3M organises regional campaign to promote worker safety
View(s):The Personal Safety Division of global innovation giant 3M, recently held a full day workshop in, Badulla on occupational safety and health with the support of the Industrial Safety Division of the Department of Labour, Sri Lanka. 3M conducted the workshp as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) project to raise awareness on occupational health and safety among employers and decision makers of large scale local industries in the Uva Province, the company said.
Participants represented many sectors such as tea, sugar, dairy, quarry, wood and construction industries and mining.Representatives from the Road Development Authority, Ceylon Electricity Board, Department of Irrigation, Water Supply and Drainage Board, Uva Provincial Council and Public Health Inspectors etc., attended the event. Participants were highly appreciative of 3M’s initiatives in addressing these vital issues.
Addressing the workshop, S.N.B.M. Padmasri, District Factory Inspecting Engineer of the Industrial Safety Division, Department of Labour said, ‘The cause for most common work related accidents is either malpractices among the workers or not using proper personal protective equipment. In Sri Lanka, the highest rates of occupational injuries are reported in construction sites’.
Shayan Appuhamy, Professional Services Engineer of 3M Sri Lanka said, ‘redundancy of the labour force due to occupational injuries has a direct impact on the industry as well as on the country’s economy’. He emphasised that currently there is no product standards and occupational safety guidelines for Sri Lanka. “Also we do not have a regulatory body to regulate imports and manufacturing of personal protective equipment. However, it is high time for us to identify the need of safety in the workplace and arm the workforce accordingly,” he stressed.
3M said it hopes to conduct many such workshops island-wide in industrial zones and construction sites where there is a high risk of occupational accidents.
comments powered by Disqus