Occupational Health & Safety Program

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Through the Foundation for the Promotion of Occupational Health and Safety (FPSST), this program will reduce the incidence of occupational accidents and illnesses by encouraging businesses,workers, occupational risk insurers (ARTs), and the competent authorities to pool their efforts to promote a safe and healthy workplace environment.The three components are:(a) sector diagnoses of occupational health and safety; (b) training for workers, employers and instructors of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Human Resource Development; and (c)promotion and dissemination.For Component 1, diagnoses will be performed in the sectors of: (a) metallurgy; (b) construction; (c) the rural sector; (d) automotive; and (e) a multi-sector analysis of micro and small businesses (MSEs). The aspects to be examined in each sector include: (a) principal characteristics of the businesses and their facilities; (b) legal instruments and their degree of compliance; (c) personnel and resources assigned to occupational health and safety duties; (d) prevention systems and activities; (e) incidence of occupational accidents and illnesses in the firm; (f) relations with the ARTs and with the Superintendency ofOccupational Risk (SRT); and (g) risks inherent in the activity and nature of the firm itself.Component 2 helps the sectors included in the diagnosis, as well as MSEs and the Ministry of Labor,Employment and Human Resource Development (MTEFRH), strengthen the capacity of the different occupational health and safety players. It funds curriculum design, training of trainers, andpreparation of teaching materials for courses conducted by the FPSST, participating unions and business groups, and MTEFRH. In addition, a distance training (radio) module is planned for workers who cannot attend organized classes, mainly in rural areas. Training content will be based on the respective diagnostic results.Component 3 funds: (a) designing an outreach strategy to reach the entire spectrum of public and private institutions involved in occupational safety; (b) disseminating information over the mass media; (c) establishing and equipping an information center on occupational hazards for the ARTs formal sector, as well as the informal sector; and (d) implementing a workshop to review and discuss proposed reforms to the SRT and to occupational health and safety legislation,resulting in a document ready to submit to the Legislature.