ZAMBOANGA CITY— In line with the mandate of maintaining industrial peace in the region, the Department of Labor and Employment IX (DOLE 9) gathered more than 300 stakeholders from the different industries in separate Industry Tripartite Council (ITC) Meetings from September 16-19, 2019 at Grand Astoria Hotel, Zamboanga City.

Regional Director Ofelia B. Domingo shared that the ITC Meetings serve as an avenue for DOLE’s industry partners both from the labor and management sector to thresh out issues and concerns affecting each industry and to arrive at possible solutions and interventions to address problems.

She added that these gatherings between both sectors help to foster harmonious relationships in the workplace thereby increasing productivity and improving workers’ quality of life.

Director Domingo as the Chairperson of the different ITCs met with the members from the following industries – Fishing and Canning, Seaweeds, Rubber, Construction, Overseas Employment, Tourism (composed of Bus and Transport, Hotel and Restaurants, Maritime), Security & Manpower Services and Wholesale/Retail.

Among the topics for discussion included new laws such as the RA 11210 or the Expanded Maternity Leave, Unemployment Insurance culled from the RA 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018 and RA11032 or the Ease of Doing Business Act for Government Agencies.

Social insurance partners such as the SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig Fund and representatives from national government agencies were also invited as resource persons for the open forum.

As a follow up of the previous ITC meetings conducted, DOLE 9 also apprised the stakeholders on monitoring of establishments with Occupational Safety and Health violations as specified in the amended OSH law.

Likewise, to enlighten, educate and provide knowledge on the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers, work ethics, values, skills and other relevant information, DOLE 9 introduced an innovative website housing DOLE’s web-based teaching materials dubbed as the eLearning Portal which is accessible thru lees.dole.gov.ph/moodle.

At the end of each meeting, Director Domingo invited all ITC members to attend the 3rd ITC Summit slated on December 10, 2019 in Zamboanga City. END