Within the framework of its Occupational Safety and Health Capacity Building Programme (OSH-CaB) and in line with the OIC Occupational Safety and Health Network (OIC-OSHNET) Work Plan 2021-2022, SESRIC, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health at the Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia and the ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Network (ASEAN-OSHNET), organized a Workshop on “Addressing Challenges of Occupational Health in the Future of Work” on 17-18 May 2022 through an online video conferencing platform.

The workshop was attended by 75 participants from 21 OIC Member Countries and 51 participants from 10 ASEAN Member Countries as well as Timor-Leste and Korea. Competent experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), the ASEAN Secretariat and the University of Indonesia also participated and made comprehensive presentations under the relevant technical sessions of the workshop.

The main objective of the workshop was to discuss and highlight the importance of advancing OSH systems in the OIC and ASEAN Member Countries to make them more resilient towards possible future shocks and distributions. The workshop also aimed to encourage the exchange of knowledge and experiences amongst the OSH professionals to guide future efforts in addressing the challenges of OSH in the future of work.

The workshop commenced with the opening remarks of H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC, who highlighted the importance of effective management of the new emerging challenges and risks for fostering resilience and building a preventative OSH culture. Furthermore, Mr. DABUR emphasized the role of well-functioning OSH systems and effective adaptation mechanisms in appointing solutions and dealing with the OSH concerns in the future. Before concluding, Mr. DABUR also briefed the participants on SESRIC's contribution to the efforts of the OIC and its member countries in the domain of OSH.

On behalf of the Secretariat of the OIC-OSHNET, H.E. Dr. Muhittin BİLGE, Director General of OSH at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Türkiye, underlined that the fast pace of technological development and the weight this adds on OSH policy makers in order to achieve an international level of performance in terms of identifying the challenges and managing their consequences on the work environment. Before concluding his remarks, Dr. BİLGE thanked the organisers for their exerted efforts in conducting this important workshop in line with the OIC-OSHNET Work Plan 2021-2022.

After highlighting the job crisis brought to the world by COVID-19 pandemic, H.E. Engr. Dr. Majahar bin ABD RAHMAN, Director of International Policy and Research Development Division at the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia, in his capacity as the Chair of the ASEAN OSHNET, also stressed the need to create a culture of prevention in order to tackle both the emerging concerns along with the challenges that workers in daily norms.

In her welcoming remarks, H.E. Mrs. Haiyani RUMONDANG, Director General of Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health at the Ministry of Manpower of Indonesia, underscored the influence of new technologies and globalisation and their impact on work cultures and environments and as well as the accompanying fundamental challenges. Mrs. Haiyani also highlighted the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and the creativity and digital skills it spread within. She also emphasized the readiness and willingness of the Ministry of Manpower of Indonesia to continue enhancing its already existing strong ties with the OSH Authorities of the OIC and ASEAN Member Countries to foster sharing of knowledge, experience and best practices in this crucial domain.

The OIC-OSHNET was launched in 2011 in order to establish closer cooperation among the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Institutions of the OIC member countries through sharing knowledge, experience and best practices. SESRIC assumes the role of the OIC Technical Coordinator of the OIC-OSHNET and carries out a specific capacity building programme on OSH, namely, Occupational Safety and Health Capacity Building Programme (OSH-CaB), to support the efforts of the OIC member countries in improving workplace safety and health. For more details about the Network and its activities, please visit: https://oshnet.sesric.org/index.php

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