[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’ Many WV firms follow order vs high heels ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Sunday, October 1, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=’18’ font_color=” color=”]
ILOILO City – Many establishments in Western Visayas are compliant with the Department of Labor and Employment order that prohibits the wearing of high-heeled shoes, among others.
The Labor department Region 6 office inspected 71 retail service establishments in malls and supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants on Sept. 25.
Sixty-nine (97.18 percent) grant rest periods to employees covered by the order, Regional Director Johnson Cañete said in a press briefing.
Department Order No. 178-2017 is also known as the Safety and Health Measures for Workers Who By Nature of their Work Have to Stand at Work.
While the order was “very new” – Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed it only on Aug. 25 – “nakita rin pala ng ating establishments … na kailangan talagang ipatupad siya,” said Cañete.
Fifty-six (78.87 percent) of the inspected establishments provide readily accessible seats to employees while 51 (71.8 percent) implement the use of practical and comfortable footwear, Cañete said.
Employees must be given rest periods to cut the time spent standing or walking, and the maximum allowable shoe heel height in workplaces must be only 1 inch, the new order said.
Establishments must also install appropriate flooring or mats to mitigate any adverse impact of frequent walking, and provide accessible seats to be used during rest periods, said the order.
Cañete clarified that not all establishments are covered by the order, which is aimed at workplaces with female employees who have to wear high-heeled shoes and stand at work or frequently walk for long periods.
Among such employees are salesladies, lady guards and school teachers.
Inspected establishments that have yet to implement the order promised to do so as soon as possible, Cañete said.
He expects the number of establishments to be inspected to rack up now that Negros Occidental has returned to Western Visayas. They have yet to inspect schools, he added.
The order is in line with Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, which mandates occupational safety and health standards in all workplaces.
Noncompliant establishments will be slapped with penalties, with closure as the severest, Bello earlier said./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
