The 5th India-European Union Seminar on Employment and Social Policy, “Occupational Safety & Health” will begin here in New Delhi from Monday 19th September, 2011. Union labour & Employment Minister Shri. Mallikarjun Kharge will be inaugurating the two day long seminar along with Mr. Jacobus Nicolaas Maria Richelle, Director General, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission, who is leading a 15 member High Powered, Tripartite European Union Delegation.
The seminar has been designed to look into the emerging issues on Occupational Safety and Health in India and European Union pertaining to various sectors such as manufacturing sector, Port Sector, Mines, Construction sector etc. Deliberations during the two days would help in strengthening of the enforcement systems by enhancing capabilities in the modern techniques of inspection, chemical process safety, hazard identification and risk assessment, auditing, surveying, etc. It is expected that EU and Indian government experts, social partners and other stakeholders will have an qqoortunity during the deliberations to to exchange their experiences and best practices.
It may be noted that India and European Union have entered into a Joint Action Plan to have a structured dialogue between themselves on employment and social policy. In line with the Joint Action Plan, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Union to exchange views and information on issues of common interests within the area of employment and social policy such as skills, training and employment, social security, occupational health and safety, workers’ participation in management and other relevant issues jointly identified. To this end seminars are jointly organized annually between Delhi and Brussels or any other venue agreed upon. So far four seminars – New Delhi (2006), Lisbon, Portugal (2007), New Delhi (2008) and Brussels (2010) have been organised.
The Seminar is being attended by the members of the 27 member European Union, representatives of International Labour Organization, Workers’ and Employers’ representatives both from India and European Union, and representatives of Central and State Governments.
The Inaugural Session will be followed by three technical sessions focusing on Overview of OSH Institutional Framework in India and EU, Effective Approach in Practical Risk Analysis and Risk Management and Topical Issues in Occupational Health Management. The Seminar is preceded by Tripartite Exchange Programme under which the European Union delegates visited DGFASLI and Mumbai Port Trust in Mumbai, Codli Iron Ore Mine in Goa and Regional Labour Institute and J.C.B. Ltd. in Faridabad.
