Marking the 28th of April, the youth and women section of the Independent Trade Union of Forestry, Wood and Paper of Bosnia and Herzegovina, SSSPDPBIH, participated in the thematic round table on “Prevention of hazards and health and safety at work". The event was held on 27 April 2016 at the Trade Union House in Sarajevo.
Azra Vatrenjak, Health and Safety inspector of Canton Sarajevo gave an overview of the legal framework in the Federation of BiH regarding the organisation and management of work sites, personal protective equipment and occupational injuries and illnesses at work. It should be noted that the tripartite consultations on a new Law on Health and Safety that is urgently needed in the FBIH are ongoing for several years, while the Law on Safety at Work of 1990 is still in force, as well as the bylaws, which hamper the implementation of these regulations as the fine provisions for violation of the mentioned Law are denominated in dinars.
“The roundtable raised awareness about the rights and obligations of the workers and employers in terms of safety and health at work and gave an opportunity to inform about the challenges workers face and exchange experiences on reducing risks at the workplaces in forestry and wood processing. In most forestry companies a greater percentage of disabled workers of II category can be noted. Thus, the basic question is how to prevent certain diseases and disabilities which is certainly of interest to both workers and employers”, highlighted Lejla Catic, president SSŠPDPBiH who reflected on the provisions of the new Labour Law on health and safety at work.
The participants noted that the workers and forest, paper and wood sectors are dealing with the harmful consequences of inadequately applied safety measures, ignoring the need for preventive actions of all relevant factors in the society in order to ensure adequate protection of the health and safety of workers at work and prevent or mitigate adverse consequences.
The event concluded that SSŠPDPBiH shall work more on educating its membership in terms of security and safety at work and request that this issue should be considered together and in cooperation with the employers. The event was realized in close cooperation with the BWI.