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Malek Helali
Doha
Precautionary measures to avoid fatal accidents at worksites and prevent communicable diseases among workers have helped check such incidences in Qatar, said Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs HE Dr Issa bin Saad al Jafali al Nuaimi.
Such cases, he noted, were most often the result of human errors. He was speaking at the first Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Conference 2017 held in Doha on Saturday.
"Transparency and credibility are crucial in dealing with OSH issues. It is equally important while sharing data regarding work-related accidents that need to be reported as soon as they occur," Dr Nuaimi said.
"Qatar has nothing to hide or cover up in this regard," affirmed the minister.
Highlighting the amount of attention Qatar pays to the safety and health of its citizens and expatriates, he said the country spares no effort to protect its workers.
Qatar ensures that the law takes its own course in holding to account companies and individuals violating it, he added.
The minister said there are three pillars to Qatar's OSH strategy ” legislation and proper procedures to protect workers in workplace and accommodation, the reinforcement of supervision and inspection by trained professionals along with the existence of an authority capable of preventing accidents in the workplace or their residencies and spreading more awareness on OHS issues among workers and employers.
"The ministry gets thousands of workplace and workers' accomodations inspected through its labour inspection department to ensure that employers are complying with OSH laws and regulations," Dr Nuaimi said.
Other inspection tours are also conducted in certain ministries including the ministries of interior, municipality and health, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary-General of the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) Abdulaziz al Ageel stressed on the organisation's support for industrial development in the region for over 40 years, and insisted on its efforts in reducing the workplace accidents in the GCC countries to zero. He stressed in this regard that the GCC countries have imposed rules aimed at guaranteeing workers and facilities safety and security as well as protecting the environment in all productive and economic activities.
For his part, Director-General of the Arab Labour Organization Fayez Almatiri praised Qatar's efforts in putting OSH on top of its priorities by implementing strict accidents' prevention and workers' protection mechanisms and supporting the organisation's safety criteria.
Mutairi stressed ALO's support for the efforts being exerted by the State of Qatar to enhance the protection of workers and guarantee their rights in accordance with national legislation and Arab and international labour standards.
The first conference on Occupational Safety and Health organised by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultancy (GOIC) and the Hawkamah Public Relations Center and sponsored by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs has witnessed the inauguration of National Book on Occupational Health and Safety, which includes reports by government and OHS private companies as well as legislative and procedural developments in Qatar.
Chef Executive Officer of QPMC, the conference's platinum sponsor, highlighted that focusing on workers' health and safety is rooted in the core of Qatari culture and tradition and is reflected at the basic level by the way Qatari families treat their employees and see themselves as partners in the national responsibility of protecting workers' rights.
