About 30 trade union leaders from the textile, foundry, diamond and cement industries in Coimbatore and Kovilpatti will learn more about industrial health and safety and soon try to initiate measures in their respective units.
They are participating in a four-day workshop organised here by the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Japan International Labour Foundation (JILAF) from Sunday.
The Consul General of Japan, Chennai, Kayoko Furukawa, said the programme encouraged the participants to initiate occupational health and safety measures. This was a necessity for the workers and the four-day programme organised jointly by the JILAF and INTUC here would be exemplary to other countries too.
K. Arul, Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, Coimbatore, said the Government took several measures to encourage accident-free industries.
It gave away awards to industries and workers for safety compliance. The workers, management and the Government should work jointly and each had their responsibilities in ensuring occupational safety. The Inspectorate of Factories focused on education and enforcement.
It joined hands with the National Safety Council to organise seminars according to the needs of specific industries. It also conducted surveys, accident investigation and emergency preparedness programmes.
Yozo Abe, secretary of the foundation, said the Indian and Japanese trade union movements had a long history of relationship. The aim of such programmes was to strengthen the trade union movement. Compared to many countries, the trade unions in India were bigger and played a significant role in several issues. So far, the JILAF had conducted about 1,000 seminars for 24,000 workers to enhance industrial safety.
Kazutaka Kogi, President, International Commission on Occupational Health, said the four-day programme would have interactive sessions and this would be an opportunity to learn more about industrial safety from others' experiences.
The trade union leaders also spoke.
