VEER CHAND
NATIONAL TRAINER OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY AND FIRST AID
MINISTRY OF EDUCATIONSUVA, FIJI

Fijij is a ggroupp of beautiful volcanic islands in the SouthPacific, lying about 4450KM South West of Honolulu and1770KM north of New Zealand. Fiji is comprised of 322islands. About 100 are inhabited, while the balanceremainsi naturetpreserves.
As one of the most developed economies in the Pacificisland jurisdiction, Fiji relies heavily on its tourism industry
and sugar exports.
exports The island nation is also rich in goldgold,coconut oil, seafood and lumber.
The exotic islands of Fiji are one of Oceania's mostpopularpp
destinations,, and thus attract all types
yp oftravelers.
From the thrill-seekers and water sport fans, to families
and couples alike, thousands from all over the globe seekli off paradise,
did ttakek advantagedtoutt thi
this gorgeous slice
andoffits abundant sunshine and breathtaking landscape.
 Source: www.infoplease.com


Ministry of Education,Education Professional
Development Unit, National Trainer for
Occupational Health & Safety and ElementaryFirst Aid

2003 2007 – As OHS Chairperson at Central Police
2003-2007
Station.
 2008008 OOHS
S Chairperson
C a pe so at C
Criminala Investigation
est gat oDepartment {CID} Headquarters
 2009- 2011- Group Occupational Health andsafety {OHS} Manager for General Machinery Groupof Companies.
 20112011 20152015 Lecturer
Liin O
Occupational
ilH
Healthl h anddSafety, Management and Elementary First Aid at Fiji
National University {FNU}{FNU}.
 2015 and current- National Trainer for Teachers inOccupational Health and Safety and ElementaryFirst Aid with Ministry of Education.
Workplace injuries in Fiji: a population-based study - Fiji
Ministry of Health and surveillance hospitals and TRIP ProjectTeam.
 Background Workplace injury rates in low and middle –income countries
are known to be high.
 Aims To describe the fatal and hospitalized workplace injuries inFiji using a population – based trauma registry.
 Methods
 An analysis of data from a prospective population –based
surveillance registry investigated the characteristics
i t d with
ith workplacek liinjuries
j i resultinglti
iin dth orassociateddeathhospital admission.
 By way of reports received at the ministry of

employment through LDF1 which if reportedby the employer to the Ministry and also from
the Ministry where the workers lodge reportfor compensation for the injuries they havereceived while working for the employer.

Health and Safety at Work Act
Act, 1996 {HASAWA{HASAWA, 1996}
 Health and Safety at Work {General Workplace
condition, 2003}
 Health and Safety
fat Work {Reps andCommittees}Legal Notice 168
 Health and Safety at Work {Administration}
Regulations 1997 Part 1
 Health and Safety at Work {Administration}RRegulationsl i1997 PPart 2
 Health and Safety at Work {Diving} Regulations 2006
 Health and Safety at Work {Control of Hazardous
SubstanceDescription:

Inspectorate staffs verify the nature of complaints
recorded.
eco ded Advice and discuss with employer on the nature ofcomplaint and the claim of the worker.
 Visit/ call/ email and request the employer toprovide the wages and time records for thecomplainant
l iandd conductdiinspection.
iAl
Also advice
d icomplainant on the progress of the case.
 If employer fails to provide wages and timerecords, call for a Good Faith meeting.
 Conduct search and issue demand for wages andtime records.
 Verify
y records on compliancep
as p
per ERP.
 If no claims, inform complainant to visit office sothat file can be shown to the complainant.
Calculate the legal claims of the worker based on the wages
and time records provided by the employer.
 Issue the request for payment through a letter with thecalculation sheet attached for verification and endorsed
calculation.
 If Employer fails to pay than issue demand notice forpayment.
 Iff complainantlat any point wishes
h to withdraw
hdtheh complaint,lthen the complaint withdrawal form needs to be filled.
 Payments
yreceived from employer,
p y , then issue trust fundreceipt and prepare payment voucher.
 If payment is disputed, issue fixed penalty notice.
l i t settled,ttl d thC
l i t History
Hi tFd If complaints
then fill Complaint
Form
andattach Confirmation FormProcedure of workers Compensation:
 Any injury occurs at the workplace the Ministry ofEmployment to be notified within 14 days.
 Any death occurs it is the duty of the employer to notify
Ministry of employment with 7 days.
 Final medical assessment form the doctor after 6 months ofminor injury
 Final medical assessment form the doctor after 18 months ofmajor injury
 Ministry off Employmentlsends
d theh claiml
to theh employerlbased on final medical assessment {LDC6} Theof Employment
providesoptionemployere Ministry
st y op oy e t po des opt
o to tthe
eep oyeeither to pay for the claim or dispute in the court of law. {Theemployer pays from the insurance brokers if the employees
are insured with the brokers}
 The employer opted to dispute then the case will be filled in
the Employment Relation Tribunal.
 OHS awareness is improved through thetraining of OHS Committees and OHS
Representatives,p, jjoint OHS p
partnershippprojects, development of OHS Regulations
and Codes of Practice, OHS audits,i
investigations
ti tiandd enforcement
ft iinitiatives.
iti tiThe service also processes Workers
Compensation claims for work related injuries
and deaths.
 The service comprises of the following three
specialized units: Training,Training Accreditation
Accreditation, Chemical and Hygiene(TACH). The TACH Unit is responsible foroccupational health and safety training which isan integral
il part off theh OHS management strategy
and the implementation of its policies andprocedures.
procedures
 Risk Engineering and Capital Projects (RECP) The Risk Engineeringgg Service is responsiblepfor
the vetting of plants and machinery designs
gazette under Schedule 4 of the Health andSafety at Work (Administration) Regulations1997
Regulations1997,
and the Non-Destructive Testing (NDT).

Field Operations(FO) The FO Unit is responsible for the effective delivery of OHS
Field Operations services in all workplaces in theCentral/Eastern, Western and Northern Divisions of Fiji and its
core activities include the: Enforcement of OHS Standards
 Provision of an effective emergency OHS Response Service forserious work related accidents
accidents, injuries and fatalities
 Provision of an assistance to workplaces in the setting up ofOHS committees
 Responsive and effective OHS investigation, enforcement andprosecution
 Audit of OHS Management Systems in workplaces Resolution of conflicts between injured parties on immediate
threat situations
 Provisions for quality and sound policy and advice to theMinister. The Permanent Secretary and the NOHSAB.
 Shall promote & protect the health& safety at work of all workers byp
providing:g Safe equipment Safe & healthyy systemyof work- layout of the job.
g- methods of using
machinery/equipment- supply&pp y of suitable appliancepp
humanresources.

 Provision
Pi ioff proper instruction,ii

procedure manual Warnings and notices about the job
 Safe use of plant & substances- information- instruction & training- supervisionp- housekeeping OHS Policy in consultation with workers.
 $100,000.00 corporation, $10,000.00
any other case







An employer is responsible for the health& safety of:
All non-workers in the workplace
All who use the workplace for work
All who use an employer’s plant,
equipment or substances$100,000.00 corporation, $10,000.00
any other case The training are designed by the institutionsin Fiji and provided by the institution. The
training institutions for Occupational healthand safety in Fiji are Ministry of Education,Ministry of Employment, Fiji National
University, University of South pacific &University of Fiji, The example of designed
training program for occupational health andsafety
y for teachers in the Ministry
y ofEducation is as mentioned below;

The training
Thi i
iis programmed
d ffor 3 ddays andd teachers
harounddthe clusters in districts are trained. Average participants of 50
are trained from 25 to 30 Primary and Secondary schools
around the clusters. 2 teachers from each school are
released from the school by the school heads.
 Training in this Occupational health and safety was theinitiative of the Honorable Minister for Education Heritage andArts Dr Mahendra Reddy. This training for teachers has
started in the month of May in the year 2015.
2015 A total of 843
teachers are trained till 25th of September, 2015. There is a
total of 11, 334 and all teachers are expected to be trained byth year 2024 iincluding
thel diththe new tteachers
hwhoh are currentlytlperusing their education with the universities.
 Different strategies are used during the time of training. Theteaching aid and the feedback strategies are changed in theclass.
 Participants are also involved in the group presentation,presentation
impromptu speech and role plays.
Fiji Ports Corporation Limited
 The General Policy of Fiji Ports Corporation Limited
 The Occupational Health and Safety of all persons
employed with Fiji Ports Corporation and Ports
Terminal Limited and those visiting the facility are
considered to be utmost importance.
 The promotion and maintenance of OHS is primarily
the responsibility of management. Management at alllevels is required to contribute to the health andsafety of all persons in the workplace. To this end, itis the responsibility of the management to develop,
implement and keep under review, in consultation
with its employees, the organization’s OHS Program.
Occupationalp
Health and Safety
y Activity
y Programg In order to implement the general provisions of this policy,
a program of activities and procedures will be set up,
continually
y updatedpand effectively
y carried out. The
program will relate to all aspects of OHS including: OHS training and education
 Provisions of information to employees,
p y, contractors andsub-contractors
 Development of safe work procedures
 Emergency
gy procedurespand drills
 Provision of OHS equipment, services and facilities
 Regular workplace inspections and evaluations
 Reporting and recording of incidents
incidents, accidents injuries
and illnesses.
The essence of occupational safety and health (OSH)is the management of occupational risks. An OSHMS
is a preventive method to implement safety andhealth measures which consists of four steps andincorporates the principle of continual improvement.
Its principles are based on the PDCA Cycle: PLAN, DO,
C C ACT.
CHECK,
C Its purpose is to establish
bl h acomprehensive and structured mechanism for joint
action of management
gand workers in theimplementation of safety and health measures. A
systems approach allows for the assessment andimprovement of performance in the implementationof preventive and control measures.

Campaign As Fiji had realized the importance of OHS and
had followed the global trends in adaptation oflaws and best practices
practices, informal sectors andsmall and medium enterprises are encouraged toinvest in OHS training.
 It came as Fiji National University’s National
Training Productive Centre and the National
Safety Council of Australia hosted a one – dayseminar on World Occupational Health and SafetyDay.
y The training programme provides capacity
building opportunities to employees so that new
idideas,concept,t anddb
bestt practices
ticould
ld b
be llearnttand implemented.

Although Fiji has not ratified Convention 155 on
Occupational Health and Safety it has national
legislation
gin pplace ((Health and Safetyy at Work Act 1996))
and a range of Regulations under the Act relating toadministration and standards for various sectors andindustry
dust y ggroups.
oups Thee legislationeg s at o howevero e e iss cclosely
ose yaligned to and is reflective of the Convention. A tripartite
National OHS Board has been established and mostenterprises have workplace Health and Safety
Committees and/or Officers as required by thelegislation. In practice however the minimum standards
in the legislation
legislation, and the procedures are interpreted byemployers as all that they are required to do. In addition
OHS issues are addressed in a reactive approach, iesolutions are sought and issues addressed as and whenproblems arise rather than a proactive approach toeducate, raise awareness, and reduce the risks ofoccupational accidents and diseases from happening.

 To provide more specialized training for OHS

personnel s to create more awarenesspersonnel’sawareness.
 Employers to provide education and in housetraining for their employees.
employees
 More interventions from the developed
countries to organize events just like the one
organized by JICA.

The End