The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD), in partnership with the All UP Academic Employees Union – Manila Chapter, successfully held the OSH Dokyu: OSH Rights Documentation and Action Workshop on July 18, 2025, at Calderon Hall, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila.

The workshop served as a vital space for workers, advocates, and sectoral leaders to collectively explore the role of OSH documentation as a weapon in the fight for safer and more dignified workplaces. The event marked a critical convergence of experience, knowledge, and action aimed at confronting the systemic neglect of workers’ safety and rights in the Philippines.

A Platform for Collective Learning and Action

The workshop opened with a session by Atty. Armando Teodoro from the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center, who provided an overview of Department Order No. 252-25, covering the scope of OSH rights, workplace responsibilities, and key enforcement mechanisms. He also briefly highlighted the law’s limitations and the challenges in its implementation. His session set the tone for understanding the legal foundations of OSH and the pressing need to bridge the gap between policy and practice.

This was followed by Ms. Kamz Deligente of the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), who shared firsthand accounts and challenges in labor rights documentation. Drawing from CTUHR’s grassroots engagement, she underscored documentation as a crucial pillar of resistance and truth-telling in the face of repression and corporate impunity.

Securing Data, Protecting Workers

In the third session, Ms. Tel Delvo of the Digital Defenders Partnership led a timely discussion on mapping security risks in OSH documentation. She offered guidance on identifying potential threats to data confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility — emphasizing the importance of digital security and responsible data handling, particularly when workers’ safety and privacy are at stake.

Learning from Regional Best Practices

Participants also gained valuable regional perspectives in a session led by Ms. Ye Yint of the Asia Monitor Resource Centre and Ajat Sudrajat of the Local Initiative for OSH Network – Indonesia. They shared best practices in OSH documentation from across Asia, made possible through the Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational and Environmental Victims (ANROEV). The session highlighted both manual and digital methods that organizations have effectively used to document workplace hazards and advocate for safer conditions.

Building a Standardized Documentation Process

In the final session, Ms. Dominik Florentino of IOHSAD introduced the concept of documentation and outlined the OSH documentation process — from government protocols down to grassroots practices. She also presented IOHSAD’s own documentation efforts, including midyear data from January to June 2025, which revealed an alarming number of workplace incidents nationwide.

Emphasizing the need to strengthen collective data gathering, she urged participants to actively document and report incidents to help build a more accurate and grounded picture of OSH conditions. The session concluded with a hands-on activity using a newly developed template, where participants collaboratively drafted a standardized documentation flow and shared initial reports based on their own contexts.

Launch of the IOHSAD OSH Incident Report Form

A major milestone of the event was the official launch of the IOHSAD OSH Incident Report Form, a new tool designed to systematize the reporting of workplace accidents and violations.

The form is accessible to workers, unions, and grassroots organizations. IOHSAD has assured that all information submitted will remain confidential and will not be released without the explicit consent of those who report. This tool aims to strengthen grassroots documentation, build collective evidence, and hold employers accountable for unsafe working conditions.

This workshop stands as a testament to the power of collective action and solidarity in addressing the urgent safety issues faced by workers. It not only sharpened participants’ skills and understanding of OSH documentation but also laid the groundwork for a stronger, worker-led system of reporting and resistance.

Through shared knowledge, regional experiences, and the launch of a practical tool, the event marked an important step toward reclaiming safety as a right — not a privilege — in every workplace.

Workers and advocates may now access and use the IOHSAD OSH Incident Report Form via the link/QR code included in the full Midyear OSH Report.