DOL, Consulates forge partnership to benefit Filipino workers

SAN FRANCISCO—Filipino workers in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are set to benefit under a new alliance forged between the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

The partnership, which was finalized with the signing of agreements last Nov. 14 at the Social Hall of Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, aims to promote educational, training and outreach opportunities on workplace safety, as well as health and pay rules for Filipino workers.

According to a release provided to media, the OSHA and the Consulates will develop information focused on promoting workers’ understanding of their rights in the workplace and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational and Safety Health Act. The agreement calls on both parties to support each other’s activities and outreach for workers and employers, including mobile consular events.

The agreement with the WHD will help combine resources and coordinate efforts to inform workers and employers about the laws enforced by the division. Those include the Fair Labor Standards Act and its child labor, minimum wage and overtime provisions, the H-1B immigrant worker program, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and the temporary, nonimmigrant agricultural guest-worker H-2A program under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

In his remarks, OSHA Region IX Regional Administrator Ken Nishiyama Atha said, “The alliance will be a valuable resource to help OSHA reduce the serious injuries and fatalities that we continue to experience. And while we have made progress over the years, we still have 13 workers killed on the job each day in the US, and thousands more injured. Together, we can make a difference.”

“It is a pleasure to sign this alliance here in Regional 9, on behalf of OSHA, for the establishment of cooperative relationships to ensure that Filipino workers can receive training and education in safety and health, and in order to further promote the national dialogue on workplace safety and health for non-English speaking workers,” Atha continued, while adding that aside from events scheduled, they are working to schedule a roundtable event in San Francisco.

For her part, WHD San Francisco Office District Director Susana Blanco revealed that in the last three years, their division has concluded over 2,000 investigations in the residential care industry resulting in more than $13.8 million in back wages for over 17,000 workers across the nation.

“This is just one industry of many where we know Filipino workers work to support their families and do not know their rights in the workplace,” Blanco revealed.

And in talking about the agreement, Blanco said, “We want to work closely with the Philippine Consulate and establish a relationship where they can call us when they receive information from workers who have not received their pay, are not earning the applicable wage or overtime pay. In return, we want to be able to call the Consulate when we find back wages due to Filipino workers that we cannot locate because they have moved or, in some cases, have returned to their country. We want to see that their earned money is returned to them.”

Along with OSHA Regional Administrator Ken Atha and WHD District Director Susana Blanco, officials who took part in the signing of the agreements and who were present at the event included Consul General Bayani Mangibin of Agana, Guam; Consul General Julius Torres of Honolulu, Hawaii; Consul General Ma. Hellen Barber Dela Vega of Los Angeles, California; Consul General Marciano Paynor, Jr. of San Francisco, California; OSHA Deputy Regional Administrator Barbara Goto; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Regional Attorney William Tamayo; US Department of Labor Regional Director for Public Affairs Deanne Amaden; Deputy Consul General Jaime Ramon Ascalon; and Consuls Reginald Bernabe, Leah Rodriguez and Reichel Quiñones.

(www.asianjournal.com)
(San Francisco November 22-28, 2013 Sec A pg.4)