IMPROVEMENT OF POLICY ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY ANDHEALTH
From Policy Development to Implementation Measuresfrom 2 October to 5 November 2016, JapanCountry report : LEBANON
Presented by Sanaa MAKKI
Education inspector
the council of Ministers-The
The Central Inspection-Education
Inspection
inspectorateMap of LEBANON

TurkeySyria

Mediterranean sea

Palestine Jordan
Egypt

KSA

Iraq

Iran

LEBANON FLAG
• Composed of red ,whiteand red horizontal stripes,
with green cedar in the middle• The white color on the flag represents
the snow as a symbol of purity and peace• The two red stripes refer to the Lebanese blood
shed to preserve the country against the successive invaders• The green cedar symbolizes immortality

General information about LEBANON• Geographic Location : Middle East ,located on the East
coast of the Mediterranean Sea (225 km)• Border Countries : Palestine(79 km), Syria (375 km)• Total Area : 10,452 km²• Currency : Lebanese Pound (LBP)• Time zone : + 02:00 GMT• Calling code : + 961• Population: 6,020,355 (1.1
1.1 million refugees from Syria )General information about LEBANON• Capital : Beirut• Ethnic Groups : Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%• Religions : Muslims 59% , Christians 40%, minorities1%• Government type : Republic• Official languages : Arabic , but English and French is widely
spoken• Climate : Moderate weather , it is alpine in the mountains andMediterranean along the coastPopulation per age

Lebanon GDP

Lebanon GDP per capita

Economy• Lebanon ‘s liberal economy is based on competition andprivate ownership• Tourism and banking sectors predominate, and dependence of
those sectors made the services sector the most supportive
sector of the Lebanese economy• Agriculture and industry sectors constitute 20% of country ‘s GDP

Culture•The historical and cultural heritage of Lebanon dates back over
6,000 years to the Phoenicians and the subsequent civilizations
that were established in Lebanon or interacted with the Lebanesepeople• Throughout its history ,Lebanon has been a contact center
between various cultures and civilizations, and, as a result,the Republic today is a highly‐‐cosmopolitan country•Lebanon
Lebanon has a literacy rate as high as 96 %

Organization chart ofCentral Inspection Board

Presidency of theCouncil of Ministers
CentralInspection
Board

CentralInspection
bureauEducation
Inspectorate

Inspectors

Administrative
Inspectorate

OfficeSecretariat

Tenders
Administration

Central Inspection
Administration

Financial
Inspectorate

Engineering
Inspectorate

Health, Social
andAgricultural
Inspectorate

3 general
Inspectors

Government
commissione

Supreme court
disciplineTHE CENTRAL INSPECTION• The Central Inspection is a Public Administration Connected to the councilof Ministers

Tasks :• Monitoring the actions of the public administrative departments toinsure that they perform according to rules and regulations• Monitors the punctuality and discipline of its personnel. This isachieved by means of the different specialties inspectors: Financial,administrative, educational, engineering, health, social andagricultural• Working to improve the methods of administrative action.
• Giving consultation to the authorities spontaneously andaccording to demand• Coordinating the common actions between several public
administrative departments• Organizing the rent of buildings for all administrative
departments• Handling tenders processes that are related to public civil
administrative departments

OVERVIEW of LEBANON OSH SYSTEM

There is no national OSH policy and therelated activities are also random andnot followed by any strategies or plans

Status of industrial/occupational accidents anddiseases• The real status of occupational diseases and injuries is not well officiallystudied• The Ministry of labor does not have any system for notifying, investigatingor documenting occupational injuries and diseases• There are some studies and analysis from universities and otherorganizations that give a general idea and not based on real data
• There is no in-depth
depth studies that show which disease or group of disease
are the most common• No official data or any statistics on workplace injuries
and occupational diseases• Some private insurance companies can give us
general ideas

Related laws and regulations
The Occupational Safety and Health issues ,under the labor law of Lebanon,
are mainly regulated in the following pieces of legislation:• The Decree No. 136 of 1983,, the work related injuries and emergencies. Thisdecree stipulates the employers’ responsibilities in cases of occupational
injuries and corresponding compensation and workers’ entitlements, it also
stipulates the sanctions in case of violations

• The Decree No. 11802 of 2004, Regulation of OSH in theenterprises. This decree includes the OSH requirements andprecautions required by the employers in their workplaces• The Decree No. 11958 of 2004, Safety and Protection inConstruction.
• The Decree No. 4568 of 1960, Health care in the Enterprises.
• The Decree No. 14229 of 2005, Occupational Diseases’ TableAt the Ministry of labor (MOL )since the OSH team was backed up byengineers and physicians three decrees related to OHS were issued:• No. 11802 , No. 11958 , No. 14229 , at the beginning of 2005 thepolitical situation including legislation was hindered thus
implementation was not completely implemented. Despite thatdecree No. 11958 stated that any workplace injuries should bereported, workplace injury should be reported to MOL within 24 hoursof occurrence. Very rare enterprises are reporting abiding.

Organization chart of MOL

Labor Inspection System• The ministry of labor( MOL) is responsible for labor and employement issues• The department of labor inspection is under authority of the MOL• labor inspection in Lebanon is mainly regulated by the Decree No. 3273 of26 June 2000
• According to Decree No. 3273 , the labor inspection system ensures thesupervision of compliance with regulation regarding conditions ofemployment, protection of workers including OSH

Labor Inspection System• There are two types of inspection visits: periodic and urgent
which is mainly complaint-based.
based.
• Each inspector is assigned a certain geographical area whichs/he is required to cover for a period of six months• The labor inspectors prepare their plans by themselves

Labor Inspection System• There are about 96 labor inspectors in MoL classified asfollows:• 26 (administrative) labor inspectors• 46 assistant labor inspectors• 12 health inspectors (Physicians)• 12 safety inspectors (Engineers)

Labor Inspection SystemThe OSH inspectors have the following functions:•Conducting
Conducting inspection visits to ensure compliance with the OSH provisionsof the labor law•Examining
Examining the powered machines to ensure their compatibility with the OSH
requirements and conditions, which is required by law for first-time
firstlicensing

Labor Inspection System• Investigation of work related accidents• Advising and guiding the employers and employees on safety
and healthLabor Inspection System
In cases where the inspectors find violations in the enterprises
being inspected, the following measures may be taken:taken• A warning letter may be issued for the removal of the violation
within the specified notice period• If the employer fails to remove the violation within the notice
period, a penalty is issued and a fine is imposed on him

Workers’ accident compensation insurance
The social security services in Lebanon are provided by theNational Social Security Fund (NSSF),as a socialorganization under the Ministry of Labour
The NSSF provides the following services to the insured:insured• End of Service indemnity• Sickness and maternity social security• Family and academic allowances

Workers’ accident compensation insurance• According to Social Security Law, the NSSF’s services
are supposed to include insurance against
occupational diseases and injuries but this part of thelaw has not been implemented and such services are
not yet included• Workplace accidents are only compensated byprivate insurance companies

Safety of equipment and facilities• Safety equipment is available in the country.
But in variant frequency and level of complexity• There is no coordination between government
departments there is no clear procedures to followfollow
up and handle matters relating to public safety

Training/ Education programs• Staffs inspectors of OSH are either engineersor physicians who undergo special training courses in
Lebanon provided mainly by ILO and other UN/ European
agencies concerned in OSH• Sometimes they are sporadically sent abroad for short courses

Activities of industrial/occupational safety
and health organizations other thangovernment• Some industrial enterprises, chambers of commerce ,NGOS ( Non – government organizations)and academic
institutions launch some activities ; however ,theseactivities are inefficientOSHMS and Risk Assessment• Risk Assessment and Management is developed in someof the private sector especially after the promotion ISO
and the demand from many local and internationalorganizations

Campaign/ Event/ National Convention/Exhibition• Due to political conflicts, campaigns are minimal .Eventof the OHS day ,on 28 April has not beencommemorated by the ILO regional office (located inBeirut ) since 27 April 2006

References• Recently ,a home page for the ministry of labor has been
available , but the issue of OSH is not well highlighted. It
mainly tackles the issue of work permit and other nonnon
OSH regulations

A- the obstacles that hinder OHS Implementation• Political conflicts are one of the core obstacles to achieve
development and implementation of OHS services• Absence of national OSH policy and strategy ,andmisunderstanding the concept of OSH among the decision
makers• Understaffed ministryB- Suggestions• Urgent establishment of national OSH policy and strategy; ahelp from international countries/organizations would be ofgreat importance• Recruitment of extra qualified inspectors to performprofessionally and efficiently ,to contribute as well in
dissemination of awareness campaigns

Resources• http://www.ilo.org/beirut/• http://www.labor.gov.lb• http://www.moph.gov.lb• http://www.lpa.gov.lb• http://www.yasa.org/ar• http://www.unicef.org• http://www.highcharts.com• http://www.worldbank.org

Thank you