Good health and safety practice awards

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority is to award employers who exercise good practice in the workplace.

For the first time, the OHSA will award Good Practice Awards in three areas related to occupational health and safety. The ceremony will be held in October.

The awards will recognise activities or initiatives organised between October 2001 and April 2002.

There are three categories of awards to be presented: the Health and Safety Management Initiative Awards, the Building and Construction Industry Initiative Awards; and the SME enterprise Initiative Awards

Private and public sector organisations and enterprises which implemented any initiative to promote, safeguard or raise awareness of occupational health and safety in this period, may apply for the award.

The submissions will be judged by a panel made up of representatives of the three social partners. More than one award may be presented in any of the categories, if the members of the panel believe the submissions are of a high enough standard.

Initiatives that may be considered for the awards include the implementation of a programme aimed at preventing accidents at work, including, if applicable, the prevention of accidents involving clients or the general public;

programmes which provide information or training; the institution of formal risk assessment procedures; the introduction of networking among managers and employers, and the linking up of companies for the joint sharing of information and the prevention of accidents and ill health;

the structured publication or transmission of informative or educational material, as well as the development of a computer programme or software.

The OHSA and the Foundation for Human Resources Development believe that it is in the interest of corporate reputation to ensure an excellent working environment within organisations.

This belief stems from the fact that better occupational health and safety renders organisations more profitable both in the short and long-term.

New regulations

During the past months the Occupational Health and Safety Authority has been working intensively to update local legislation on a number of fronts to reflect the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act 2000, and to bring the existing legislation in line with international standards and requirements.

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority and the Foundation for Human Resource Development have teamed up to inform organisations of the new regulations which are either in force or will be introduced in the coming months.

Complimentary copies of the newly published legislation relating to workplace minimum health and safety requirements; provision of health and safety signs at the workplace; and minimum health and safety requirements for work with VDUs.

For information or assistance on the implementation of these regulations e-mail:ohsa@gov.mt or call the OHSA on tel. 2124-6377. Alternatively visit the Ministry for Social Policy Website (www.msp.gov.mt).