By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, June 19: The Centre for Public Health and Environment Development (DEPHED) organised a virtual training to highlight the needs of paying high degree of diligence with respect to Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and COVID 19 before reopening of the industries/factories and businesses in the context of COVID-19 fears.
The training programme on “Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and Factory Inspections” was organised in collaboration with the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety (DoLOS).
The COVID-19 pandemic has created miserable condition among workers worldwide, ruining each country’s economic condition. Therefore, the first goal of training was to highlight the issues of respect to OSH and COVID-19 so as to avoid transmission of COVID-19 while reopening daily businesses, including human, social, industrial and economic activities, said Ram Charitra Sah, executive director of CEPHED, and environment scientist.
All the concerned government agencies, including Ministry of Labour, Department of Labour, national and international organisations, corporate sectors, trade unions and workers themselves need to pay a high degree of diligence with respect to OSH and COVID, he said.
He informed that two papers were presented at the programme on the issues of “Due Diligence with Respect to OSH and COVID-19” and “Status of OSH Condition and Ways Forward to Improvement.”
The paper on “Due Diligence with respect to OSH and COVID 19” was presented by OSH expert Dinesh Prasad Sah, highlighting the risk factors of OSH with special focus on the biological factors in the context of coronavirus.
He suggested integrated efforts and solution like technical control, administrative control and proper use of PPEs as well as maintaining hygiene and sanitation.
Presenting his paper, Sah highlighted the role and responsibilities of all concerned, especially the workers, trade unions and, most importantly, the employers and government.
In his paper entitled “Status of OSH Condition and Ways Forward to Improvement”, Ram Charitra Sah, executive director and environment scientist, diagnosed the strengths and weaknesses in exiting legal frameworks along with the provisions of inspection and provided list of recommendations towards the expected improvements.
He recommend due diligence for all workers, industry owners and government, establishment of more labour and employment offices, recruitment of enough OSH/Labour Inspectors with enhanced capacity and mechanism of period and regular inspection, enough resource allocation for industrial/factory inspection.
Effective implementation of OSH related acts, regulations and policies, programmes and fund created for employees and employers’ welfare should be operated and managed in a justifiable, transparent and effective manner for overall improvement of the OSH and labour inspection in Nepal, he added.
Some 45 representatives from concerned ministries, Labour and Occupational Safety Departments, Customs Department, Labour and Employment Offices from all over the country, OSH centers, WHO country office for Nepal, ILO Country Office for Nepal and others participated