The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office proposes to dismiss heads and labor protection specialists who allowed worker deaths

The issue of occupational injuries became one of the key topics at the meeting of the regional Council for Labor and Social Issues, where the progress of joint measures by trade unions and employers to implement the comprehensive set of actions for the realization of the Program for Socio-Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2016-2020 within the FPB system was discussed.

Occupational injuries are absent at a number of Vitebsk plants, including the engine repair plant, the electrical measuring instruments plant, the tractor spare parts plant, the grinding machines plant "VIZAS", "Pridvinye", "Monolit", the enterprise "Vitebskoblgaz", as well as "Novoselki-Luchai" in the Postavy district, and others, thanks to the systematic work of all interested structures.

At the same time, over the nine months of last year, the technical inspection of the regional trade union association identified 4397 violations of labor protection legislation, and 126 units of technical equipment hazardous to the life and health of workers were suspended.

Over 11 months, 20 people died at the workplace, and 69 received serious injuries (for the same period in 2017, the figures were 18 and 60, respectively).

A significant number of such cases occur at agricultural enterprises. Occupational injuries are facilitated by the absence of labor protection specialists in district agricultural administrations, high turnover of labor protection engineers, failure of individual managers to fulfill their duties in this regard, and other reasons.

The main directions for achieving "zero injuries" have been identified: strengthening discipline and collective agreement relations, preventing violations of labor legislation, and increasing responsibility for compliance with its norms and rules at all levels of social partnership.

In this regard, the regional prosecutor's office has proposed dismissing heads and labor protection specialists of organizations where fatal occupational injuries occurred due to negligence towards safety measures.

Labor protection is a sacred duty for the employer, emphasized the First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Oleg Matskevich, and responsibility for it should be enforced with the utmost strictness.

"Vitebskiye Vesti". Photos from the newspaper's archive, illustrative in nature.