The Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs, the Labor and Occupational Health Inspection Sector will conduct an inspection campaign in the Republic of Srpska for the next month, entitled “Let’s Build Safely – Let’s Work without Risks”. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of respecting, improving and applying health and safety measures at work in performance of construction works, with a special emphasis on work at heights.
An analysis of work-related injuries in previous years indicated that a significant number of serious injuries at work or even fatal injuries occur in the construction sector. Most of these injuries occur in small business entities that specialize in performing certain phases of finishing works in construction such as roofing works, sheet-metal, facade, painting, installation works and the like.
The campaign will primarily focus on small and medium-sized business entities in the field of construction that are not sufficiently informed about the present risks of injuries at work and the importance of applying the prescribed occupational health and safety measures.
It is planned that in April 2018, 20 inspection teams carry out about 400 preventive controls on active construction sites or registered and known head offices of business entities.
During the visit, the inspectors, through interviews, counseling and primarily corrective actions, will inform the businesses of the dangers that occur in the work places that are characteristic for their activity, the present risks, the significance of the implementation of occupational safety measures, especially when performing work at heights.
The Inspectorate intends, in addition to the activities of regular surveillance, to introduce subjects engaged in construction work, through the proactive action through the inspection campaign, in the occupational safety and health system, improve social discipline in the implementation of regulations in the field of safety and health at work, and ultimately reduce the number of work injuries in the field of construction.
In 2017, the Republic Labor Inspection Sector performed 2,156 controls in the field of occupational safety. In 875 cases, irregularities were identified, and on the basis of this, 780 administrative measures were imposed on employers in order to eliminate deficiencies, while penalties in the amount of BAM 413.600 were imposed due to committed misdemeanors. Last year, eight fatal and 87 serious injuries occurred in the labor inspection area of surveillance. As the most risky activities, construction, forestry and wood industry are most prominent.
The campaign is being realized with the support of the International Labor Organization and the European Union.
Promotional materials can be viewed on the following links:
