We are gathered here again today, responding to the call of the FCC, to pay tribute to the workers who lost their lives in industrial accidents and occupational diseases.
We know that prevention is better than cure and that investing in Occupational Safety and Health is very important.
The pandemic has demonstrated the need for effective implementation of Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems, which will be able to absorb unforeseen threats and address new risks. At the same time, however, these systems must continue to protect workers from occupational hazards, ensuring not only the safety and health of workers but also the continuity of business activity.
But the effective implementation of Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems requires the building of a positive safety and health culture. This culture will enable the right to a safe and healthy working environment to be respected at all levels, where government, employers and workers are actively involved in ensuring a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and obligations, and where the principle of prevention has the highest priority.
Building a positive safety and health culture at company level requires the commitment of management at all levels of the hierarchy, the universal participation of all employees, the implementation of work organisation procedures, the provision of training and information to employees, the monitoring of results for immediate corrective action and the cultivation of a safety and health culture as part of the wider company culture. At the state level, the existence of appropriate legislation, the supervision of its implementation, the promotion of prevention and also the implementation of actions to cultivate a safety and health culture in the general population are required.
As can be seen from the above, the involvement of all stakeholders is a prerequisite for the cultivation and development of a positive safety and health culture. Considering the excellent tripartite cooperation that exists in our country on occupational safety and health issues, I am confident that we are on the right track to design and implement actions to cultivate a positive culture on occupational safety and health issues and to achieve the common goal of all of us, which is the zeroing of fatal accidents and, in general, the reduction of other occupational accidents, occupational diseases and dangerous incidents.
In conclusion, I would like to pay tribute to the victims of occupational accidents.
