Shortage of labor inspectors slowing down drive vs illegal foreign workers
MANILA, Philippines – With only 800 labor inspectors in its roster, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is having a tough time identifying and going after illegal foreign workers in the country.
“Dapat kami ang maniguro na walang mga dayuhan ang mabigyan ng permit na magtrabaho kung ang trabaho na yan ay kaya ng Pilipino. Ang problema lang kasi namin diyan, eh sa dami ng mga establishment na iniispeksyon namin, eh mayroon lang kaming 800 na inspectors, and you’re talking of almost one million business establishments all throughout the country (DOLE must make sure that no foreign worker is granted a permit for a job that can be carried out by a Filipino. The problem is we only have 800 inspectors who will handle almost one million business establishments nationwide). Bello said in an interview over dzMM on Monday.
“Kaya nga pasalamat naman kami kay [Finance] Secretary [Carlos] Dominguez [III] at tinulungan kami na makakuha ng additional labor law compliance officers..that probably will do [an] additional 1000, pero kulang na kulang yan (I am thankful to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez for helping us hire an additional 1,000 inspectors, although it is still not enough.),” he added.
Earlier, Bello said that the Department of Labor (DOLE) ideally needs 5,000 additional inspectors.
Bello added that the additional labor law compliance officers will focus on foreigners who were given special working permits in economic zones.
“May portion na nabigyan sila ng special working permit, and sa amin ay bawal yan. Dapat ang bigyan mo lang ng permit ay yung mga dayuhan na gagawa ng trabaho na hindi kaya ng Pilipino,” Bello said.
READ: DOLE to release guidelines for foreign workers
Senator Nancy Binay earlier urged DOLE to inspect construction sites “to find out if Chinese workers there have permits.,” after a recent report from ABS-CBN showed that 15 Chinese nationals were spotted working at a construction site in Manila.
READ: Nancy Binay to BI: Cancel work permits of Chinese construction workers
READ: Lacson: Why are we accommodating Chinese workers?
The report noted that the contractor is Chinese and the workers were hired for their technical skills. /gsg
