State Labor Inspectorate notes an increase in fatalities and injuries at enterprises of Vitebsk Oblpotrebsoyuz

November 16, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The State Labor Inspectorate is concerned about the increase in fatalities and injuries at enterprises of the Vitebsk regional consumer union, the chief state labor inspector of the Vitebsk regional department of the State Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Oleg Berezyak, told a BELTA correspondent. According to him, in January-October of this year, 3 industrial accidents occurred at enterprises and organizations of the Vitebsk regional consumer union system, including 1 fatal and 2 severe injuries, while in the same period of 2011, only one case of severe injury was registered in the region. The fatality occurred at the private cooperative construction and repair unitary enterprise "Glubokoe mobile mechanized column". During excavation work in October, a plumber was buried by soil in a trench. A special investigation into this incident is currently underway. During inspections of compliance with labor and occupational safety legislation in the regional consumer union system, inspectors identified a number of significant shortcomings, noted Oleg Berezyak. In particular, the occupational safety service of enterprises is understaffed, there is a lack of proper control over compliance with regulatory legal acts on occupational safety, and provision of employees with special clothing, footwear and other necessary personal protective equipment in accordance with established norms. A separate block of issues concerns employees' compliance with labor discipline and holding them accountable. Based on the results of the monitoring, the Vitebsk regional department of the State Labor Inspectorate sent a corresponding representation to the management of the Vitebsk regional consumer union with a demand to eliminate the identified violations, take all necessary measures to ensure safe working conditions for employees, and also strengthen control over the latter's compliance with labor and production discipline in accordance with the requirements of Directive No. 1 "On measures to strengthen public safety and discipline." -0-