Setting up of a Health and Safety Unit

While speaking during the inauguration of a seminar about "Health and Safety Risks Assessment" at Floriana, the Minister for the Environment Francis Zammit Dimech said that Act No XXVII of 2000, provided for the establishment of an Authority, known as the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and an Occupational Health and Safety Appeals Board. This Act also provided for the exercise of regulatory functions regarding resources relating to Occupational Health and Safety.

Francis Zammit Dimech said that towards the end of 2000 the Health and Safety Unit within the Ministry for the Environment was set up to serve as a point of reference for all the other departments within the same division, in matters relating to measures and precautions that should be taken in health and safety matters. This unit is to serve as a reference point and will monitor measures being taken.

Francis Zammit Dimech said that calls for applications were published for the recruitment of personnel. Today this unit boasts of a Principal Inspector and an inspector. This Unit also sponsored two of its employees who are following a University course leading to a Diploma in Health and Safety. At the same time another call for applications was issued in an effort to recruit another inspector and a number of trainee inspectors. Although restricted in human resources, this section took a number of initiatives.

The Minister for the Environment said that in collaboration with the BICC and inspectors on health and safety at the place of work, a number of inspections were carried out on various places of work of the same Division, in which films on work practices at the site of works were produced. These were later shown to the same employees and their immediate supervisory officers, where various shortcomings were pointed out and security measures that had to be taken were explained.

Francis Zammit Dimech said that this Unit researched and evaluated the amount and quality of incidents occurring at the place of work in the same Division between 1998 and 2000.

Besides a research exercise was carried on a sample of 86 employees from the same Division covering all classes of industrial and managerial employees. Through this exercise the employees’ perception of health and safety issues is being defined.

The Minister for the Environment said that this section initiated physical surveys and evaluations of the buildings where employees of this Division worked. Through these surveys it became clear whether these buildings conformed to the Minimum Health and Safety Requirements at Work Places Regulations which will come into force shortly.

Francis Zammit Dimech said that at the beginning of 2001 this Division prepared a document on precautionary measures that should be taken by project managers before actual construction works are taken in hand. This document was explained to these officials at a meeting in which a number of videos, brought purposely from overseas for this purpose, were shown to the same officials. At the same meeting two manuals were handed out to the officials. These dealt with general measures and protective clothing.

The Minister for the Environment said that the Building Construction Industry Department through the EU pre-accession assistance funded jointly by the British High Commission in Malta and the Maltese Ministry for the Environment is launching a project on risk assessment. This project aims at improving occupational health and safety performance through conducting effective risk assessments.

Francis Zammit Dimech thanked the British consultants for their assistance and augured that the participants will increase their safety culture in a way that they will be in a position to transmit it to their counterparts.