House bill seeks to criminalize work safety, health standard violations

A measure criminalizing violations of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards Law was filed in the House of Representatives.

Under Gabriela party-list representative Arlene Brosas' House Bill 2126, the willful failure or refusal of an employer, contractor, or subcontractor to comply with the required OSH standards or with a compliance order issued by the Secretary of Labor and Employment or by the Secretary's authorized representative will entail an administrative fine of P100,000 at most per day until the violation is corrected, counted from the date the employer or contractor is notified of the violation or the date the compliance order is duly served on the employer.

The amount of the fine imposed would depend on the frequency or gravity of the violation committed or the damage caused, provided that the maximum amount would be imposed when the violation exposes the workers to a risk of death, serious injury, or serious illness.

Furthermore, an employer, contractor, or subcontractor who willfully fails or refuses to comply with the required OSH standards or with a duly issued compliance order, and engages in any acts to aid, conceal or facilitate such non-compliance will pay a fine of P300,000 on top of the daily fine and imprisonment of one-year to three years, at the discretion of the court.

Brosas claimed that nine workers alone died in the workplace from June 2 to July 11 this year alone.

"These consecutive workplace deaths, not to mention other accidents and cases of work, related injuries, highlight the need to criminalize the employers' violation of OSH standards to strengthen the law in preventing another loss of life at work," Brosas said.

"It is about time that we treat gross violations of OSH standards which result in, or place workers at risk of, injuries or death as a criminal offense, unlike under the current setup wherein liability over lost lives can be cleared thru payment of fines."

Workplace safety group Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) backed Gabriela's proposal, saying slapping stiffer penalties and imprisonment on employers who commit gross OSH standards violations was crucial to preventing workplace accidents and workers’ deaths.

“We express our gratitude to Gabriela Partylist and the Makabayan bloc for consistently supporting our advocacy of ensuring workers’ health and safety. We hope that other legislators join them in supporting our campaign for safer workplaces led by families of workers who die at work," Nadia De Leon, IOHSAD executive director, said in a separate statement.

De Leon added that, based on the Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment (ISLE) for 2019, there were 310 fatal cases of occupational accidents that resulted in workers’ deaths.

"Negligent employers should be reminded that not prioritizing workers’ safety and causing workers’ deaths bear severe consequences. One death is too many," de Leon said.

"How many workers must die for the government to realize this. We need the commitment of various groups to bringing justice to the victims’ families and preventing workplace accidents that claim workers’ lives and cause grief and loss to workers’ families,” de Leon added. — DVM, GMA News