135th International Labour Day : Stakes of Workers’ Health Discussed

Activities to commemorate this year’s edition of the International Labour Day continued at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in a Webinar which revealed that the majority of Health and Safety Committee as well as health units in various work places do not respect the required norms to operate. The two-hour webinar, which was coordinated by the Inspector General at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Jean Calvin Naoussi focused on the theme of the celebration; “The World of Work and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Securing Worker’s Health, a Great Challenge in the Preservation of Achievements within Companies.” The Minister of Labour and Social Security Gregoire Owona took part at the Zoom meeting. 
During an investigation carried out in some 334 enterprises in the country, the Coordinator of the National Labour Observatory, Bohimo Edouard, said statistics show that 72.19 per cent of enterprises in the country have a Health Safety Committee of Work, 41 per cent are functional and 67 per cent do not meet the required norms. As such, the Coordinator of the National Labour Observatory said, companies must have safety and health committees especially during this period marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. He reiterated that the health and safety committee are to: facilitate co-operation in developing and carrying out measures to improve the safety of workers, make recommendations on safety and health rules, programmes, measures and procedures at the workplace. Also, the Committee is out to ensure information on hazards is kept where it is readily accessible, consider and make recommendations about changes that may affect the safety and health of employees.
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Director of H...