In the Vitebsk region, the responsibility of managers for employee injuries will be tightened - A. Kosinets

July 26, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. In the Vitebsk region, the responsibility of managers for the death and injury of workers will be tightened. This was announced today at a meeting of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by its chairman Alexander Kosinets during the consideration of the issue of compliance with the requirements of Directive No. 1 "On measures to ensure public safety and discipline" in terms of the implementation of labor legislation, labor protection and additional measures to ensure life safety in hazardous industries of the national economy, according to a BELTA correspondent. According to the chairman of the regional executive committee, certain work was carried out in the first half of the year, the level of fatalities at work decreased by more than half compared to January-June 2011, and severe injuries decreased by 35%. "But no matter what measures are taken, the 7 people who died in six months and 37 who received severe injuries indicate that unacceptably little has been done. Yes, last year, 16 people died and 51 were injured during the same period. But let's look at the causes of accidents last year and this year, because they are the same: gross violation of labor protection rules and requirements, disregard for personal protective equipment, appearing at work in a state of intoxication. As a result, orphaned children, incomplete families. Meanwhile, ultimately, the manager is responsible for this," Alexander Kosinets emphasized. In his opinion, it is at the local level that managerial staff, starting from the team leader and foreman, are not working seriously enough. "What do they not see, in what condition do employees come to work, do they not know about the absence of work clothes and personal protective equipment? They see all this, but they do not take any decisive measures to correct the situation. This carelessness, negligence, disorderliness leads to the loss of the most valuable thing - human lives," the governor stated. Touching upon the ways out of the current situation, Alexander Kosinets emphasized the need to increase the role of trade unions in preventive work. "At the moment, the potential of this organization in this issue is not being used," he believes. The chairman of the regional executive committee also instructed to develop a comprehensive system of measures for each sector of the national economy in terms of eliminating issues related to deaths and injuries at work, and to take the strictest measures of responsibility against all managers who allowed such cases - to bring them to administrative and criminal liability. "People go to work, not to the front. Their families are waiting for them at home in the evening, and they must return," Alexander Kosinets concluded. -0-