TWO thousand people in the public and private sectors will receive training in health and safety issues in an effort to reduce by a quarter the annual number of working accidents and professional ailments by 2012.
The 1.75 million euro project is part of an EU Technical Assistance Project, which aims to slash working accidents and sickness over the next five years.
Speaking at news conference to announce the project, Labour Minister Antonis Vassiliou said it would focus on working conditions within the construction, mining and port industries, where the majority of accidents occurred.
“These areas employ more than 30,000 workers and are the backbone of our country’s workforce,” Vassiliou said.
Among the 2,000 trained will be managers and scientific personnel, in other words those people who have an important role in shaping health and safety policies in their organisations, Vassiliou said.
“Every accident is the result of a chain of events and wrong actions or oversights that usually stem from a lack of education and information regarding the dangers that lurk in the workplace,” he said.
He said it was possible to predict and prevent accidents.
The Labour Minister said a construction project’s health and safety levels were determined by what choices and decisions were made during its initial stages and that everyone involved in its planning could reduce and/or eradicate potential dangers once work commenced.
“Proper training as well as the constructive co-operation of all involved is necessary to achieve the goal of improving health and safety at building sites,” he added.
The minister said work accidents and professional sickness were closely linked with organisations’ lack of health and safety policies.
“It is directly related with the non-implementation of risk management systems and the absence of health and safety protection measures in the workplace,” he said.
Vassiliou said it was important to instil a health and safety conscience in organisations and businesses and that effective risk management and prevention measures were their legal obligation
“Because undoubtedly the issues of employment health and safety are directly involved with employment, working terms and conditions, as well as progress and financial development,” he said.
“It is the duty of all to ensure that workers leave home in the morning and return at night safe and sound,” he added.
Regarding working accidents this year, Vassiliou said the number so far seemed greater than in previous years, but that the year had still not come to its conclusion, so it was premature to talk about an increase.
He said the number of workers accidents in the past four to five years averaged between 14 and 18 and was estimated to go no higher this year.
“Within the EU, we are no higher than the average, and the EU goal by 2012 is that working accidents are reduced by 25 per cent, a goal Cyprus not only estimates to achieve but to surpass,” the minister said.
