For immediate release: 30 April 2012
(ILO Cambodia) Monday, April 30th will see a large-scale event take place in Kampong
Som city, Sihanoukville Province to mark this year’s National Day for
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). The Ministry
of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT) with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) will organize
the event on the theme of Promoting Safety and Health in Small and Medium
Enterprises as an effective measure to promote safe and healthy workplaces.
Occupational Safety and
Health is a serious issue in Cambodia. More than 1,500 persons in the Kingdom die each
year as a result of work-related accidents, equivalent to four persons a day. Another 3,000 people contract
work-related diseases every year. This is the seventh year that
Cambodia has observed OSH Day and this year’s event is set to be the largest observation
that the country has had to date. It has been designed to highlight the human and economic cost of preventable workplaces accidents,
injuries and illnesses, both in the Kingdom and across the globe.
Some 600 representatives
of government, employers, trade unions and hundreds of workers will
take part in the morning-long activities which will start with a march. Participants will carry specially-printed
flags with the campaign theme, placards and banners with hundreds of posters
and flags brandished to the ceremony venue where there will be a keynote address
on the by H.E Dr. Vong Sauth, Minister of Labour and Vocational Training and will
encompass speeches by esteemed guests such as H.E Mr. Sbong Sarath, Governor of Preah Sihanoukville
Province, Mr. Jiyuan Wang, Director, ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia
and Lao PDR, Dr. Leng Tong, Director of
OSH Department, MoLVT, in addition to representatives from Cambodian Trade Unions
and the employers’
organization. The day’s events will also see a safety show put forward vital
messages directed at workers and employers on how to ensure the utmost safety
in the workplace, this will touch on the key OSH issues faced by Cambodia such
as hazardous work. The OSH Day proceedings will come to a close with a release
of balloons.
“World Day Occupational
Safety and Health plays an important role in reminding employers and workers of
the need
to prioritise health and
safety in order to have a healthy and productive workplace. The Royal
Government of Cambodia has been working to educate and train working Cambodians
across the country’s industries, especially high risk occupations on how to ensure they
take every available safety precaution to keep injury and illness free while at
work. At the same we are conducting inspections and creating standards to give
incentive to employers to fully invest in OSH” said Dr. Leng Tong, Director of
OSH Department, MoLVT.
“It
is vital that we take heed of the fact that insufficient occupational safety
and health mechanisms can have a devastating impact in human and economic terms.
It is the poorest and least protected- women, children and other vulnerable
groups who are often among the most affected by work-related accidents and
diseases” said Mr Jiyuan Wang Director, ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia
and Lao PDR.
He continued: “We at the
ILO have long encouraged employers to ensure a preventive
safety and health culture at the workplace stressing that Decent Work is safe
work. Ignorance of and incompliance with OSH regulations are
not only bad for workers but also bad for business.”
The Cambodian theme of
promoting OSH in small enterprises compliments the global theme which is Green jobs:
promoting safety and health in a green economy. This looks
at the close relationship between a safe and healthy working environment and
the protection of the general environment. The celebration also comes in
conjunction with the International
Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers on April 28 to
honour the memory of victims of occupational accidents and diseases and International
Labour Day which marks the economic and social achievements of workers worldwide.
For more information please contact:
Mr Tun Sophorn, ILO Joint
Projects Office tun@ilo.org, Tel: (855) 23
220 817
Dr Leng Tong, Director,
Occupational Health Department, MoLVT lengtongpachem@gmail.com,
Tel (855) 023 883170; 883180
Below are some photos on the preparation of Cambodia National Day for Safety and Health at Work
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| Officials from Preah Sihanouk Province, Ministry of Labur, and Sihanouk Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) are preparing and posting banners and posters at the event venue for celebrating OSH Day in Cambodian seaside town on 29 April 2012. Photo by CSP/2012 |
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| Posters on Promoting Health and Safety in a Green Economy, OSH Management: A Tool for Continuous Improvement, and Together We Can Make Maternity Protection at the Workplace a Reality, were posted on the way to SSEZ. Photo by CSP/2012 |
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| Celebrating National Day for Safety and Health Poster Posted at the Entrance of SSEZ. Photo by CSP/2012 |
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| Labour Official Holding Poster Before Placing on the Wall Behind Him. |
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| Photo by CSP/2012 |
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| Photo by CSP/2012 |
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| Workers Walking Through the New Star Shoe Factory in the Rain during their lunch break | Photo by CSP/2012 |
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