Futuro del Sector Artesanal de la Región Junín

Current status

Qatar’s vast population of male labourers, primarily in the construction industry, has limited access to healthcare services and also operates in hazardous environments. Workplace injuries are the third highest cause of accidental deaths in Qatar. As yet, Qatar does not have national

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occupational health standards or guidelines and there is limited data on workplace-related fatalities. However, expert opinion suggests a rate of about four to five fatalities per 100,000 workers,35 approximately double the rate in the European Union (EU).36 Although occupational health legislation exists in Qatar to safeguard the health of workers, many employers do not seem to be in full compliance with some of its provisions.37 _{For example, article 104 of the 2004 Labour}

Law states that “if the number of workers exceeds 100, the employer shall appoint a fulltime male nurse in addition to providing the required number of first aid boxes. If the number of employees exceeds 500, the employer shall set up a clinic, manned by at least one medical practitioner and a male nurse.” However, many companies choose to ignore this legislation, and some of those that try to abide by the regulation experience difficulty recruiting and retaining medical personnel.38 _{It is}

estimated that 500 patients per day (about 30 per cent of the total seen daily at Hamad General Hospital) are workers who needlessly place significant demand on the Emergency Department but should have been seen in the ambulatory setting.39 _{An additional challenge facing occupational}

health is the limited coordination between the two key stakeholders—the SCH and the Ministry of Labor—for enforcement of occupational health policy. The country also has a dearth of specialists trained in occupational health.

Best practice—Australia

Australia currently ranks in seventh40 _{place among the best OHS (Occupational Health and Safety)}

performing countries in the world (in terms of fatality rates for work-related injuries). Of greater significance is that since 2001 Australia’s work-related fatality rate generally has decreased at a faster rate than that of the best-performing countries in the world. This reduction was driven by the adoption and implementation of the National OHS Strategy 2002–2012. The strategy set out clear targets of cutting work-related fatalities and injuries by 20 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, over the decade. To achieve these goals, five priority areas were identified:

1. Reducing high-incidence and high-severity risks:

- The high-risk injuries targeted were musculoskeletal disorders, falls from heights, and hitting or being hit by objects.

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35 _{Estimate based on stakeholder interviews.!}

36 _{Bener, A., Zirie, M., Janahi, I.M., Al-Hamaq, A.O., Musallam, M., and Wareham, N.J. 2005. “The Neglected Epidemic:}

Road Traffic Accidents in a Developing Country, State of Qatar.” International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion 12:45–47.!

37 _{Based on stakeholder interviews.!} 38 _Ibid.!

39 _Ibid.!

40 _{“Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: Occupational Health & Safety.” Australia Productivity}

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- The priority industry sectors identified were building and construction; transport and storage; manufacturing; health and community services; and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.

2. Developing the capacity of business operators and workers to manage OHS effectively 3. Preventing occupational disease more effectively

4. Eliminating hazards at the design stage

5. Strengthening the capacity of government to influence OHS outcomes

A significant feature of Australia’s strategy was the development and implementation of a robust, comprehensive, and practical regulatory framework, the key elements of which are the following:

! The Occupational Health and Safety Act is a comprehensive policy that covers approximately 40 to 70 (depending on the state) specific occupational health issues ranging from details on employers’ obligations to the need for worker participation and consultation.

! Beyond the Occupational Health and Safety Act, there are three other regulatory tools that differ in their level of guidance to employers but that together provide a comprehensive framework and direction to employers on occupational health:

− National standards set forth agreed-on principles, approaches, and requirements for various technical issues.

− Codes of practice supply more thorough guidance on the principles and options for action under a standard.

− Guidance notes give practical advice to employers, employees, and others on how to prevent risks to health and safety from specific hazards identified in the workplace.

Overall, Australia has been able to improve its performance on a variety of occupational health indicators. For example, in the first four years of the strategy’s deployment (the year for which data are available), the injury claim rate per 1,000 employees went down by 16.9 per cent.

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New directions

Qatar needs to also establish a robust regulatory framework for occupational health. This will entail:

1. setting up an occupational health committee to raise the profile of occupational health in the country and establish standards on occupational health for both blue-collar and white-collar workers;

2. enforcing the labour law through enhanced coordination of all relevant stakeholders;

3. providing training to employers on appropriate workplace conditions to enable them to meet the occupational health standards;

4. providing training and education for healthcare personnel involved in occupational health, including general practitioners:

5. creating capacity for occupational health initiatives: and

6. developing a workplace injury and accident registry to monitor occupational health status and identify areas of need.

Implementation template 3.7 in Annex A