Minister of Labour inaugurates: "The Fifth Steel Conference for Health, Environment and Occupational Safety"

04-06-2023

His Excellency Mr. Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, Minister of Labour, stressed that the rapid scientific and technological developments witnessed by the world necessitate partners in the field of occupational safety and health to exert more efforts to create and empower a generation of cadres and competencies in this field. Specifically, to make them able to keep pace with changes and develop the occupational and preventive safety and health system to maintain the safety of workers in a way that enhances productivity levels in various establishments. This came in a speech by the Minister of Labour during his opening and sponsorship, on Sunday, of the Fifth Steel Conference for Health, Environment and Occupational Safety, organised by Foulath Holding Group, during the period from 4-8 June, under the slogan "Safety is everyone's responsibility", at the company's headquarters in Hidd Industrial City and in the presence of Mr. Dilip George, CEO of Steel Group. A number of institutions concerned with occupational safety and health from inside and outside the Kingdom of Bahrain also participated in the event. In its fifth edition, the conference focuses on showcasing the best successful practices for building healthier and safer organisations, companies and work environments for employees, and discusses the best recent studies in this field by experts and specialised speakers. Humaidan pointed to the efforts of the Kingdom of Bahrain in reducing occupational diseases and accidents, which led to a significant decrease in the number of occupational accidents that occurred during the period from 2016 to 2022 by 50%, as well as a decrease in the percentage of accidents in the construction sector during the period from 2027 to 2022 by 47%. In addition, Bahrain succeeded in implementing the noon-work ban during the months of July and August of each year, where the compliance rate exceeded 98%, which reflects the employers' awareness of the humanitarian implications of this decision and its importance in protecting workers and enhancing productivity. His Excellency the Minister of Labour appreciated the holding of this conference, as it addresses the most influential topics directly related to the foundations and principles of occupational safety and health and the strengthening of the preventive safety system. It is also an opportunity to highlight the most prominent challenges facing the implementation of occupational safety and health initiatives. For his part, the CEO of Bahrain Steel really admired the keenness of the Ministry of Labour to promote a culture of occupational safety and health in the work of establishments, which reflected positively on the safe work environment in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In this context, he reviewed the efforts made by Foulath towards promoting and applying occupational safety and health conditions, pointing to the active role of occupational safety and health in reducing accidents and maintaining the safety of workers and work environment property.