New laws on safety and health of workers soon
Sunday, May 6, 2007
THE Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam through the Labour Department in cooperation with relevant agencies is in the process of analysing and preparing new laws relating to occupational safety and health, said Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Haji Mohd Yusof, Minister of Home Affairs, yesterday.
The Minister said the groundwork for a set of safety and health standards is also currently in the process.
"With the introduction of such laws, it is hoped that employers will be more responsible regarding the health and safety of employees under their authority."
With the theme "Health and Safety Awareness for all Workers", Brunei Darussalam, after being accepted as the 180th member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), marked the sultanate's first Labour Day celebrations.
"The theme is significant, relevant and important to both employers and employees in managing the responsibility of their safety, health and welfare," said Pehin Dato Awang Haji Adanan, who was the guest of honour at the ceremony at the International Convention Centre.
He said that employers should always be responsive to the needs of their employees and that includes providing a conducive work environment and better living conditions.
Employers should be responsible for their well-being of their workers, said the Minister on the reported cases of employers failing to pay their workers' salaries on time.
He assured those present at the function that "the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam through relevant agencies, specifically the Labour Department, will firmly deal with employers who neglect the welfare of their employers".
He went on to say that "the culture of occupational health and safety should be disseminated amongst employers and employees through various awareness programmes such as manuals and guidelines, lectures, sharing of experiences through 'hands-on' and practicals".
Statistical reports from the International Labour Organisation show that a total of 2.2 million lives worldwide are lost every year due to work-related accidents and illnesses. Every year, more than 270 million employees are injured and an estimated 160 million suffer from work-related illnesses.
The Labour Department of Brunei has reported 123 occupational accidents out of which a majority are construction workers in 2006. The figure has gone down slightly from the 130 cases in 2005.
However, the Minister said that the small number of work-related accidents should not allow complacency to set in.
One of the ways to prevent and avoid accidents is providing the workers with safety gear. A responsibility that employers were advised to observe.
The minister quoted several elements ILO's Decent Work Agenda that can be used as a benchmark for best practices in preventing work-related illnesses and accidents, such as respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, international labour standards, occupational safety and health mechanisms, labour inspections, code of practice on health and safety to name a few.
He also touched upon issues such as unemployment whereby he called upon public and private sectors to increase their recruitment of locals. He also stressed the importance of life long learning where he advised workers to constantly update themselves with new value-added skills. In his view, multiple skills are in order to be more marketable and adapt to the changes in the work environment.
The celebration started with a recital of the Surah Al-Fatihah.
The Minister's speech was followed by a briefing from guest speaker, Goh Chye Guan, Deputy Director, Industry Capability Building Department, Occupational Safety and Health Division at the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore.
Goh talked about Singapore's experience in handling the Occupational Health and Safety of workers in the country as well as shared knowledge and information regarding the implementation of their latest 2006 Safety Act.
The ceremony concluded with a tour of the 14 booths displaying steps, information and equipment on assisting health and safety at the workplace, along the East Concourse of ICC.The Brunei Times
The Minister said the groundwork for a set of safety and health standards is also currently in the process.
"With the introduction of such laws, it is hoped that employers will be more responsible regarding the health and safety of employees under their authority."
With the theme "Health and Safety Awareness for all Workers", Brunei Darussalam, after being accepted as the 180th member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), marked the sultanate's first Labour Day celebrations.
"The theme is significant, relevant and important to both employers and employees in managing the responsibility of their safety, health and welfare," said Pehin Dato Awang Haji Adanan, who was the guest of honour at the ceremony at the International Convention Centre.
He said that employers should always be responsive to the needs of their employees and that includes providing a conducive work environment and better living conditions.
Employers should be responsible for their well-being of their workers, said the Minister on the reported cases of employers failing to pay their workers' salaries on time.
He assured those present at the function that "the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam through relevant agencies, specifically the Labour Department, will firmly deal with employers who neglect the welfare of their employers".
He went on to say that "the culture of occupational health and safety should be disseminated amongst employers and employees through various awareness programmes such as manuals and guidelines, lectures, sharing of experiences through 'hands-on' and practicals".
Statistical reports from the International Labour Organisation show that a total of 2.2 million lives worldwide are lost every year due to work-related accidents and illnesses. Every year, more than 270 million employees are injured and an estimated 160 million suffer from work-related illnesses.
The Labour Department of Brunei has reported 123 occupational accidents out of which a majority are construction workers in 2006. The figure has gone down slightly from the 130 cases in 2005.
However, the Minister said that the small number of work-related accidents should not allow complacency to set in.
One of the ways to prevent and avoid accidents is providing the workers with safety gear. A responsibility that employers were advised to observe.
The minister quoted several elements ILO's Decent Work Agenda that can be used as a benchmark for best practices in preventing work-related illnesses and accidents, such as respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, international labour standards, occupational safety and health mechanisms, labour inspections, code of practice on health and safety to name a few.
He also touched upon issues such as unemployment whereby he called upon public and private sectors to increase their recruitment of locals. He also stressed the importance of life long learning where he advised workers to constantly update themselves with new value-added skills. In his view, multiple skills are in order to be more marketable and adapt to the changes in the work environment.
The celebration started with a recital of the Surah Al-Fatihah.
The Minister's speech was followed by a briefing from guest speaker, Goh Chye Guan, Deputy Director, Industry Capability Building Department, Occupational Safety and Health Division at the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore.
Goh talked about Singapore's experience in handling the Occupational Health and Safety of workers in the country as well as shared knowledge and information regarding the implementation of their latest 2006 Safety Act.
The ceremony concluded with a tour of the 14 booths displaying steps, information and equipment on assisting health and safety at the workplace, along the East Concourse of ICC.The Brunei Times
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