ECOP launches digital self-assessment checklist on labor compliance (Sabong News)
Author
Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr.
Date
MARCH 22 2022
ECOP recently launched a digital diagnostic tool called the ‘Digital Self-Assessment Checklist’ or DSAC. It is a tool that can help companies identify non-conformances in labor and other standards, both international and national, and assist them in getting ready for inspection.
The launch came right after Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has ordered the resumption of nationwide labor inspections after temporarily suspending it in December 2021 to ensure compliance of establishments with labor laws. In Administrative Order No. 11, issued on January 19, Bello authorized the Department’s inspectors to conduct routine inspection, occupational safety and health standards investigation, and special inspection in establishments until December 31, 2022, unless earlier revoked.
There are just over 600 labor inspectors who were given authority to conduct labor inspections activities among the 957,620 enterprises covering 8.6 million workers (based on the latest data available at the Philippine Statistics Authority). The inadequacy of labor inspectors was evident in a report released by the DOLE where only a total of 90,327 establishments covering 3.7 million workers were inspected in 2021.
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) does not stand idly in the face of the shortage of labor inspectors who perform an important role in ensuring that companies implement general labor standards and occupational safety and health standards. A weak labor inspection system encourages violation of our labor laws. But this is something that the ECOP does not condone. Over the years, ECOP as the single voice of Philippine employers on labor and social policy issues, has been in the forefront of encouraging businesses to be pro-active in complying with labor laws and regulations. It promotes the practice of self-regulation in response to the government’s lack of labor inspectors, encourages the establishment of consultation and dialogue mechanisms with workers at the enterprise and national levels, and implements program such as training and capacity-building that will enable companies especially those in the micro, small and medium sectors to emulate local and international best practices.
The DSAC does not intend to replace but rather facilitate the labor inspection process. It allows a company to assess whether its policies and programs live up to the requirements of the law and take the necessary action to correct non-conformances even prior to the DOLE’s labor inspection. Nowadays, brand companies only do business with local companies if the latter could demonstrate that they are meeting the social responsibility requirements of the former’s buyer codes of conduct for suppliers or certification scheme. The DSAC, which incorporates ILO’s core labor standards found in these codes or certification schemes, enable a local company to face foreign buyers with greater confidence. As a tool for due diligence, the DSAC can also be applied to a company’s supply chain as part of its moral and legal obligation to deal only with legitimate and law-abiding contractors.
The DSAC can be accessed at
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