OHS Focal Persons: Twenty employees from different manufacturing companies will leave for Delhi, India tomorrow to be trained as occupational health and safety (OHS) focal persons for their organisations look into the safety of their employees.
During the week long training, participants will learn about the importance of OHS, be able to identify hazards and assess risks, audit or inspect internal safety, personal protective equipment, machine, electrical and fire safety, as well as material handling and first aid. They will also be on industrial visits.
The move to build capacity comes from the labour ministry to improve the health and safety of workers in industries.
Labour officer Ugyen Samdrup said the ministry has prioritised OHS in the 11th Plan, and is framing an OHS policy. “It’s to improve working conditions of the workers,” he said. “They’ll serve as resource persons in creating OHS awareness in their respective industries.”
Bhutan today has a labour force of 336,391. The annual health bulletin recorded about 9,000 work-related injuries in 2009, and about 28,000 last year. As of September this year, there were 18 fatal work-related injuries.
Of the 20 participants representing the manufacturing companies, only Bhutan Ferro Alloys limited has an OHS committee today. The ministry is also going to make it mandatory for all manufacturing industries to form an OHS committee.
The labour ministry has also trained 500 workers since 2009 on basic OHS and dispute prevention and resolution mechanism.
Labour minister Dorji Wangdi said that the main objective behind the training is to increase productivity and competitiveness of the employees, by ensuring their safety and protection.
“It’s a very serious subject, and the 20 participants will take care of the issues of their workers in their organisations,” lyonpo said. “They’ll be the guardians of their institutions and the labour ministry, by taking care of the workers’ life and safety.”
By Namgay Tshoki
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