The Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA) is focusing on developing and implementing a comprehensive national Occupational safety and health (OSH) policy.
The policy aims to set clear standards for workplace safety and health protection by creating safer and healthier working environments for employees across various industries.
The latest move was shared by SHENA’s Acting Interim Chief Executive Officer Haji Junit bin Haji Zakaria at the national tripartite workshop.
The workshop focused on the ratification and implementation of Fundamental ILO Conventions No 155 (the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981) and No 187 (the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention 2006) at Radisson Hotel yesterday.
Haji Junit said, “In tandem with this, we aim to also strengthen our tripartite arrangement by building a working collaboration between the government, employers and workers to effectively build OSH practices that are well informed, practical and inclusive.”
He said, “In our line of sight are the fundamental ILO Conventions – the C155 and C187. These important international instruments focus on OSH and the promotion of occupational safety systems.”
The workshop brought together government agencies and industry stakeholders in a tripartite forum to discuss the current state of workplace safety and health in the Sultanate with key focus on the national OSH policy and programmes.
During the workshop, experts presented the ILO’s supervisory system and approach in relation to international labour standards, the roles of employers and workers in workplace safety and health, and ILO tools related to OSH.
Participants also deliberated on OSH from the perspectives of policymakers, employers and workers.
The ILO expert mission to the Sultanate continued with a second workshop on the OSH qualification system and OSH committee as well as management system with workplace safety and health managers and officers.
The initiative focuses on building a solid understanding of the ILO’s criteria for evaluating OSH professionals as well as recognising their crucial role.
The second segment of the workshop explored their legal requirements for workplaces to form OSH committees and OSH management systems, followed by participants joining break-out sessions. – James Kon
