Labour Ministry to amend Factories Ordinance to strengthen occupational safety standards

The Labour Ministry plans to amend the key occupational safety and health legislation, the Factories Ordinance to strengthen the legal framework on occupational safety standards on par with global standards with a view to minimize occupational accidents.
Taking part in  the scholarship awarding for the children of the workers who suffered  accidental death or disability while carrying out their duties , the Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva announced that the government is currently working on several key measures to prevent occupational accidents which include amending  the Factories Ordinance.
According to ILO, there were 18 non-fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers and one occupational fatality per 100,000 workers. However, experts believe that actual data on occupational injuries and fatalities to be much higher.
The Minister stressed that each factory would be required to maintain one trained safety officer once new measures come into place.
In addition, safety equipment and other tools are also to be made mandatory for hazardous occupations.
In order for these measures to be achieve intended results, De Silva emphasized that employees need to be made aware of these safety standard. Therefore, he noted that creating public awareness of these elevated safety standards would also be a key priority of the Labour Ministry. 
He noted that formulation of laws and regulations to prevent occupational accidents as a key function of the Department of Labour. 
The scholarship programme was initiated by the Shrama Vasana Fund which was established through the income of Shrama Vasana lottery which was started by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was the then Labour Minister.
The purpose of this programme is to foster education of the children whose caretaker or the breadwinner of the family has been lost due to disabilities.
Meanwhile, 90 students were chosen to benefit from the scholarship programme this year, which is funded through income of the Shrama Vasana lottery.