“Occupational accidents and ill health cost countries four per cent of their annual GDP, according to the International Labour Organisation. This means e215 million annually if such figures were applied to Malta,” Social Policy Minister, John Dalli said yesterday.

This was explained during a press conference yesterday to mark the successful completion of the EU Twinning Light project between The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) and the German Association for Social Security and Research (GVG).

The two associations have for the past eight months been partners in the project “Strengthening the Administrative Capacity of the National Labour Inspectorat-e”, which has come to an end this week. The budget allocated to OHSA for such a project was e154,000 (Lm66,112).

During the first press conference on occupational health and safety since being appointed Social Policy Minister, Mr Dalli commented on the intrinsic link between occupational health and safety, the well-being of society and the competitiveness of the country.

“A laissez-faire attitude in OHS levels creates a significant barrier for the creation of a standard functioning business environment, the Social Policy Minister said.

The minister continued that consensus on what needs to be done in the area of OHS had been reached for a number of years and it was high time for the country to work on achieving a culture change in all levels and finally move towards serious and real action.

In this regard, “the OHSA has taken the bull by its horns,” Minister Dalli said, “by embarking on a very ambitious exercise which reduces the occurrence of accidents by 25 per cent until 2015”.

Mark Gauci, OHSA Chief Executive Officer commented on the importance of marking the end of the Twinning Light project on Europe Day and particularly during the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue with the theme – “It’s not them and us: It’s you and me”.

“This slogan can also be applied to the area of occupational health and safety. High standards of OHS should apply across the board, irrespective of nationality, social status or type of employment,” Dr Gauci said. Although the OHSA has made encouraging steps forward in this regard, “this is not enough for comfort,” the CEO explained.

The OHSA sought after assistance on how to effectively challenge such practices. This was the underlying principle behind such a project, which the GVG helped to implement.

The Twinning Light project covered areas such as safety of work equipment, noise management, vibrations, ventilation, electromagnetic frequencies, optical radiation, major accidents involving dangerous substances (known as Seveso II), biological and chemical agents as well as the development of an operations manual.

Dr Gauci explained that OHSA officers travelled to Germany to observe the practical implementation of the theory discussed when the German instructors were in Malta. “This has been a very positive experience for both sides,” Dr Gauci confirmed.

The Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy, Ingeborg Beggel said that the successful implementation of such a project took place thanks to all the people involved.

“Twinnings are not one-way systems. In exchanging views and in getting to know the specific conditions of Malta as a small, highly populated island state, I am sure the German experts have gained valuable knowledge allowing them to better understand the challenges smaller EU member states face,” Ms Beggel said.

This was the third twinning agreement that the OHSA in Malta is benefiting from. The first Twinning Project was with the OHSA counterparts in the United Kingdom and Ireland while the second was a Twinning Light Project with Austria. Such initiatives were launched by the European Commission in 1998 in the context of preparation for enlargement of the European Union.

During yesterday’s press conference, the project leader on the part of the German partners GVG, Mr Tom Grenz said, “The project was organised and implemented as open and participatory as possible to achieve utmost mobilisation and efficient resource management of existing knowledge, experience and skills”.

GVG is a non-profit organisation of German institutions which has been actively contributing to the German social security system since 1947.

During such a project, knowledge was gathered from various German OHS institutions including the Federal Ministry and several Lander Ministries, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Occupational Health, and the Fire and emergency department, among other institutions.

Mr Grenz also explained that being a “rather young institution” and having “limited human resources”, the OHSA is working hard to further improve the occupational health and safety situation in Malta.

Strong political and public support together with media exposure will help OHSA in implementing its policies.