by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - The U.S. Department of Labor recently signed partnership agreements with ambassadors representing the embassies of Honduras, the Philippines, Peru and Ecuador. The partnerships will help the Occupation Safety and Health Administration more effectively enforce US laws in high-risk and low-wage industries along with helping identify problems faced by migrant workers and target labor law enforcement efforts.

Locally, DOL director George Santos welcomes the support but says it's unlikely the partnership will have any effect on operations or initiatives at the Guam DOL. He adds since Guam has a large population of Philippine nationals, the partnership may allow USDOL to apply more wage and safety related resources to help workers of Filipino ethnicity.