Three years after the Kentex incident: probing the conditions of factory workers and the implementation of the occupational safety and health in Valenzuela City.

Abstract

On May 13, 2015 a huge fire broke out in Kentex Factory Manufacturing Industry in Ugong, Velanzuela City. The incident caused an uproar on the credibility of the local and national government in effectively implementing the occupational safety and health law. The issue of safe workplaces had been one of the most contended challenge for policy makers in developing countries. As a developing nation and hub of manufacturing industries, the researcher sought to find the institutional problems that impeded the effective implememtation of occupational safety and health. This paper looked into the effects of the Kentex factory incident in the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health in Valenzuela City. The paper also compared the situation of the factory workers in Valenzuela City before and after the Kentex tragedy. Lastly, the paper tried to identify the key barriers to effective implementation of the occupational safety and health in Valenzuela City. This research also utilized the extensive related literature on the evolution of occupational safety and health and from which the researcher drew the theoretical framework which incorporated different factors that led to barriers to effective policy implemementation. The researcher focused on the narratives of factory workers from Valenzuela City, gathered through modified in-depth interviews. The researcher concluded that there was a disconnect on the perception of the government on the effectivity of the implementation of the OSH law and the actual situation of the factory workers from Valenzuela City.