‘Unsafe’ businesses abound

At least 40 percent of businesses in the CNMI are not complying with federal safety and health standards, a local representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said yesterday.

Rey Deleon Guerrero, OSHA-CNMI Onsite Consultation Office project manager, reported that since his office was established last year, only 60 percent of employers in the Commonwealth have come forward to seek assistance in complying with OSHA standards.

According to Deleon Guerrero, half of these employers that are now OSHA-compliant or working toward compliance fall under the general industry category, which includes garment factories, hotels, restaurants and other workplaces. The other half belongs to the construction industry, where most work-related accidents take place.

The OSHA-CNMI Onsite Consultation Office was created in July 1, 2003 pursuant to an agreement between OSHA and the CNMI government.

“We offer free onsite assessment and consultation regarding safety and health in the workplace. If people come to us voluntarily, we will not cite them for violations, as long as they comply with our recommendations. We find the problem and help people correct it. So it’s not a law enforcement type of attitude,” Deleon Guerrero said. “Unlike the Labor Health and Safety Division [under the CNMI Department of Labor], which inspects only companies employing nonresident workers, we provide consultation to any employer regardless of ethnicity,” he added.

He noted that the program particularly benefits small companies that cannot afford expensive consultation services with private firms.

At present, the consultation office focuses on reducing or eliminating injury rates in construction companies, which post the highest number of accidents, Deleon Guerrero said. The accidents most commonly result from lack of awareness and training, and mere disregard of proper safety measures.

“Some workers don’t wear hard hats because it’s too hot. Others use homemade ladders often made out of wood that is not of proper grade, and which breaks easily,” he related.

He said this attitude usually changes when an employer voluntarily invites OSHA to visit the jobsite. “When we come, we tell workers that we are there because their employer cares for them, and that usually improves their whole attitude about workplace safety,” Deleon Guerrero said.

OSHA is also giving free seminars and translating relevant publications into various languages such as Chinese, Korean and Filipino, in order to reach out to more workers.

The 2nd Annual Governor’s Conference on Safety and Health, sponsored by the Northern Marianas Alliance for Safety and Health, will be held from Aug. 17 to 20 at the Dai-Ichi Hotel in Garapan.

Deleon Guerrero said instructors from OSHA’s main training institution in Chicago will be coming to give lectures on various topics.