8,972 firms violated wage law — DOLE

Almost 9,000 companies in the country failed to pay their employees the required minimum wage last year.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) revealed this over the weekend as it vowed to intensify its programs aimed at making employers comply with labor standards and provide humane working conditions to their workers.

The DOLE inspected some 35,002 establishments last year, 2.9 percent fewer than in 1999. Of those inspected, 8,972 were found to be violating the minimum wage law while 2,947 allegedly failed to pay the 13th month salary of their workers.

Some 1,907 companies were also cited for not remitting the Social Security System contributions of their employees while 1,930 establishments did not integrate the emergency cost-of-living allowance into their workers’ basic salary.

Other companies were also found to have failed in paying their people the required holiday pay, the service incentive leave, and overtime pay.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said a more vigorous advocacy campaign and reorientation program for labor inspectors would be carried out by the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) this year.

She said the BWC has started revitalizing its programs to increase overall inspectorate performance and effectively enforce labor standards, including occupational safety and health requirements.

Lawyer Forter Puguon, the new chief of the BWC, said they will provide companies with updated information on labor standards and other laws, with emphasis on the advantages of complying for both employers and workers.

Puguon added that labor inspectors, especially those in regional offices, are undergoing refresher courses to strengthen their capabilities in enforcing new labor laws.

Citing BWC’s report for last year, Sto. Tomas noted that more employers had the guts to disregard labor laws because the DOLE itself had been remiss in implementing these laws.

She said that although the DOLE’s inspection performance has consistently been cited in ASEAN conferences as better than those of other countries, still the department has to ensure that its efforts are translated into tangible benefits for workers.

"This is necessary to encourage workers to hone their skills and increase their productivity," she said..

Puguon, for his part, vowed to strengthen the BWC’s existing programs, specifically its Work Improvement in Small Enterprises (WISE) and Workplace Initiative on Safety and Health (WISH) in-plant inspection programs, which have benefited thousands of establishments.

The WISE project trains and encourages owners and managers of small and medium enterprises to implement practical and low-cost improvements in the workplace to achieve better working conditions and higher productivity.

From 1994 to 2000, some 10,202 companies participated in 366 WISE training courses, which resulted in some 6,887 workplace improvement plans. – Sandy Araneta