COMPLIANT. Some of the micro-entrepreneurs in Cebu listen to one of the lectures on labor laws provided by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Cebu office in this undated photo. DOLE-Cebu head Vivencio Lagahid said over 90 percent of the micro enterprises in Cebu are compliant with labor laws. (Photo courtesy of DOLE-7)
CEBU CITY – Over 90 percent of the micro enterprises in Cebu province that underwent technical and advisory visits (TAV) are compliant with the labor laws, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday.
Vivencio Lagahid, provincial director of the DOLE-Cebu, said the agency conducted a third quarter TAV sessions for 805 micro businesses of local entrepreneurs in the northern towns of San Remigio, Madridejos, Bantayan, Tuburan and Danao City.
Of the 805, 93.05 percent or 749 micro establishments were found to be labor-compliant.
The remaining 56 micro establishments (MEs), which were found to have gaps in their labor standard policies, have sought assistance to rectify their deficiencies.
“The 56 MEs willingly revealed that they paid their employees below the minimum wage. So in their action plan, they were advised either to apply the prescribed wages in the region, register under the Department of Trade and Industry’s Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE), or apply for a wage exemption before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board Region or RTWPB-7,” Lagahid said.
In the south of Cebu, the DOLE-Cebu said 91.16 percent of the 328 micro establishments in the towns of Alegria, Ginatilan, Balamban and Dumanjug were compliant with labor laws while the remaining 29 have yet to comply with the labor standards.
The TAV sessions provide micro businesses employing less than 10 workers or those family-owned businesses assisted by family members the idea on general labor standards under the Labor Code, occupational safety and health standards, productivity schemes, child and family welfare and other labor programs and social legislations.
Under the newly-issued Department Order No. 238 series of 2023, the Rules on the Administration and Enforcement of Labor Standards pursuant to Article 128 of the Labor Code, as renumbered, and Republic Act No. 11058, DOLE administers and ensures the enforcement of the labor standards and other labor laws through TAV, labor inspection and investigation. (PNA)
