Seminar on Occupational Health and Safety

At the beginning of March, the ETUC, UNICE and CEEP jointly organised a seminar in Prague, which aimed to bring together partners from the workers' and employers' side of accession countries, who are involved in occupational health and safety in the broader framework of the "Work Life and EU Enlargement Project".

The seminar aimed to provide a platform for sharing experiences and discussing national projects in accession countries dealing with occupational health and safety issues, with a particular focus on the role of the social partners.

All accession countries presented their experience by delivering reports of employers and employees on their achievements on health and safety issues during the last period.

John Spiteri made a presentation on behalf of the FOI explaining the contribution of employers in Malta in the setting up of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority in 2000.

Mr Spiteri's presentation also dealt with health and safety legislation in Malta, and the Authority's function, particularly through its present workforce, including health and safety officers.

The seminar served as an excellent opportunity for sharing of health and safety experiences both of employers' and employees' representatives among all accession countries. At the end of the seminar the organisers proposed to have a follow-up by the end of this year.