OSH Workshop done in Phnom Penh

One-Day Workshop on How ILO Guidelines on OSH Management Systems Help Employers and Workers

By Chea Sophal

Phnome Penh (Cambodia), March 5, 2009, ILO Senior Specialist in Occupational Safety and Health from ILO Sub-regional Office for East Asia provided a one-day seminar on how ILO Guidelines on OSH Management Systems (ILO OSH 2001) can help employers and workers for the ILO Better Factories Cambodia.

Dr. Kawakami highly spoke about the success made by Better Factories Cambodia and the programme involvement in OSH awareness and promotion in the Cambodian garment industry before he moved to the detail of his presentation. He pointed out on ILO OSH Support to Cambodia (including Principles of OSH work, Promotional Framework for OSH Convention, Globalization and OSH). He also highlighted the ILO Guidelines on OSH Management System, Improvement Cycle, Links between OSH Improvement and Productivity and some practical examples of drivers and gains for Improvement at the Enterprise level.

The ILO Occupational Safety and Health Instruments includes:

• Convention No. 81 (Labour Inspection),
• Convention No. 155 (Safety and health),
• Convention No. 161 (Occupational Health Services),
• Convention No. 162 (Asbestos),
• Convention No. 167 (construction),
• Convention No. 170 (Chemicals),
• Convention No. 184 (Agriculture),
• Convention No. 187 (Promotional Framework), and
• ILO-OSH 2001 (OSHMS Guidelines)

The Specialist told that some common priorities in the OSH Promotional framework in Asia are Legislative Framework, Enforcement, Workplace Mechanisms, Hazardous Occupations, Injury Reporting Systems, and Extending Protection. "Cambodia has already held tripartile consultation and set up Task Force in developing national OSH programmes. Cambodia has not finalized OSH profile and OSH programmes, they are in draft." said the Specialist.

The workshop also focuses on the main responsibilities of employers and rights and duties of their workers. The responsibilities of employers which are mainly the protective measures are as follows:

• Eliminate the risks,
• Control the risks at source,
• Minimize the risks by means that include the design of safe work systems, and
• Provide personal protective equipment.

While the duties and rights of workers include:

• Report accidents, dangerous occurances and hazards;
• Request and obtain inspections and investigations;
• Be informed of workplace hazards;
• Collectively select safety and health representatives.

The session shows the significant benefits for the enterpriese from having good OSH Management System. Those benefits are better safety, health, and working conditions, hight productivity, good customer reputation, and ready to export their products.