It gives me a great pleasure and honour to be present at the opening ceremony of the 25th Asia-Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organization (APOSHO) conference organised by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Management. At the outset, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to all the resource persons and participants attending the conference and wish them a pleasant stay in our island of Mauritius. I am informed that delegates, mainly top executives and experts in the field of occupational safety and health from more than 23 countries of the Asian and Pacific regions are attending this conference.
As you are aware, the Government has approved the hosting of this important conference in Mauritius and extended its entire co-operation and necessary support for the successful conduct of this high-level conference. The holding of the APOSHO conference for a second time in Mauritius within a decade shows clearly the commitment of the Government to occupational safety and health.
Ladies and gentlemen, APOSHO is an international organization comprising non-governmental and non-profit professional organizations engaged in activities related to occupational safety and health. The objective of APOSHO is to promote mutual understanding and cooperation in matters relating to occupational safety and health among the community in the Asian and Pacific regions. APOSHO also contributes to the enhancement of occupational safety and health through the exchange of information and views among member organizations.
I am informed that the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Management (Mauritius) is a member of APOSHO since 1994. It represents mostly safety and health professionals in Mauritius and works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment with a view to promoting a safety culture at workplaces in Mauritius.
Ladies and gentlemen, globalisation, intense competition and technological progress, new trends in economic structures and working conditions and changes in occupational structures are leading to dramatic and rapid changes in the working environment and eventually to new emerging workplace hazards. Along with these threats we should not forget that one of the most important challenges facing mankind is the environmental threats such as global warming, climatic changes, violent cyclones, unprecedented droughts and floods which are directly or indirectly impacting on our everyday life. Food also, we should not forget, is becoming a precious commodity and needs special mobilizations of resources from governments to establish food security programmes. All these challenges result in a lot of pressure on all stakeholders within and outside the world of work, including workers, employers and also on the government.
This conference on “emerging safety, health and environment issues in a changing world” therefore comes at a most opportune time given the current situation prevailing in the world in the field of occupational safety and health and environment.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Government in Mauritius fully subscribes to the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda which is a concrete response to the present challenges. Decent work is defined as the right to productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Work can only be decent if it is safe and healthy. Mauritius has prepared a national safety and health policy since 2001 through tripartite consultation at national level. Furthermore, Government has in its programme 2005-2010 given occupational safety and health its due importance.
Within weeks after assuming office we came up with a modern, comprehensive and up-to-date legislation, the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 with a view to enhancing the standards of occupational safety and health at work. This law incorporates new concepts such as safety and health policy, risk assessment and health surveillance so as to further improve safety and health standards at work. Additionally, with a view to helping employers in the proper implementation of new concepts in the law my ministry has, through tripartite consultation at the level of Advisory Council for Occupational Safety and Health, prepared guidelines on risk assessment which have been transmitted to the ILO for their views and comments.
Last year, we promulgated the Occupational Safety and Health (Electricity at Work) Regulations to further reinforce safety and health in the field of electrical safety. These Regulations include up-to-date safety standards in the field of electricity so as to better protect electrical systems and employees at work from dangers of electricity. They lay much emphasis on the duties and responsibilities of the employer to ensure the safety and health of all employees exposed to dangers arising from electricity – either directly or indirectly. They cover a wide range of activities related to electricity and are of importance to all those engaged in the design, construction, installation, use and maintenance of electrical systems.
Ladies and gentlemen, my Ministry has, with the collaboration of ILO, implemented several projects with a view to improve overall safety and health standards in Mauritius namely:
In 2007 a national tripartite workshop was held in collaboration with the ILO with a view to sensitize social partners on the ILO guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems 2001 so as to improve OSH management at national and enterprise level.
In 2009 an ILO consultant prepared a national OSH profile for Mauritius and the document was validated at a tripartite workshop held in collaboration with the ILO. The action plan proposed at the workshop is presently being finalized at the level of the Advisory Council for Occupational Safety and Health.
This year again, with the help of the ILO, a tripartite workshop was held on risk assessment so that the social partners are sensitized on the concept of risk assessment.
Ladies and gentlemen I wish to inform you that Mauritius is already a signatory of the Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work of 2008 and the Government is taking appropriate measures to ensure the promotion of a high level of safety and health at workplaces and for the building and maintenance of a national preventative safety and health culture.
With these words, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you fruitful deliberation for the conference and a pleasant stay in our island.
