ZamboEcozone first labor laws compliant ecozone

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By ALBI A. MARQUEZ

The Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone and Freeport was declared by the Department of Labor and Employment Zamboanga City Field Office on June 23, 2015, as the country’s first Labor Laws Compliant and Child Labor Free Economic Zone.

DOLE Regional Director Sisinio B. Cano and DOLE Zamboanga City Field Office Chief Labor Officer,Engr. Wesley D. Tan apprised the ZAMBOECOZONE and Freeport Authority Chairperson and Administrator Christopher Lawrence S. Arnuco of the zone’s realization of DOLE’s labor compliance program.

No less than DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz will visit ZAMBOECOZONE and Freeport for the unveiling ceremonies of a special marker designed by DOLE for this purpose, which will be installed near the main entrance gate of the zone for everyone to regard.

Twenty-two other companies in and around the City, including six ZAMBOECOZONE locators,trooped to the zone for the unveiling ceremonies and to receive their DOLE Labor Laws ComplianceCertificates during the ensuing program conducted by DOLE at the ZAMBOECOZONE 1st Industrial Park in San Ramon.

Chairperson and Administrator Arnuco shares the same commitment with Cano to tirelessly work for the welfare of the thousands of workers in the zone and the upliftment of the laborer’s conditions within the ZAMBOECOZONE.

Two of the various qualifying requirements of the compliance certificate is the establishment of a Day Care Center and a Lactation Station for the working mothers in the zone. For this reason, the ZAMBOECOZONE Board of Directors, in their previous board meetings, jointly and severally resolved to allocate a considerable amount for the construction and maintenance of both these facilities – aspart of the Authority’s dedication to ensure the improvement and progress of worker’s health and welfare in the zone.

Baldoz has also handed awards to several recipients from all over Zamboanga Peninsula who qualified for the Tripartite Certificate of Compliance with Labor Standards and Child Labor Free Establishment.

The main program and distribution activities started at 9:00 am, and was followed by the unveiling ceremonies.

The unveiling of the DOLE Labor Laws Compliance and Child Free Zone marker is one more milestone for the ZAMBOECOZONE and Freeport in its aspiration to bring together all the necessary elements to make the zone the most viable investment haven in Southern Philippines and the emerging trading hub of Southeast Asia, particularly in light of the ASEAN integration.