State Labour Inspectorate demands increased control over safety at housing and communal services enterprises in the Vitebsk region
05/11/20120 views
November 5, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The State Labour Inspectorate demands increased control over the safety of workers in the housing and communal services and forestry enterprises of the Vitebsk region. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Sergey Anufriev, First Deputy Head of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the State Labour Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.
According to him, the number of workplace injuries in these sectors in the region has significantly increased this year. Thus, as of October 31, 2012, 8 fatal accidents were registered in housing and communal services organisations, which is 6 more cases compared to the same period in 2011.
Their main causes were the failure of managers and specialists to fulfil their occupational safety duties (23.1% of all causes), violation of safety requirements during the operation of vehicles, machinery, mechanisms, and equipment (23.1%), absence of organisational and technological documentation (15.4%), violation by the victims themselves of occupational safety instructions, labour and production discipline, as well as poor development of occupational safety instructions (7.6% each).
"In addition, the analysis of accidents showed that some employers do not comply with the requirements of legislative and regulatory legal acts regulating safe working conditions for employees during earthworks, loading and unloading operations, work from mobile elevating work platforms, as well as those related to the operation and maintenance of motor vehicles," noted Sergey Anufriev.
The situation in the organisations of the Ministry of Forestry located in the Vitebsk region is also not ideal. In January-October 2012, 3 fatal workplace accidents occurred in them, including 2 fatal and 1 severe, whereas in the same period of 2011, only one severe accident was registered (there were no fatalities at work).
"Particular concern is caused by the fact that, despite logging activities being classified as high-risk work, neither the officials of organizations nor the workers themselves performing the tasks are paying due attention to the implementation of labor protection requirements stipulated by local normative acts, including the development of technological processes and adherence to safe work procedures. Cases of workers being at the workplace under the influence of alcohol have not been entirely eliminated," the source emphasized.
Sergey Anufriev also added that this information has been communicated to the heads of relevant departments with a proposal to tighten control over the observance of labor, production, and executive discipline by employees, to remove individuals from work who are at the workplace under the influence of alcohol, and to increase the responsibility of work supervisors for the failure to fulfill their labor protection duties.
In total, from January to October, 15 workers died and 72 sustained severe injuries in organizations of the Vitebsk region, which is 44.4% and 1.3% less, respectively, compared to the same period last year. The Gorodok, Dokshytsy, Dubrovno, Miory, Polotsk, Ushachy, and Sharkovshchina districts had no cases of severe injuries during these 10 months. An increase in fatal accidents is noted in Vitebsk (by 7 cases compared to January-October 2011), Polotsk (by 2 cases respectively), Senno district (by 6 cases), Vitebsk and Lepel districts (by 2 cases each), Beshenkovichi, Liozno, Orsha, and Shumilino districts (by 1 case each).
Fatalities at work were registered in Liozno, Senno, Chashniki, and Glubokoe districts (one each), in Polotsk, Postavy districts, and Polotsk city (two each), and in Vitebsk (5 cases).
Overall, against the backdrop of a general decrease in industrial injuries in organizations of the Vitebsk region during January-October 2012, some districts of the region lack a positive trend in reducing industrial injuries. Moreover, an increase in both fatal and severe injuries is noted in the Senno and Liozno districts, and in Polotsk, Sergey Anufriev added. -0-
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