August 29, 2010: MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has signed a technical cooperation agreement in the field of occupational safety and health with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (Kosha), it was learned.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz signed the pact for the Philippines while Kosha’s director of Technical Experts Department, Dr. Kwon Hyuck Myun signed in behalf of South Korea.
The agreement aims to help enhance the capability of the DoLE’s Occupational Safety and Health Center in promoting the safety and health of workers at the workplaces in the Philippines and South Korea. It will be implemented for three years, which may be extended upon mutual consent of both parties.
The agreement follows a number of work-related accidents that cost the lives of Filipino workers in the Korean-owned Hanjin shipyard in Subic last year.
In her remarks after the signing of the agreement, Baldoz said the agreement will usher in a healthful and safe environment for Filipino workers in many Korean companies in the Philippines.
For his part, Dr. Myun of Kosha said the agreement will also benefit Korea. It is a way for Korea to repay the technical cooperation it got from the Philippines during the Korean War. From now on, he said, Kosha will communicate closely with Philippine stakeholders on occupational safety and health concerns.
Undersecretary for Labor Standards and Social Protection Lourdes Trasmonte, who witnessed the signing of the agreement, said that she wants Kosha, through this agreement, to share its expertise in training, benchmarking, and replication of companies’ best practices.
The scope of cooperation under the agreement covers the exchange of experts for training and education, consultancy, seminar/workshop or for research program on topics of mutual interest to both countries, and exchange of technical information and materials on occupational safety and health free of charge or at a reasonable price.
Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) Director Ma. Brenda L. Villafuerte, who provided a background prior to the signing of the agreement, said Kosha aims to forge similar agreements with all member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). She said that Korea had recently entered into technical cooperation agreements with Indonesia, Mongolia, Laos, and now the Philippines.
She said that under the agreement, a technical working group composed of representatives from Kosha and DoLE will identify activities that will enhance the capability of the labor inspectorate, particularly in conducting Work Environment Measurement (WEM). The group will also determine the kind of assistance that the Occupational Safety and Health Center needs in procuring the necessary equipment.
Aside from Trasmonte and Villafuerte, Occupational Safety and Health Center Director Ma. Teresita S. Cucueco and Labor Communications Officer Director Nicon F. Famerona also witnessed the signing.
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