Country Report
1. Basic Information(1) Name of Participant: Vasker Sharma(2) Country: Bhutan(3) Organization/ Department/Title: Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying,
Jigme Namgyel Engineering College, Royal University of Bhutan(4) Work experience (years) in the field of industrial/occupational safety and health: 9 years
2. Organization ChartFigure 1: Organizational Chart

3. Contents
1) Occurrence status of industrial/occupational accidents and occupational diseases(including statistics):
Injuries/fatalities by Region:
Based on the data collected from Annual Report (2020, 2021, 2022) from Department of Labor, it isobserved that the total injuries/accidents has increased over the last three years.

Figure 2: Injuries by region
Injuries/Fatalities by Major Sectors
Further it is observed that construction and Manufacturing sectors are the leading sectors for injuries
and fatalities accounting for 31.6% and 26.3% respectively in 2022-2023.

Figure 3 Injuries by sectors2)

Datacollection

methods for statistics
The data are gathered by the Department of labour based on site inspection and the number of record
registered by the region/sectors with the Department of labour. To enable the record of any injuries orworkplace mishap, the Department of Labour has developed Labour Administrative system (LAS)
where people/construction worker can file workplace related grievances at the workplace using theonline platform. The data are then gathered annually and statistics is are presented for both the regions
as well as the sectors. According to BBS (2023), the department received only about 450 labour-related
complaints in 2022, where almost 80 per cent of the complaints were from the construction sector.
However, the online platform has not been used by the people as they seem to be unaware of suchplatforms and many incidents go unrecorded.

Figure 4: LAS (Source: DoL, MoICE)

3) Safety and Health related Laws and Regulations
 Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety for the Construction Industry, 2022, Departmentof Labour, MoLHR Regulation on Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare, 2022, Department of Labour, MoLHR General Rules and Regulations on Occupational health and Safety in construction,
Manufacturing and Service Industries, 2006, MoLHR

4) Labor Inspection System
The Department of Labour has appointed several labour officers who are responsible for inspecting
both working conditions and safety and health in the workplaces. The labour officers need to build theircompetency to carry out their responsibilities on prevention, protection and improvement of workplacesafety and health through education, technical support and advice. With the development of LAS, it isenvisaged that workplace injuries, accidents and complaints be recorded by the workers. Accordingly,
the labor officers shall carry out the inspection.
5) Workers’ accident compensation insurance

In the FY 2022-2023, employers paid a total compensation amount of Nu. 8.35 million to employees
who were either injured or deceased as a result of workplace accidents, while in FY2021-2022, a totalof Nu.1.692 million was paid to the employees. This compensation reflects the financial support
provided to affected employees or their families to help alleviate the consequences of the accidents.
6) Safety of equipment and facilities
NA7) Training/ Education programs
Construction Association of Bhutan(CAB) has conducted several OHS training in Bhutan to provide
knowledge of Health & Safety ideas to those involved in the construction activities & to contractors aswell as their employees.
8) Activities of industrial/occupational safety and health organizations other thangovernment
Information not available
9) OSHMS and Risk Assessment
Formation of safety and health committee in the region helps in management of OHS and also the risk
assessment. A total of 115 safety committees has been formed in FY2022-2023.

Comprised of representatives from both management and employees, the committee serves as aplatform for collaborative efforts to address and manage occupational health and safety concerns within
an organization.
10) Campaign/ Event/ National Convention/ Exhibition
Information not available11) Reference (HP related, source regarding law, data, etc.)
Sources regarding the data: Department of Labour (2022). Annual Report. Ministry of Industry, commerce & Employment
 Department of Labour (2021). Annual Report. Ministry of Industry, commerce & Employment
 Department of Labour (2020). Annual Report. Ministry of Industry, commerce & Employment
Sources regarding the law:
 Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety for the Construction Industry, 2022, Departmentof Labour, MoLHR Regulation on Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare, 2022, Department of Labour, MoLHR General Rules and Regulations on Occupational health and Safety in construction,Manufacturing and Service Industries, 2006, MoLHR
12) Three major initiatives (strategies) by the government on any of the above(a) Inclusion of OHS in tender documents(b) Development of OHS regulation for Construction Industry(c) Development of Labour adminstrative system (LAS) for filing labor grievances.
4. Issues and Challenges (difficulties) in Implementing OSH in your Country What are yourpriority issues (and strategies if any) in which you want to see CHANGE (improvement) inrelation to OSH?
1) Major issues on occupational safety and health in your country
Implementing the regulation in the construction industry can pose several challenges. Firstly,
construction sites vary in size and complexity, making it difficult to standardize safety measures.
Additionally, ensuring compliance among subcontractors and temporary workers can be challenging.
Limited resources and budget constraints may hinder the implementation of safety protocols. Moreover,resistance to change from employees and lack of awareness about safety regulations can also beobstacles. Some of the specific challenges are:


There is lack of OHS policy guidance and strategies that provide overall directives andguidance at national level to improve safety and health practice in the world of work;
Implementing a Safety and health at workplace need a cross-sectorial collaboration. However,there is lack of collaboration among the agencies responsible for implementing workplacesafety and health;
Lack of competent and trained professionals to implement safety and health laws andeducational programs within the regulatory authorities and enterprise;
Lack of OHS laboratory and technical experts to evaluate the anticipated hazardous substancesat the workplace and determine the level of exposure or construction (various workplace
hazards including toxic chemicals, noise, dust and heat);
Limited institutional linkages between the regulatory authority such as DoL and international
agencies;
Poor public awareness on the OHS and very limited information on occupational illness;No or limited initiatives from the educational institutes to conduct studies on the workplace
illness and injuries (for policy recommendation and standards development);
Lack of safety behavior in the working society (resistance from the employers and employees
in adopting safety culture);
Manually working process especially in the construction sector which are more prone tooccupational illness and injury.

2) Your suggestions, or counter measures for the above problems
To address these challenges effectively, construction companies can consider the following measures:a) Developing site-specific safety plans that account for the unique characteristics of each project.
b) Establishing clear communication and accountability channels within the organization.
c) Providing regular training and awareness programs for all employees and subcontractors.
d) Allocating adequate resources and budget for safety measures.
e) Encouraging a culture of safety by involving employees in safety committees and initiatives.
f) Regularly auditing and reviewing safety practices to identify and rectify any shortcomings.
g) By addressing these challenges proactively, construction companies can ensure the effective
implementation of the regulation and enhance workplace safety.
5. Good Practices Please share the good practices of your country with other participants.
a) What was achieved
With the focus more on OHS for the construction workers, the Royal Government of Bhutan has
implemented OHS component on tender documents to enable the contractors to provide safe working
environment to the workersb) Key elements of success Promotion of OHS
 Training provide to relevant people working in construction sectors
 Formation of safety committees in the regionsc) Lessons learned Safety culture in Bhutan is not well developed Lack of resources for implementationd) Implementation partners
 Construction Association of Bhutan Department of Labore) Monitoring methods Routine Site Inspection
 online labor grievance platform