The trade unionists advocate for the development of mechanisms for prevention of accidents at work

The trade unionists and workers – union members the Republic of Moldova have met on Tuesday, April 28, in a special meeting devoted to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, in which there was a memorial to victims of accidents at work. This year, the event was marked under the motto „To form a culture of prevention in health and safety at work (HSW)”.

The trade unionists advocate for the development of mechanisms for prevention of accidents at work and professional diseases, improvement of the working conditions at the enterprises of the country, creation of HSW committees at the enterprises, the compliance ofthe international and national norms by the employers in this area, the implementation of HSW Management Systems at the national level.

Oleg Budza, president of the National Confederation of Trade Unions from Moldova(NCTUM), highlightedthat the indices of professional diseases are small not because we have good working conditions, but because of the outdated systems of their diagnosing.

”We are convinced that this phenomenon is growing in our country because of insufficient funding for the endowment of sanitary laboratories with modern equipment, and the failure of normative acts that would allow highlighting, operational research and implementation of programs for the remediation of the health status of workers”, emphasized the trade union leader.

He noted that the Government does not address for a long time and has not examined during its meetings the pressing problems of ensuring HSW by creating safe and healthy workplaces. ”Because of a state social insurance system, inherited from the last century, the patrons are not interested economically and are not forced by the Government to ensure decent working conditions, to ensure the health and bodily integrity of those who produce material goods”, has declared Budza.

DumitruStavila, theState Labor Inspectorate Director, noted that since 2007 until now there is a tendency of stabilization and a slight decrease in the number of accidents at work.

”However the current situation worries us because the patrons forget about the HSW rules and endanger the lives of their employees. But they must focus on ensuring favorable working conditions for workers. Therefore, we work closely with the Trade Union Labor Inspectorate, which helps us to track the violations of the labor legislation”, has specifiedStavila.

In her turn, OxanaLipcanu, the national coordinator of the International Labor Organization, stressed the need for a culture of learning the rules relating to health and safety at work. „ The International Organization for Migration and its partners have to be promoters of this culture through various actions, such as organizing awareness campaigns on providing HSW”, has addedLipcanu.

This year, five families whose relatives died in the country from accidents at work, received material aid from the NCTUM in the amount of 3000 MDL for each.

Annually in the Republic of Moldova are traumatizedbecause of accidents at work about 500 employees, of whom around 40 workers lose their lives. The indices of professional diseases are quite insignificant and are decreasing from year to year.If in 2012 there were registered 12 cases of professional diseases, and in 2013 – 6 cases, and during 2014 in the Republic of Moldova there have not been registered any cases of professional diseases.

The International Labor Organization estimates that annually about 2.3 million workers die from work accidents and professional diseases. Of these, over 350 thousand people die from fatal work accidents; 2 million – after fatal professional diseases and over 313 million workers are involved in non-fatal accidents at work.

April 28 is at the international level a day of commemoration of those who lost their lives in accidents at work and professional diseases and it is a special day dedicated to promoting health and safety at work.

Since 2003, the International Labor Organization noted and stressed the need to prevent accidents and health problems at work by means of social dialogue and tripartism.

Since 2010, on the initiative of trade unions from the Republic of Moldova the day of April 28 is officially recognized as the „World Day for Safety and Health at Work„.

Informational Department of NCTUM