The National Occupational Safety and Health Framework

Occupational Safety and Health Centre Department of Labour and Employment 1

National Profile on Occupational Safety and Health

The National Profile on Occupational Safety and Health is an up-to-date account of the OSH
environment in the Philippines. It thus guides OSH policy and programme implementation. The
development of the national profile was based on extensive consultations with key OSH stakeholders; it
consolidated information from the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) surveys on
occupational injuries and illnesses, the Occupational Safety and Health Centre (OSHC) database of
employee compensation claims and various case studies from different industries. Results

National OSH framework

Arising from the national profile, a framework of action for the National OSH Plan for 20062010 was
developed. The framework outlines a vision that all Filipinos workers are guaranteed the right to safe and
healthy workplaces. The goal is to ensure that OSH policies, systems and programmes are harmonized
to address the needs of all Filipino workers. To deliver on the vision and goals, the Philippine
Government recognizes that there are OSH challenges that must be addressed, such as the need to:
formulate a comprehensive national policy on OSH;
improve the governance of OSH standards at the national level and develop regional mechanisms to
oversee the improvement of OSH standards;
strengthen the flow of information and development of OSH skills at the enterprise level;
address the issues that excluded workers and the most vulnerable worker groups face;
improve the coverage of promotion efforts, awareness raising and technical services;
improve the process of reporting and notification of work-related injuries and illnesses;
improve OSH methods and approaches for controlling hazards and risks and their potential implications
to workers health;
tackle the management of chemical safety nationwide;
strengthen the business case between OSH, productivity and economic growth;

bridge the gap between services available for workers health protection and promotion.

Accordingly, six strategies have been identified to meet these challenges:

engender a paradigm shift towards accident prevention;

network through tripartite and other sector support;
strengthen the zero-accident programme in all regions;
direct training and education to primary care givers and secondary and tertiary health services;
harmonize OSH standards through legislation or administrative arrangements;
focus on medical surveillance and research on emerging hazards, risk and illness;
mobilize more resources to ensure coverage to critical areas, such as social health insurance for the
more vulnerable populations.

The National OSH award

Gawad Kaligtasan at Kalusugan (GKK) Awards

An important component of the Philippines National OSH Framework is the GKK Awards. This is a high
profile national award to promote and recognize achievements by enterprises and individuals towards
zero accidents at the workplace. The award encourages enterprises (both large and small) and
individuals to implement safety, health and environment improvements by recognizing outstanding
examples. The awards are presented every two years and are well regarded within the industry. The
pinnacle awards are the Presidential Award, the Labour Secretary Award and a Special Recognition
Award.

Awards Criteria

As a prerequisite, an enterprise company must have in place an OSH policy and programme that
addresses the six criteria areas of the GKK framework, as follows:
1. Safety control & emergency preparedness
2. Industrial hygiene programme
3. Occupational health programme
4. Capacity building on OSH
 5. Social accountability programmes
6. Environmental protection & community relations.

Individuals must have made an outstanding contribution in improving the OSH environment in their
workplace. This can include developing innovative ideas that have a significant OSH impact in the
workplace or OSH efforts that have resulted in increased productivity. If the prerequisites are met, the
DOLE will conduct two rounds of interviews to identify both the enterprise and individual awards winners.

Moving forward

The Government takes worker safety and health seriously and will continue to update and revise its
management and monitoring of OSH conditions.
1
Reference:

ASEANOSHNET GOOD OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PRACTICES 2008/2009 Edited by

Tan Fang Qun Tsuyoshi Kawakami. Contributors for the Philippines: Ms. Brenda Villafuerte, Director,
Bureau of Working Conditions, Department of Labour and Employment. Dr. Dulce Gust, Executive
Director, Occupational Safety and Health Centre, Department of Labor and Employment (OSHC-DOLE)
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-
bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_120410.pdf

2. The Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) as a Profession:

Occupational Safety & Health Profession Profile2

Definition of Occupation

A profession in which individuals are responsible for analyzing operating procedures, materials, machines
and conditions at work sites to determine risks of injury, occupational disease and damage to property
and equipment. Safety and Health professionals develop measures for controlling workplace hazards and
limiting financial loss. Professionals may specialize in transportation, construction, environmental
problems, product design, insurance loss control, fire and property protection, and the health care
industry.

Major Work Activities

Developing safety programs . . . Inspecting commercial, government, and industrial work sites . . .
Examining plans for new buildings and machines

Conducting safety and health audits . . . Preparing reports . . . Investigating accidents . . . Keeping up with
the field . . . Communication skills key component of job . . . monitoring (air/noise/heat)

Typical Job Titles

Occupational Safety and Health Specialist Safety Engineer

Safety Consultant Coordinator of Loss Control
Safety Manager Risk Manager
Loss Control Manager Environmental Engineer
Safety Director Vice President Safety and Health
Hazard Control Specialist Environmental Safety Engineer
Injury Prevention Specialist Corporate Safety Director
Safety Compliance Officer Safety & Training Specialist
Product Safety Engineer Risk Control Specialist

Typical Work Setting(s) Indoor/Outdoor: Offices, health care facilities, industrial plants and outdoor
work sites. Offices and health care facilities are usually clean and well-lighted yet pose significant
ergonomic and other risk factors. Industrial facilities pose similar problems as found in office and health
care settings but shift magnitude of problems based on job tasks. Some facilities are well-planned, clean
and present relatively low exposure to hazardous materials, chemicals, machines or other risks. Others
have high noise levels, are difficult to keep clean, involve toxic chemicals or materials and entail exposure
to other significant risks. Travel may be extensive for those in government and insurance positions.
International travel is not unusual for those employed by large corporations.

Special Problems/Satisfaction: May be exposed to hazardous materials, conditions, and machines.

May need to wear protective equipment. May be required to travel extensively to attend seminars. Must
keep up with changing government regulations and new technologies--robotics, exotic materials, etc. May
need to deal with concerned public and difficult management. Satisfactions: Active involvement in
interpersonal contact with a wide range of people. Much of the work is self directed. Contribute to the
organizations overall goals and objectives. Involved in guiding management and workforce in safety
issues. The knowledge that one's efforts are protecting human life and resources provides a high degree
of job satisfaction.

2
Reference:

Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, Specialization: Programs in Occupational
Safety & Health Management

Professional Roles and Responsibilities3:

The roles and responsibilities of OSH professionals vary regionally, but may include evaluating working
environments, developing, endorsing and encouraging measures that might prevent injuries and
illnesses, providing OSH information to employers, employees, and the public, providing medical
examinations, and assessing the success of worker health programs.

Europe

In Norway, the main required tasks of an Occupational Health and Safety Practitioner include:

Systematic evaluations of the working environment

Endorsing preventative measures which eliminate reasons for illnesses in the work place

Giving information in the subject of employees health

Giving information on occupational hygiene, ergonomics and also environmental and safety risks
in the work place[75]

In the Netherlands, required tasks for health and safety staff are only summarily defined, and include:

Voluntary medical examinations

A consulting room on the work environment for the workers

Health check assessments (if needed for the job concerned)[76]

The main influence on the Dutch law on the job of the safety professional is through the requirement on
each employer to use the services of a certified working conditions service to advise them on health and
safety.[76] A certified service must employ sufficient numbers of four types of certified experts to cover the
risks in the organisations which use the service:

A safety professional

An occupational hygienist

An occupational physician

A work and organisation specialist.[76]

It shows in Table 1 (based on the European Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations
[ENHSPO] survey to) that in Norway, 37% of Health and Safety practitioners had a MSc education level,
and 14% in the Netherlands; 44% were BSc graduates and 63% in the Netherlands; and 19% were of a
Technician level and 23% in the Netherlands.[76]

USA

The main tasks undertaken by the OHS practitioner in the USA include:

Develop processes, procedures, criteria, requirements, and methods to attain the best possible
management of the hazards and exposures that can cause injury to people, and damage property, or
the environment;

Apply good business practices and economic principles for efficient use of resources to add to the
importance of the safety processes;

Promote other members of the company to contribute by exchanging ideas and other different
approaches to make sure that everyone in the corporation possess OHS knowledge and have
functional roles in the development and execution of safety procedures;

Assess services, outcomes, methods, equipment, workstations, and procedures by using

qualitative and quantitative methods to recognise the hazards and measure the related risks;

Examine all possibilities, effectiveness, reliability, and expenditure to attain the best results for the
company concerned[77]

Knowledge required by the OHS professional in USA include:

Constitutional and case law controlling safety, health, and the environment

Operational procedures to plan/develop safe work practices

Safety, health and environmental sciences

Design of hazard control systems (i.e. fall protection, scaffoldings)

Design of recordkeeping systems that take collection into account, as well as storage,
interpretation, and dissemination

Mathematics and statistics

Processes and systems for attaining safety through design [78]

Some skills required by the OHS professional in the USA include (but are not limited to):

Understanding and relating to systems, policies and rules

Holding checks and having control methods for possible hazardous exposures

Mathematical and statistical analysis

 Examining manufacturing hazards

Planning safe work practices for systems, facilities, and equipment

Understanding and using safety, health, and environmental science information for the
improvement of procedures

Interpersonal communication skills[78]

3
References:
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health)

1. Hale A, Ytehus I, 2004, Changing requirements for the safety profession: roles and tasks,
Journal of Occupational Health & Safety Australia and New Zealand
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health#cite_note-75)

2. ^ Hale, A et alia. 2004

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health#cite_note_Hale.2C_A_et-alia._2004-76)

3. Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 2012, "Safety Fundamentals" and "Comprehensive

Practice" blueprints, accessed 17 February athttp://www.bcsp.org/csp
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health#cite_note-77)

4. Board of Certified Safety Professionals, 2012

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health#cite_note-ReferenceA-78)

3. Mandates of Relevant Agencies and Offices:

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CENTER (OSHC), DOLE

(Refer to Picture)

Office of the Executive Director (OED)

Ma. Teresita S. Cucueco, MD, CESO III
Executive Director
Tel Nos.: (632) 928-6727 / (632) 928 6690
e-mail: oshcenter@oshc.dole.gov.ph

The Office of the Executive Director executes the policies and programs formulated by the OSHC Board;
plans, directs, coordinates and controls the administrative and technical operations of the OSHC. It also
administers the undertaking of researches and studies in all areas of OSH administration and policy.
Likewise, it plans, prepares and oversees the implementation of the annual work program of the agency
thru the different divisions of the Center and it serves as a link between the Department of Labor and
Employment and other governmental and non-governmental agencies and local and international
organizations.

Office of the Deputy Executive Director (OED)

Engr. Jose Maria S. Batino
Deputy Executive Director
Tel. No.: (632) 928-6727 / (632) 928 6690
e-mail: oshcenter@oshc.dole.gov.ph
Health Control Division (HCD)
Maria Beatriz Villanueva, MD
Division Chief
Tel. No.: (632) 924-2418 / (632) 928 6738
e-mail: health_control_division@yahoo.com

The Health Control Division focuses on the prevention of work related-illnesses and diseases. It carries
out research, studies and consultations in close cooperation with sectoral organizations, agencies and
individuals on such issues.

Environment Control Division (ECD)

Engr. Nelia G. Granadillos
Division Chief
Tel. No.: (632) 924-2412 / (632) 928 6755
e-mail: ecd_oshc@yahoo.com

The Environment Control Division work primarily towards eliminating work environment hazards and their
effects. It conducts basic and practical researches to determine the presence of harmful environment
contaminants. ECD also carries out work environment measurement to evaluate levels of exposure to
chemicals like solvents, heavy metals, toxic gases and physical agents like noise, heat, vibration and
illuminations. It also evaluates existing ventilation system and recommends control measures to eliminate
hazards.

Safety Control Division (SCD)

Engr. Concepcion T. Sto. Tomas
Officer-in-Charge
Tel. No.: (632) 924-2411
e-mail: safetydivision_oshc@yahoo.com

The Safety Control Division work primarily for the improvement of workplaces. To this effect, the SCD
conducts studies, research and field investigations to prevent work related accidents, improve safety
conditions at the workplace and design safety devices and equipment. It also tests Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) and other safety devices. SCD formulates technical guidelines and testing procedures
for performance checks and various industrial machinery. Finally, SCD provides technical assistance to
policy-making authorities on the formulation and application of safety rules, regulations and standards.

Training and Public Information Division (TPID)

Ms. Marnie O. Pebrada
Officer-In-Charge
Tel. No.: (632) 924-2414 / (632) 9270926
e-mail: tpidoshc_phil@yahoo.com

The Training and Public Information Division aims at enhancing knowledge, skills and attitudes on OSH
matters among the workers, employers and the general public. It organizes, design and conducts basic,
advanced and special courses for medical personnel, supervisors and workers from both the private and
government sectors, such as basic occupational safety and course, construction safety; working
environment measurement course; course on pneumoconiosis; voluntary protection program (VPP); fire
safety; press machine safety.

From 1999 onwards, TPID will start to conduct training on the prevention of STD/HIV/ AIDS; on substance
abuse in the workplace, lifestyle related diseases, psychosocial factors and issues at the workplace;
safety at home and in school and safety in agriculture and mines.

The TPID also conducts various information dissemination activities such as Regional Public Information
Campaigns (RPICs), press conferences, dialogues with different industry or worker groups, news paper
advertisement, TV and radio plugs, scientific fora and printed materials. A library service, video dubbing,
distribution of safety and health posters and dormitory facilities add to the support that TPID offers to the
clients of the Center.

TPID produces tapes and videos for training and information and design posters, brochures and other
information materials. Training facilities can accommodate anything from small group meetings to
conferences of 500 participants and more.

Finance and Administrative Division (FAD)

Ms. Yolanda G. Reyes
Division Chief
Tel. No.: (632) 9270862

e-mail: oshc_fad@yahoo.com

The Finance and Administrative Division performs functions relating to the general administration of the
OSHC in terms of financial, manpower and general services requirements for the operation of the Center.
For More Information: North Ave. cor. Agham Road Diliman Quezon City Philippines 1104 | Telephone
Numbers: +(632) 928-6690 +(632) 928-6728 +(632) 928-6755 +(632) 928-6738 +(632) 929-6036 to 39
Fax No. +(632) 929-60-30 | oshcenter@oshc.dole.gov.ph oshc_dole@yahoo.com

Research and Prepare 2-3 Page Report for Next Meeting

Group Outputs
A. Oral Presentation, and
B. Packaged Report: could be in PPT, VIDEO, Plain Report

Fundamental Philippine Government OSH Legislations and Regulations- GRP 1

Local/International Codes-GRP 2
Standards and Practices-GRP 3
Practitioners Accreditations-GRP 4
Mandates of Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC)-GRP 5
Employee Compensation Commission (ECC)-GRP 6
Philippines Health Insurance Commission and other related health & safety agencies-GRP 7