Workshop on Risk Assessment in Macedonia
From August 25-28 a workshop on Risk Assessment was organized by the new local secretariat of the Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Macedonia (CERM) in Prilep. The workshop was its first activity and thus a good opportunity to gain visibility by the local industry.
About 20 safety experts of the main industrial companies of Prilep and Bitola (cities in the South of Macedonia) attended the workshop as well as 2 representatives of the Association for Health and Safety of Macedonia with whom the Confederation is cooperating since a few years.
The workshop was chaired by Jean-Marie Standaert of DECP, who started with an introductory presentation about the new responsibilities of the employers on OSH (Occupational Health & Safety). He insisted on the important switch from the old system, which was based on financial compensation for hazardous working conditions, to the new situation where the employer is responsible for the safe working environment and thus needs assistance and support for improving the working environment.
Afterwards, Mr. Theo-Jan Heesen, a Dutch expert on safety regulations, made a presentation on the functioning of an external OSH-centre in The Netherlands.
In the afternoon, a visit was organised to a factory of small electro-engines in Prilep, which was privatised 10 years ago. During this visit Mr. Heesen demonstrated how a risk-assessment by an external service can take place.
The following morning, Theo-Jan Heesen presented his report about the visit to the group and showed them a series of pictures of good and bad cases of working conditions in the construction sector.
The workshop ended with the evaluation. All participants declared to be very satisfied by the content of the workshop. In the conclusions many participants expressed their satisfaction that they could learn from European experiences and could share ideas and suggestions with colleagues.
The 2 experts from the Association informed the President of CERM, Mr. Boskov, that they will set-up a new consulting company on health and safety and that they want to become member of the CERM.