform in 2010, aimed at minimizing government intervention in the affairs of private sector businesses and at fostering harmonious labor-management relations.
Trasmonte expressed delight over the adoption by the ZCCITC of its own voluntary code of good practices, saying that this augurs well for the future of the regional construction industry and will benefit workers, management, and the people of the region.
"You have now a code that will provide you guiding principles in pursuit of harmonious relations at the workplace and of voluntary compliance with labor laws and occupational safety and health standards that will benefit not only your industry but the people of the region as a whole," Trasmonte said.
One of the objectives of the code is to promote social partnership by establishing a bi-partite agreement among workers and management through labor-management cooperation which will look into issues and concerns of the industry.
One outstanding feature of the voluntary code is its adoption
of a monitoring and evaluation tool that spells out the priority activities the
construction industry will carry out as it implements the code.
These priority activities, which are also the main features of the voluntary code, are in the areas of occupational safety and health; labor standards; labor-management cooperation; and education and training services.
"After we signed the code, we will sit down and firm up the specific activities on these areas," said Region 9 officer-in-charge regional director Sisinio Cano.
These priority activities, which are also the main features of the voluntary code, are in the areas of occupational safety and health; labor standards; labor-management cooperation; and education and training services.
"After we signed the code, we will sit down and firm up the specific activities on these areas," said Region 9 officer-in-charge regional director Sisinio Cano.
The members of the board of the ZCCITC led by Ian Lahi,
chairman and director of the DOLE Zamboanga City Field Office signed the code
together with all its members.
Atty. Rhett Julius Plagata, executive labor arbiter of the National Labor Relations Commission; Marjuca Jumrani, regional director of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board; Lorenzo Macapili, OIC regional director of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; Joel Ijirani, board secretary of the Regional Wages and Tripartite Productivity Board; and Sisinio Cano, DOLE OIC regional director, signed the code on behalf of the government. (DOLE/CAL/PIA9)