Foresee, be prepared for new ‘crises’ and timely provide a reliable system of labour protection

April 28 is annually celebrated as World Day for Safety and Health at Work, proclaimed by the ILO with the aim of increasing attention to issues of labour protection, prevention of occupational diseases and injuries at work.

World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a key element of the ILO's safety, health and environmental agenda. Foresee, prepare and respond to a crisis - invest in safe OSH systems’- this was the topic of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work in 2021, in the opinion of trade union colleagues from the Republic of Belarus, as this again and again emphasizes the importance and need to optimize the elements of the occupational safety and health system, as provided for by the Convention on the Promotion of Occupational Safety and Health Convention No. 187, adopted by the ILO on May 31, 2006. In particular, the latest ILO report for World Day for Safety and Health at Work examines how the current economic crisis has highlighted the importance of strengthening health and safety systems, including health services, at the national and enterprise levels at the same time.

On April 26-28, 2021, an international conference was held in Minsk, Belarus, timed to coincide with the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, during which recommendations were developed for trade unions on interaction with government bodies, employers and workers on labour protection issues, as well as issues of ensuring healthy and safe working conditions.

The conference brought together representatives of the petrochemical, gas and mining industries of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan.

The solemn opening of the International Conference was attended by Deputy Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus - Elena Mankevich, the Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Trade Union President - Yelena Mustafina, Vice-President of Belkhimprofsoyuz - Valery Titov, Vice-President of the Trade Union Belenergotopgaz - Aleksandr Zhilko. Aleksandr Korchagin, President of the International Confederation of oil, gas and construction workers’ and the ROGWU President, greeted the audience in his video message.

One of the main issues discussed by the conference participants was the topic of preventing a decrease in the level of legal guarantees in the field of labour protection. In the opinion of the overwhelming majority of those present, special attention should be paid to measures aimed at unconditional implementation of national legislation in the field of labour protection and at preventing its restoration. The development of national programs on labour protection, promising projects related to the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases at enterprises, the creation of effective jobs - these are issues that also did not remain aloof from the discussion by the participants of the event. The issue of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sphere of work was also considered separately.

Discussing seemingly narrow screen issues of labour protection, the conference participants imperceptibly came to a more global agenda. Namely, the issues of non-standard forms of employment, substitution of permanent labour relations with civil law contracts and fixed-term contracts. Quite fair, the conference participants noted that such forms of agency work also negatively affect the formation of full-fledged procedures in the field of labour protection, and in this regard, trade unions have constantly opposed such relations.

Undoubtedly, the International Conference on Labour Protection has become another practical platform for the exchange of experience in terms of creating healthy and safe working conditions, study of topical issues of occupational health and safety, practices of interaction between trade unions and employers in exercising public control, and the gradual introduction of the concept of zero injuries.

The conference was attended by Konstantin Kovalev, the head inspector on technical labour of the Trade Union, and Azat Safiullin, the head inspector on technical labour of the Trade Union under the interregional trade union organization Tatneft Union.