Safety, Health and Welfare Bill in Parliament next month

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The much needed Safety, Health and Welfare Bill for the benefit of the over 6.5 million labour force in the country will be presented in Parliament next month, Labour Ministry Secretary Mahinda Madihahewa said.

The objective of implementing this Bill is to provide workers more protection from occupational hazards.

Addressing a seminar and workshop in Colombo on National Occupational Safety and Health, the Labour Ministry Secretary said over two million people in the world die every year from accidents at workplaces.

Over 250 million people annually suffer minor and major injuries while another 160 million suffer from various illnesses as a result of such accidents.

He said the Labour Ministry would conduct countrywide awareness programs for the benefit of employees and employers on preventing occupational hazards.

The Labour Ministry Secretary valued the services rendered by the National Institute of Safety and Health and said that this institute is responsible for designing programs to educate stakeholders on the significance of occupational safety and health, and training of officers in this regard.

He said a seminar on preventing occupational hazards will be held at the Katunayaka Export Processing Zone on Friday for the benefit of over a 1,000 workers and thereafter such programs will be carried out to other workplaces too.