(CNN Philippines) — Several factories and warehouses in Valenzuela City have been found to be breaking labor laws and ignoring occupations health and safety standards and fire safety measures.
This came out after inspections conducted on Monday (May 25) by Valenzuela’s City Business Inspection and Audit Team (CBAT) following a fire that struck a factory of the Kentex Manufacturing Corp., killing 72 people.
Related: Valenzuela mourns as more bodies found in gutted factory
CBAT is composed representatives from the city hall, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP).
Related: DOLE also liable in Kentex footwear factory fire
Of the 40 factories and warehouses inspected, the team found several of them in violations of laws and safety standards.
Leap Plastic Scrap Dealer, for example, doesn’t have fire extinguishers or fire exits anywhere in sight.
Some of the workers in the warehouse told CNN Philippines that there is a fire exit. But when asked where it is located, they admitted that none of them has seen it yet.
They also said that in case of fire, it would be impossible for them to escape through the fire exit as the warehouse is filled with sacks of plastic scraps, making it difficult to move around.
The warehouse also does not have proper ventilation. So it’s very humid and smells of trash.
Labor officials also said Leap Plastic doesn’t comply with labor laws: Workers are constantly exposed to dirt, chemicals, and other toxic substance as they do not have any protective gear.
Almost all workers do not have contracts and are employed on a piece-rate basis. This means they do not receive benefits and only earn a maximum of P200 a day.
Related: Kentex denies underpaying workers
Another warehouse, V and Sons Chemicals, does have a fire exit but it’s blocked with barbed wire.
The owner of the warehouse, however, argued that the barbed wires could be easily removed if a problem, like a fire, arises.
While V and Sons have warning signs and reminders on the wall, it was quite obvious to inspectors that they had just been recently painted.
Despite the violations, however, city officials said they would not close these establishments. Instead, they would just issue them notice to comply.
“We cannot close these establishments because the workers will be displaced,” city building official Edison Padilla said.
Padilla said that a compliance check would be done after three days.
Meanwhile, the DOLE-Regional Office 3 would issue a compliance order to Kentex Manufacturing Corp. and its subcontractor, CJC Manpower Services, to pay P7.8 million in underpaid wages to the 99 workers it deployed to the footwear factory.
The main office of Kentex is in Bulacan which is why it’s under DOLE-Regional Office 3.
Of these 99 workers, 31 died during the tragic fire two weeks ago.
The DOLE earlier found Kentex and CJC to be underpaying its workers.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said this was only an initial computation and might still increase as the investigation progresses.
