Improvement of Policy on Occupational Safety and Health-From Policy Development to Implementation Measures

Occupational Safety & Health in Iraqi Kurdistan Region
By : Sabri M. Armea
Department of Occupational Safety and HealthGeneral Directorate of Labor and Social Insurance
Ministry of Labor and Social Affair , Kurdistan Region – Iraq

Overview of presentation
Introduction
Organization Chart
Occurrence status of industrial/occupational
accidents and occupational diseases

Data collection methods
Activities/ training / Laws & regulations

Strategies to improvement OSH
Challenges/lessons learned

Flag Of Kurdistan - IRAQ

Flag of IRAQMap OF IRAQThe Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan region, officially called the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by theIraqi constitution, is an autonomous region located in northern Iraq. It is also
referred to as Southern Kurdistan, as Kurds generally consider it to be one of thefour parts of Greater Kurdistan, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey(Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), and northwestern Iran(Eastern Kurdistan).
The region is officially governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), withthe capital being Erbil. Kurdistan is a parliamentary democracy with its own
regional Parliament that consists of 111 seats.
The new Constitution of Iraq defines the Kurdistan Region as a federal
entity of Iraq, and establishes Kurdish and Arabic as Iraq's joint official languages.
The four governorates of Duhok, Erbil, Silemani, and Halabja comprise around46,861 square kilometers (18,093 sq mi) and have a population of 5.8 million (2017estimate). In 2014, during the 2014 Iraq Crisis, Iraqi Kurdistan's forces also tookover much of the disputed territories of Northern Iraq; the total area under thecontrol of the Kurdistan Regional Government contains some 8 million inhabitants(counting the IDPs in addition to the locals).

Government Organizations
Responsible for OSH

Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
Molsa / KRG
G. D of DivanMolsa

G. D of Developmentand social Welfare

G. D of Social
ReformGeneral Directorate of Labor and Social Insurance

OSH Department
Directorate of Labor/Erbil

OSH Unit

Directorate of Labor/Sulimaniyah

OSH Unit

Directorate of Labor/ Duhok

OSH Unit

Directorate of Labor and Vocational training/SoranOSH Unit

Directorate of Labor and Vocational training/ZakhoOSH Unit

Directorate of Labor and Vocational training/GarmianOSH Unit

G. D of Inspection

I’m hereOccurrence status of industrial/occupational accidents

3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0

35
30
25
20
15
10502014
2015
2016
2017

2018
No. visits

20142015
2016
2017

2018
Accidents

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

NO. of Visit

19693081

895679583

Accidents

30

20

18

136

Death rate

69

5683

Accidents causing Factors•Basic causes-Management-Environment-Equipment- Human Behavior•Indirect causes-Unsafe Acts
-Unsafe conditions•Direct causes-Slips and Falls- Run Over- Chemical Exposure

Type of accidents
Fracture other than thumb and toeAny injuries likely to lead to permanent eyesight loss orreduction of sightAny crush injuries causing damage to brain or any
other internal organs
Serious burns which cover more than 10% of bodyCause to significant damage of eye sight or respiratory
system or vital organs
Serious injuries to the limbs

Data Collection form

TrainingJapan International
Cooperation Agency( JICA )European Technologyand Training Centre (ETTC)

Also : TOT for the vocational training staff, the course is part of a competency-based
Training project, including the application of occupational health and safety measures.

OSH Publications

Safety and Health related Laws and Regulations

Strategies and Improvements
Because this sector is new in our region, it needs some time forthe people to get used to it in order to get our point to ouraudience like office worker doctors, line assemblies,
construction workers and all hand working people here.

Suggestions?
• Publishing more leaflets, flyers with adequate information
about the importance of health and safety and handing it toworkers.
• Holding seminars, conference, broadcasting programs on TV
and radio stations in order to make business owners,companies, managers, employers and employees understandthe importance of health and safety at work
• Going out to workers to introduce ourselves, tell them weare here for them.
•Establish a national OSH center.

The strategy can be implemented through the following main activities:

1 - Periodic revision of existing legislations

2 - Development of technical guidelines and criteria for harmful substances,noise, vibration, heat...etc in the working environment and preparation ofguidelines for their applications.
3 - Preparation and dissemination of information and guidelines for unit ofoccupational health & safety services adapted to specific target groups andtheir functions.
4 - Promoting awareness of the importance of improved working conditions
on workers’ health & safety and dissemination of information or new
preventive and protective technologies and industrial hygiene in traditionaland new industrial sectors with special emphasis on small scale industries.
5 - Training to improve preparedness for accidents in industrial plants andemergency planning system.

Gaps & Challenges•Insufficiency of OSH Supervision or Inspection from Government ( hugegap between Labor Inspection vs Total number of Enterprises)•Poor awareness of the implementation of Occupational Health and Safety(OSH) in enterprise.
•Most local Companies do not comply to existing OSH regulations•Many companies in Kurdistan -Iraq consider OSH as a cost burden•Poor communication between employees, employers, and OSH offices• Not enough trained OSH staff• Not enough training courses for OSH staff• There is no website to collect, save and publish accidents’ data andstatistics about health and safety• There is no tough fine and punishment for those who don’t apply OSHregulations.
- How to improve the implementation record in OSHMS- How to improve prevention of work-related diseases?

The key objectives
1. Facilitate compliance with OSH legislation, particularly by
micro and small enterprise
2. Better enforce OSH legislation by KRG

3. Simplify existing legislation
4. Improve statistical data collection methods and develop theinformation base
5. Better coordination between KRG and international efforts toaddress OSH and engage with international organizations

Lessons Learned
1) What was achieved
Less accidents and death rates. Despite the economic crisis
experienced by the Kurdistan Region (for employees), the teamcontinued to work and doing the field visits to projects andfactories and industrial area.
2) key elements of success
Starting cooperation with JICA to improve , train and capacity
building of our staff
3) lessons learned
The more visits of our staff to industrial sites and work places leadto more awareness of the labor about OSH4) monitoring methods
Periodic visits to projects and using the manual form to record therelevant data

ありがとうございましたَ‫شكرا‬‫سوثاس‬Thankyou

terima kasih

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