27 Apr 2007
Cambodia will mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28th with an event focusing on the theme “Ensuring Safe and Healthy Workplaces in Cambodia.”
The event was inspired by the global theme for the day chosen by the organizer, the International Labour Organization (ILO), “Safe and Healthy Workplaces – Making Decent Work a Reality”.
The day’s programme will be opened by Dr. Huy Han Song, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT). Tuomo Poutiainen, representing the ILO will also speak at the opening ceremony.
The event is being jointly organizised by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT) and the ILO, and will be held at the Ministry’s Occupational Health Department in Phnom Penh from 8.00 to 12.00. Some 300 people are expected to attend, representing government ministries dealing with industry, environment, agriculture, construction, health and transport. Others invited include employers’ and workers’ organizations, NGOs, and workers from both the formal and informal sectors, among them 20 farmers from Kandal and Kampong Speu Provinces.
Participants will hear about promotion and training in occupational safety and health from Dr. Leng Tong, Director of the Occupational Health Department, MoLVT, as well as experiences of workers and employers. Other presentations will cover small construction sites, agriculture, home-based work, the informal economy, the garment sector, salt field work, the fishing sector, rubber plantation and HIV/AIDS.
It is estimated that more than 1,500 persons in Cambodia die each year as a result of work-related accidents, an average of four persons per day (World Bank Report of 2005, using data collected in 2001.) Another 3,000 persons suffer from work-related diseases. About 1.6 million serious workplace accidents are estimated to take place annually. In one industry alone, the economically-important garment sector, about 365 workers in Phnom Penh factories were injured in during 2006 (figure from MoLVT).
“The MoLVT has taken preventive measures to reduce occupational accidents and deaths by conducting inspections at vulnerable workplaces such as construction sites, as well as training workers and employers on OSH and regulations,” said Dr. Leng Tong. “The World Day event aims to put safety and health on everyone’s mind and to promote a safety culture in the country”.
“This is the second year that Cambodia is observing the World Day, and this event shows its commitment to promoting occupational safety and health,” said Tuomo Poutiainen of the ILO. “Safety and health is not only important on a personal level but on an economic level, because good standards contribute to better productivity and competitiveness. Equally importantly, safety and health are a necessary part of decent work. The high level of the participants at this event is a welcome indicator of the government’s commitment to the goal it shares with the ILO - Decent Work for All”.
For more information please contact:
Dr. Leng Tong
Director
Occupational Health Department, MoLVT
Tel: (855) 023 224074
E-mail: lengtong@online.com.kh
Mr. Tun Sophorn
Consultant
ILO Better Factories Cambodia
Tel: (855) 023 212847 ext. 129
Email: tun@ilo.org
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