THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it is conducting further inspections of hospitals and bus companies after employees complained of unduly long working hours.

In an interview with BusinessWorld, Undersecretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez said the inspections are under way and “will be completed before May 1.”

Mr. Benavidez said DoLE received complaints about working hours that were double the prescribed eight hours a day, particularly in hospitals.

“There are many complaints about working hours… There are nurses working 16 hours a day,” he said.

Mr. Benavidez said DoLE is closely monitoring the work hours of bus drivers and conductors, an issue which first emerged when the department met with the industry’s stakeholders on March 14.

In 2018, DoLE inspected 134,263 establishments across all industries. For 2019 it set an initial goal for labor inspections of 55,000 establishments, assuming that the department can hire more Labor Law Compliance Officers (LLCOs). — Gillian M. Cortez

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