Courses held to raise awareness about health and safety at work

A group of Works Department employees successfully completed a course in health and safety at work.

The course, organised by Sedqa and the Works Department as part of the programme SAFE (Substance Abuse Free Employment), was made up of a series of seminars where workers participated in discussions and raised their concerns on these issues.

Presented with a certificate of appreciation by Sedqa on behalf of the Works Department, the Minister for Resources and Infrastructure, Ninu Zammit, explained that the main aim of the seminars was to increase awareness on health and safety at work and to diffuse information on how alcohol and the unprescribed intake of medicines could lead to accidents at the workplace.

Mr Zammit said the workers who took part had the chance of participating in discussions and to raise their own concerns. They were also given the opportunity to refer to problems or concerns in a confidential manner.

Mr Zammit said that between May 2003 and April 2004, 1,542 workers from the ministry's Works Department took part in lectures on health and safety given by two health and safety inspectors of the Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC).

He said that, along with these two inspectors, the health and safety section of the BICC had another four trainees who have completed a two-year diploma at the University of Malta. Their role is to educate workers on health and safety.