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A labor coalition said that "99 percent" of the factories around Kentex Manufacturing
Corporation's plant in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City violate basic labor laws and
occupational health and safety standards.
In a statement sent to GMA News Online, the Trade Union Congress of the PhilippinesNagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) labor coalition said that surprise onsite joint inspections
conducted with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the formal labor sector
of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) found that most of the initial 42
establishments surrounding the burned-down slipper factory do not comply with the current
mandated daily minimum wage of P481. They also do not remit their employees' Social
Security System, PhilHealth, and Pag-Ibig premiums.
"The inspections also confirmed how widespread contractualization of labor has become,"
TUCP-Nagkaisa said.
Many workers in the establishments inspected do not know how to compute their overtime
pay, night shift differentials and holiday pay, among others. They were also not aware of
other benefits such as the service incentive leave pay and maternity, paternity and solo
parent leave.
On the Occupational Safety and Health Standard aspect, Nagkaisa said that all of the
assessed establishments did not comply with the standards. The group said that many
factories around Kentex either had no fire exits or had obstructed fire exits.
Here is a complete list of the violations, according to the labor group:
These conclusions were made after five days of surprise inspections starting June 8.
Task Force Valenzuela
The inspections stemmed from Nagkaisa's request for DOLE to create a tripartite task
force to verify employer compliance after the Kentex factory burned down last May 13,
killing at least 70 employees.
According to a report by Reuters, windows on the factory's second floor, where most
victims were found, were covered with steel mesh.
DOLE said that the owner of Kentex also violated the Labor Code by obtaining manpower
services from an illegal subcontractor.
In response to the request, DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz issued an order creating the
Task Force Valenzuela on May 29, which later 19 teams each composed of DOLE Labor Law
Compliance Officers, Nagkaisa representatives, and officials from the formal labor sector
of the NAPC.
The teams used the Labor Laws Compliance Assessment Checklist on the compliance to the
General Labor Standards (GLS) and on the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS)
to inspect the establishments around Kentex.
Task Force Valenzuela has until the end of July to finish assessing all of the
establishments in the city. BM, GMA News
Survivors of the fire interviewed by the fact-finding team said the fire began on the ground floor of the twostorey building. The welding spatter coming from the roll up door being repaired at the second floor near the
stairs reacted with the chemicals improperly stored on the factorys ground floor.
From the survivors account, the said containers of newly-delivered flammable chemicals (called Superseal)
were not stored properly. Worse, these were also placed near where welders worked on steel doors. All these,
the fact-finding team said, are in clear violation of the provisions of Rule 1943.07 on storage which says:
Significant quantities of commodities with fire hazards greater than ordinary combustible commodities
shall be separated from the main bulk by fire walls.
3 Kentex did not properly label and spread awareness of the nature of the chemical stored on the
ground floor.
Workers, including the welders contracted from outside, were unaware the chemical is highly flammable as it
was not properly labeled. Survivors also reportedly said that when smoke began to rise from the sacks of
chemical where the welding spatter were falling, some workers tried to put it out with water, but it only made
matters worse as the fire grew bigger.
When the workers used a fire extinguisher, the fire was already roaring. Survivors recounted how, after
spraying it with the fire extinguisher, they were immediately engulfed by black smoke.
The fact-finding team said absence of proper labeling violates Rule 1093.04 on Marking of Containers which
requires that All containers with hazardous substances shall be properly labelled. No employer shall
accept any container of hazardous substances for use, handling or storage unless such containers are labelled.
4 Kentex appeared to have neither a proper smoke and fire alarm nor a regular fire and safety drill
among workers, the team of labor NGOs and KMU members concluded from the survivors account.
Survivors said that even when the ground floor was already enveloped in smoke, workers in the assembly line
and office at the second floor continued working.
With the fire spreading quickly, workers were trapped inside with no other exit but the main door, where the
fire started.
Survivors said they also heard no fire alarm. Workers who had worked for years in Kentex cant remember
any fire and safety drill conducted by the management. Asked about the safety officer, the workers did not
know if there was one.
The fact-finding team said these are clear violations of Rules on alarm and fire drills. Rule 1948.01 states that
(1) All buildings having two or more stories in height shall be equipped with fire alarm system and signals of
distinctive quality and pitch clearly audible to all persons inside the building.
Rule on 1948.03 requires that: Fire-exit drills shall be conducted at least twice a year to maintain an orderly
evacuation of buildings, unless the local fire department requires a higher frequency of fire drills.
Compliance report erroneous, unreliable
With all these glaring and clear OHS violations of Kentex Manufacturing, how did the Department of Labor
and Employment release an OHS compliance certificate to Kentex in Septemper 2014? the fact-finding team
asked.
The group further questioned how the lack of fire exits inside the workplace premises passed the evaluation
conducted by DOLE inspectors. They said if these had been pointed out during the inspection, corrective
measures could have been implemented to ensure occupational safety of workers in Kentex and evade the loss
of lives.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has said in a statement that Kentex Manufacturing has been found to be
compliant with general labor standards and occupational safety and health standards after a joint assessment by
our Labor Laws Compliance Officers under the new Labor Laws Compliance System.
In saying that of Kentex Manufacturing, an OHS (occupational health and safety) standards violator, the
KMU and labor NGOs said it makes the labor department primarily accountable to the deaths of the 72
workers in this tragedy.
They said the labor department failed its role in ensuring workers are protected and their lives are safe and
secure inside the workplace.
The groups that conducted a fact-finding mission on Kentex demanded concrete steps to make the
employers accountable for the lives lost. They demanded the imposition of criminal and administrative
penalties on Veato Ang et al., owner of Kentex, and all owners of companies who have clearly violated
occupational health and safety standards that resulted in the death of workers.
They demanded also just compensation for the families of victims, proper benefits for workers who lost their
jobs after the fire, and long-term support for orphaned children.
The labor groups demanded too the accountability of the labor department and the Bureau of Fire Protection
who gave the company compliance certification which was contradicted by the death of 72 workers and
employees due to the fire.
The groups demanded the repeal of DO 131-13 and immediate passage of House Bill 4635 or Workers
SHIELD (Safety and Health Inspection and Employers Liability Decree) that will make violations of
occupational health and safety standards both criminal and administrative offenses, while providing victims
avenues for justice.
If OHS violations were criminalized, they say it will push companies to comply with health and safety laws.
The labor groups urged the families of victims of Kentex accident to rise up and demand justice for their loved
ones. They invited the public to support the demands for justice for Kentex workers and all other victims of
occupational accidents by joining the national day of mourning on Monday, 18 May 2015.