Back in March, IOSH welcomed a delegation of representatives from the
Turkish Labour Inspection Board. Following this visit, the institution received
an invitation from the Turkish Government to speak at its second annual
International Occupational Safety and Health Conference, held in Ankara from 7
to 11 May. Head of Technical Affairs, Richard Jones MIOSH RSP, travelled to
Turkey to present a paper.
The conference was jointly organised by the Turkish Ministry of Labour and
Social Security in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation and
the World Health Organisation. Around 170 delegates attended representing many
countries.
The main theme of the conference was sharing "good practice in health,
environment and safety management in enterprises". The programme also
highlighted the dedicated OSH policies of the ILO along with specific OSH
issues generated by advancing technical developments in the
"globalising" world. The problem of child labour and the challenges
it brings to OSH systems was also revisited.
Richard Jones reported that those nations represented all seemed to be
experiencing similar OSH problems and hence are developing similar OSH
management systems. Many are also intent on combining occupational safety and
health management with environmental management within this system. As none of
the countries represented had anything like IOSH, Jones’ presentation generated
significant interest and he received many requests for further information
about the institution and its activities.
He also noted that there was a real opportunity to significantly influence
the development in these countries of bodies or organisations similar to IOSH
and that this conference, proved to be a good starting point.
