Rody inks Occupational and Safety Law

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed Republic Act 11058 or An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS), seeking to ensure the provision of safe and healthy workplace in the country.

The law provides full protection for workers against hazards in their places of employment.

It mandates the labor secretary to issue appropriate standards of occupational safety and health based on the number of employees, nature of work and the risk or hazards involved.

The law will apply to special economic zones and in all establishments, projects, sites and working places in the private sector. The law does not apply to government workers.

The law also enumerates the rights of the employees, including the right to refuse to be assigned to unsafe work or hazardous work places.

To ensure the law implementation and compliance of companies to safety standards, the labor secretary was also given the authority to visit establishments for inspections.

The law was signed on 17 August but was disclosed to the media only on Monday.