Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, H E Dr Issa Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, with other officials and guests at the opening ceremony of Occupational Safety and Health Conference at Four Seasons Hotel Doha yesterday. Pic: Abdul
Qatar is free from fatal occupational accidents and communicable diseases among workers, Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs H E Dr Issa Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi said yesterday.
However, worksite accidents often occur as result of human error, he added.
In his opening address at the First Conference on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) at the Four Seasons Hotel, the Minister said that Qatar has spared no efforts to provide workers with the highest level of protection to ensure their safety and health at workplaces and accommodations.
The Minister said that the government enforces rules and regulations on occupational safety and health of workers and punishes violators whether they are companies or individuals. In this context, Al Nuaimi pointed out that, through the Labour Inspection Department, the Ministry has carried out thousands of inspection visits to workplaces and workers' housing complexes to ensure employers comply with the relevant laws and regulations guaranteeing their rights.
Inspection campaigns have also been carried out by teams and committees formed in cooperation with other ministries, including the Ministries of Interior, Municipality and Environment and Public Health, he added.
Al Nuaimi highlighted the importance of transparency and credibility in dealing with OHS issues and exchange of information and data related to injuries and accidents. Qatar has nothing to 'hide' or 'conceal,' in this regard, said the Minister.
The first edition of the conference has brought together a large number of speakers and experts from Qatar and abroad including Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al-Ageel, Secretary General of Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), Fayez Almatiri, Director-General of Arab Labour Organisation and Eisa Al Hammadi, CEO of QPMC.
Al Nuaimi also shed light on Qatar's policy based on three pillars: first, availability of legislation and taking proper procedures for protecting workers at the workplace and accommodations. The second factor is strengthening the monitoring approaches enhanced by trained human capabilities which is empowered with sufficient authority to prevent any violations of the law and decisions related to health and safety of workers; and third, raising awareness among workers and employers, which is a key factor to avoid risks.
The State of Qatar attaches great importance to occupational health and safety of all citizens and expatriate workers, Al Nuaimi said, pointing out that the conference was organized to coincide with the World Day for Safety and Health at Work celebrated on every April 28 and comes within Qatar's keenness to provide a platform designed to foster the exchange of expertise and experience, and promotes an understanding and dialogue among the concerned authorities in Qatar and various stakeholders.
The conference is organized by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultancy (GOIC) and the Hawkamah Public Relations Center and is sponsored by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs and has witnessed the inauguration of National Book on Occupational Health and Safety, which includes reports by government and OHS private companies as well as legislative and procedural developments in Qatar.
The Secretary-General of (GOIC) Abdulaziz Al Ageel said the first edition of the conference is taking place within the GCC countries' approach to implement preventive OHS measures to ensure all workers in all sectors by reducing work-related accident rates to zero, especially in the industrial sector.
He stressed that GCC countries have imposed rules aimed at guaranteeing workers and facilities safety and security as well as protecting the environment in all productive and economic activities.
Director-General of (ALO), Fayez Al Mutairi, hailed the considerable attention given by the State of Qatar, especially by the MADLSA, occupational health and safety, protection of working environment and the promotion of human dignity.
The conference aims to shed light on the mechanisms for the protection of workers in factories and construction sector of accidents along with legal and legislative aspects taken by the State of Qatar to protect workers, installations and machinery.
Eisa Al Hammadi, CEO of QPMC, for his part said the organization has issued 19 agreements for joint Arab work plans which include several annual programms. The programms also include training for obtaining diploma in health and occupational safety Al Hammadi added.
The conference includes three plenary sessions on "Government Agencies in Occupational Health and Safety;" "International Standards in Occupational Health and Safety" and "Injuries and Diseases of Workers: Between the Law and Practice.
The first session was chaired by Ali Hamed Al-Mulla, Assistant Secretary General for Industrial Projects Sector at GOIC and Chief Executive Officer - QPMC, and speakers include Leutenant Mohmamed Jasem Al Darweesh, Industerial Security Affairs Department, MOI who spoke about efforts being carried out to disseminate the culture of safety and health among workers.
Mohammed Ali Al-Meer, Manager of Labour Inspection Department at MADLSA, addressed during the session the ministry’s campaigns to maintain safety and enforce relevant rules, while Dr. Mohammed Hassan Kharita, Director of Dadaition Safety at HMC highlighted the measures being taken by the corporation to monitor and cure radiation cases if found according to him.
