Work related deaths top 2.3 m every year: ILO

by Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The latest ILO report released on the World Day for Safety and Health at Work in April 2005 revealed that 2.3 million work related deaths take place worldwide every year. Apart from that 270 million workers suffer due to accidents and 4% of the world GDP is lost due to injuries to workers.

Manager, Environmental Health and Safety, Ceylon Tobacco Vasantha Ranasinghe said, there is a prime need for Sri Lankan organisations also to formalise a policy which included a formal statement on the companies as the life of every individual is unique and irreplaceable.

Addressing a seminar on Workplace Safety and Health Management Systems organised by 3M Lanka Pvt Ltd held at the Trans Asia hotel in Colombo, Ranasinghe said that when a company does not have a proper policy for health and safety of their employees that would cost a lot of money which include sick pay, retraining and rehabilitation cost, physiological effects on co-workers, bad publicity, and loss of production.

Mostly these accidents take place due to lack of knowledge, careless attitude, poor tools and equipment handling and working without authority.

Therefore it is the responsibility of every management to maintain a safe working environment, employee welfare, safe methods for storing, handling and transporting and finally comply with national legislation and company rules.

Business Development Manager 3M Asia Pacific ,Occupational health and safety division Keith Roddan addressing the seminar said that respiratory and hearing protection programmes are very important to Sri Lankan factories as they have little awareness of the long term implications of poor protection.

He stressed on a four step approach as identifying respiratory hazards using professionals and proper equipment, understanding the contaminants' effect on co workers and the use of engineering controls, selecting a proper respirator and training in proper respirator use and care for workers, supervisors and fit testing monitors.