CEBU CITY — As several areas in Central Visayas transition to the “new normal” phase after the downgrading of community quarantine in local government units, the Regional Task Force (RTF-7) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID-7) will conduct an “Orientation Seminar on Workplace Safety and Health” on May 28 and 29 at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office here.
Representatives, including safety officers and human resource personnel, from private companies and government agencies in Cebu are expected to attend the two-day orientation.
Office of Civil Defense-Central Visayas (OCD-7) Regional Director Marlou Salazar, who also co-chairs the IATF-MEID-RDRRMC 7, said the seminar aims to ensure the safety of the workforce in the private and government sectors.
The activity is also aimed to ensure that guidelines set by the Department of Health (DOH) can be put into practice in the workplace.
“This seminar shall prepare employers and employees alike, so that proper health and safety processes will be done, such as decontamination processes, isolation and monitoring protocols,” said Salazar.
Among the topics to be covered in the seminar are understanding coronavirus disease (Covid-19), contact tracing and infection control, decontamination procedures, and innovating the workplace to have an isolation facility.
Interim guidelines by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as well as the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Guidelines will also be discussed in the gathering.
Resource persons in the seminar are representatives from DOLE-7, DOH-7, Police Regional Office (PRO-7), DPWH-7, and OCD-7.
Salazar emphasized the importance of implementing the DOH guidelines in the workplace and designating safety officers to ensure that employees are following health protocols.
“Safety officers should be designated at respective agencies and workplaces. The safety officers will maintain and ensure that only healthy people are working. Secondly, they should practice DOH’s guidelines about not allowing people who are not feeling well to go out,” Salazar said. (LBG with PR)
